“Cave Painting in Hispaniola” Exhibition at the Museum of the Dominican Man

“Cave Painting in Hispaniola” Exhibition at the Museum of the Dominican Man
Santo Domingo, DominicanRepublic 2/17/2013

Dominican-Spanish archeologist, Alfonso López Belando,gave a conference at the Museum of the Dominican Man, in the form of a Master Class called “Cave Painting in Hispaniola: Schools of Painting, Myths, Animals and Deities”in which he established that these cultural manifestations are the origin of all art forms that we know of today. The reason for this, he explained, is because of climatic conditions, materials used to make them and because the local painters did them in caves.

Other cultures such as they Mayans and Aztecs of Central and South America had this type of art, although in smaller amounts because they had already been familiar with paper. Cave drawings for them were therefore a secondary form of expression..

Throughout the exhibition in the conference hall of the Museum, Mr. López Belando said the Dominican Republic is one of the countries with the largest number of cave paintings in the world.As aconsultant for the United NationsOrganization for Education, Science and Culture (UNESCO) and holding degrees in Geography and History, López Belandopublishes at various universities. He was introduced by Christian Martínez, architect and director of the Museum that operates as part of the Ministry of Culture.

Other cultures such as they Mayans and Aztecs of Central and South America had this type of art, although in smaller amounts because they had already been familiar with paper. Cave drawings for them were therefore a secondary form of expression.

According to his research, Christopher Columbus instructed the priest, Fray Ramón Pané about the paintings so that he would understand and have better relations with the local inhabitants. In his writing, “Relationship with Indigenous Antiquities” he talks clearly about the cave paintings.

López Belando showed slides of the cave paintings, with three caravels, in the Los Haitises caves. According to research, it has been established that these paintings correspond to the 16th century. This was how the inhabitants of the island visualized Europeans.

In addition, he showed photos with images of the Dominican Republic that dated back to some 1,700 years BC.  The audience at the Museum was surprised with these findings.

López Belando also showed photos of the José María cave in National Park of the East. With great satisfaction, he said the Park had some 1,200 cave paintings, making it one of the world’s largest finds to date.

For that reason, Mr. López Belando highly recommends that this area be declared a UNESCO Heritage Site, but he recognizes that it is a long process that must be undergone to achieve this objective.

Alfonso López Belando

Audience at the activity