Ministry of Culture Conducts 3rd Event in the Framework of the Caribbean Cultural Corridor in the Southwestern Region

Ministry of Culture Conducts 3rd Event in the Framework of the Caribbean Cultural Corridor in the Southwestern Region
San Juan de la Maguana, Dominican Republic, August 26, 2014

The 3rd event of the “The Afro-descendance in the Process of Formation of the Dominican Culture” series, held in the framework of the Caribbean Cultural Corridor, was closed following presentations and conferences concerning the validity of honoring Liborio Mateo in this region. The activity was organized by the Ministry of Culture and included the participation of representatives from educational and cultural institutions.

“The presence of Liborio Mateo was a solidarity hymn to the inhabitants of the southwestern region and was then spread to the rest of the Dominican people, which is the reason why it will forever live in the memory of the people”.

Liborio Mateo was a messianic leader and a revolutionary. He was born in the year 1876 in San Juan de la Managua and died on June 27th, 1922. His followers referred to him as The Teacher, or simply, Father Liborio.

“The presence of Liborio Mateo was a solidarity hymn to the inhabitants of the southwestern region and was then spread to the rest of the Dominican people, which is the reason why it will forever live in the memory of the people”. It has additionally maintained the Liborist culture current so that present and future generations can know about it, said those Liborists that were present. 

“Meanwhile, the history of San Juan de la Managua cannot be written without mentioning this legendary historical character,” said writer Roberto Rosado Fernández.
Liborio Mateo was the son of Andrés Mateo and Sacarila Ledesma, who were both farmers who lived from farming small plots of agricultural land. Between 1916 and 1922, Liborio Mateo faced the North American occupation forces 16 times.

This 3rd event, which took place this past Saturday, August 23rd, a date that was declared by UNESCO as the “International Day for the Remembrance of the Slave Trade and its Abolition,” was titled “Value and Practice of a Syncretic Movement in the Southwestern Region”. It started with the welcoming remarks by Ángelo Valenzuela, who is the Regional Director of Culture. Then, there was a screening of the video La Misión de Palma Sola, which was directed by Aquiles Castro, from the National General Archives, and presented by Rafael Puello.

Mr. Carlos Santos, Deputy Minister of Institutional Development, presided over the opening of this cultural activity, which took place in the Postgraduate Hall of the Institute of Higher Education for Teacher Training, Campus Urania Montás. Mr. Santos was accompanied by Rosa Elena Rodríguez, Director General of Education and Training of the Ministry of Culture; Anthropologists Rafael Puello and Clenis Tavares; and Nuris Domínguez, Margareth Frías, and Patricia Martínez, who coordinated the event.

As part of this series of conferences, writer Carlos Andújar addressed the topic “One hundred years of social memory: The messianic Liborist movement”, while Dr. Sobieski de León addressed the topic “Vindication of Liborio Mateo: Social and political aspects of his ministry”. Professor Roberto Rosado Fernández also addressed the topic “Validity of Liborism.”

Mr. Santos spoke about the objectives of this 3rd event, among which he cited the promotion of spaces for creation and remembrance about Liborio Mateo; creating awareness about the historical and cultural value of Liborio Mateo in the southwestern region, and introducing to the new generations identifiable elements of the Liborist movement and the history of its origin.

The program “The African ancestry in the process of formation of the Dominican culture” is being implemented by the Ministry of Culture and is taking place successfully in various communities across the country. The program falls into the framework of the Caribbean Cultural Corridor as part of the commemoration of the International Year of Communities of African Descent.

Among those participating in the event were cultural managers, and provincial and regional directors from the Ministry of Culture; professors of the CURO UASD; students of the Master’s degree on Sociocultural Anthropology from UASD; professors from INTEC, the Catholic University of Santo Domingo, the LOYOLA Specialized Institute of Higher Education, UNIREMHOS, and students specializing in Caribbean history at the National General Archive.

The Caribbean Cultural Corridor is coordinated by the Ministry of Culture through the Vice Ministries of Institutional Development and of Cultural Patrimony, and is implemented by the General Directorate of Education and Training. It has the support of the Central American Coordination for Education and Culture CECC/SICA and the sponsorship of the Republic of China (Taiwan).  

As part of the program that is taking in numerous regions and communities, and which will conclude on September 26th of this year, there are conferences and workshops in which the bearers and heirs of cultural expressions of African-descent are participating. These activities are taking place in Los Morenos and Los Mercedes of Santo Domingo Norte, and San Juan de la Managua, as well as in Nigua, San Cristóbal and the National District.

The closing ceremony is scheduled for Friday, September 26th, in the Manuel del Cabral Hall of the Pedro Mir Library of Universidad Autónoma de Santo Domingo.

Representatives of the Ministry of Culture, headed by Carlos Santos, Deputy Minister of Institutional Development; Rosa Elena Rodríguez, General Director of Education and Training; Rafael Puello; Nuris Domínguez; Margareth Frías; and representatives of the Liborist cultural movement.

Exhibitors and bearers of the Liborist movement during their participation in the series of conferences.

Public that attended the event