President Fernández Heads Inauguration of Perelló Cultural Center in Bani

President Fernández Heads Inauguration of Perelló Cultural Center in Bani
Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic 10/4/2011

The Perelló Cultural Center (PPC in Spanish), created by the Perelló Foundation, the most important private social responsibility initiative in the field of culture in the Southeast of the country, was inaugurated at a special ceremony headed by President Leonel Fernández.

The purpose of the new institution is the development of cultural, educational and environmental initiatives to promote integral development and improvement of the quality of life of residents of this province and region.

The purpose of the new institution is the development of cultural, educational and environmental initiatives to promote integral development and improvement of the quality of life of residents of this province and region. It is located in the Escondido community, at the entrance of Bani, near the highway to Santo Domingo. The project is a contribution of the Perelló Family, residents of the region and owners of Industrias Banilejas (INDUBAN) that produces Café Santo Domingo and Café Gourmet Induban, prestigious international brands in the world of aromatic coffees. In the inaugural act, beginning at five in the afternoon, in addition to the President, those on hand included Culture Minister José Rafael Lantigua; Rafael Perelló Abreu, president of INDUBAN and the Perelló Foundation; Ismael Díaz Melo, director of the CCP, and Pedro José Borrel and Jaime Augusto Batlle, designer and builder of the buildings, among others.

In the Main Hall of the Center an exhibition of the “Great Masterpieces of the Banco Popular Collection” was inaugurated, with 47 works by such Dominican artists as Guillo Pérez, Elsa Núñez, Plutarco Andújar, Cándido Bidó, Yoryi Morel, Paul Guidicelli, Gilberto Hernández, Danilo de los Santos and Ada Balcácer, among others.

In this collection, seven sculptures by Ramiro Matos, Antonio Prats Ventós, Gaspar Mario Cruz, José Ramón Rotellini and Luichy Martínez will also be shown.

A retrospective of photographer Wilfredo García, considered a grand master of modern Dominican photography, also opened in the Media Library Exposition Hall. This was organized by the León de Santiago Center.

The CCP is a product of initiatives undertaken by the Bani Coffee businessman, Manuel de Jesús Perelló (now deceased), creator of INDUBAN, who donated a cultural institution to his native town. His descendants created the Perelló Foundation to fulfill his work which involved making the Perelló Cultural Center a reality.

The Perelló Cultural Center has a building area of 2,290 square meters on a 10,200 square meters piece of property. It has an auditorium, exhibition hall, media library, two multipurpose rooms, cafeteria, open air terrace, gardens, parking areas and administrative areas. 

In addition to the ample gardens and parking areas, the center has an auditorium, exhibition hall, media library, two multipurpose rooms, cafeteria and an open air activities terrace. Its logo represents the tree of life with a stylized figure, with an ascendant figure that symbolizes growth and aspiration. It is surrounded by a multi-color sphere that represents values and the human, geographic and environmental diversity which is the foundation of what Bani is today as a community.

The thematic axis of the center is music and art, education and cultural diffusion. Its objectives are to promote the use of cultural, educational and environmental resources for development; promote the integration of local actors and entities in cultural and artistic initiatives and to facilitate the education of artists, teachers and students to empower the development of creativity in communities and among the promoters of culture.

It also seeks to promote, through networks, cultural and artistic processes of coordination and exchange between the public and private sectors, the integration of entities and actors in cultural, musical, artistic, educational and environmental projects and initiatives.

CHARACTERISTICS

The Perelló Cultural Center has a building area of 2,290 square meters on a 10,200 square meters piece of property. It has an auditorium, exhibition hall, media library, two multipurpose rooms, cafeteria, open air terrace, gardens, parking areas and administrative areas. 

The Manuel de Jesús Perelló auditorium has an inclined floor and reclining chairs, with a capacity for 150 people. It has the latest multimedia equipment and ideal acoustic conditions and is equipped to transmit its activities to screens in the cafeteria and other areas.

The exhibition hall is 215 square meters and is in a flexible space for temporary exhibitions. This hall, the auditorium, reception and management offices are located in the primary building.
 
The media library has a bibliographic consultation area, reading tables, an area for digital consulting with 32 work areas, equipped with computers with internet access to libraries and documentation centers of other cultural and educational centers.

The two multipurpose halls are used for music, painting and art classes, etc. There is a multipurpose room with a capacity for 60 people, where workshops, talks and seminars can be held. The multi-use hall and room are connected through a roofed space enabling the celebration of large events.

In the cafeteria, visitors can enjoy the “house coffee” and other services. Exhibitions on the history of coffee, in the hands of the Perelló family, and its importance for the country will be installed.
 
From the cafeteria there is access to a terrace for open air meetings and social gathering. The wall has a large mosaic mural by well-known artist Said Musa inspired by the relationship between the community and coffee cultivation.

Board Members

Members of the Board include of Ismael Díaz Melo, General Director; Julia Castillo, Art and Culture Manager; Licelott Báez Perelló, administrator, and Rumania Ortiz Soto, Media Center Director.

Members of the Advisory Council are: Dagoberto Tejeda, Fabio Herrera Miniño, Freddy Ginebra, Luis Mejía Oviedo, Miguel Franjul, Milagros Ortiz Bosch and Pablo Mckinney.

The Consultation Counsel members are: Criselio Martínez, Dione Daniel Guerrero, Francis de los Santos, Fritz Pichardo, Ismael Díaz Melo, José Miguel Germán, Luis Manuel Peguero, Marco Aurelio Guerrero, Milagros Pimentel and Vetilio Manuel Valera Valdez