Living Statues Festival Opens

Living Statues Festival Opens
Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, September 1, 2014

The V Living Statues Festival opened at Plaza España in the Colonial City. The event was free to the public and was attended by the Vice Minister of Culture, Claudio Cohen, and Congressman Manuel Jiménez.

The festival is organized by cultural managers Guillermo Liriano and Claudia Lizardo Han, who promote this type of art throughout the country, and which is being practiced in several cities in Europe and Latin America.

Cohen attended the opening ceremony on behalf of the Minister of Culture, José Antonio Rodríguez, and pointed out that this event is one of the 190 programs approved in the First Call for the 2013 Cultural Projects. Thus, the Ministry of Culture, for the first time, has the opportunity to invite communities and their cultural managers to present their own initiatives.

In his brief remarks, he expressed appreciation for the massive participation of the people at the festival and trusted that the event would be a success.

The festival is organized by cultural managers Guillermo Liriano and Claudia Lizardo Han, who promote this type of art throughout the country, and which is being practiced in several cities in Europe and Latin America. On this occasion, some 50 proposals, both individual and collective, are on display.

On Saturday, the production moved to the Eugenio María de Hostos Park and, on Sunday, to the Duarte Park in Jarabacoa.

Prior to their deliberations, the judges of the event, Miguel Montalvo, Paula Disla and Rafael Decena, will assess the following elements: dilation, costumes and makeup, reactions or gestures, and conceptualization.

One of the attractions this year was the presentation of a Mexican proposal with the participation of two persons of the dance theater group called “Las sombras de los caudillos” (The shadows of the warlords).

Awards in the amount of RD$45,000 will be presented in the near future to the first place, RD$35,000 to the second place, and RD$25,000 to the third place. The favorite chosen by the public will receive an award consisting of RD$20,000.

Manuel  Jiménez, Guillermo Martínez, Claudio Cohen, and Guillermo Liriano.

Doris Estévez Paulino, in her character  “Quién dirá  la verdad” (Who will tell the truth).

Performance by the group “División colectiva son  todos” (Collective Division are all”).