Santo Domingo Book Fair at Plaza de la Cultura
City mayor promotes cycling in Santo Domingo
Attorney General clears lands for developing Bahia de las Aguilas
Nature Conservancy seeks to reduce vulnerability of coasts to natural disasters
Public Health alerts to not consume unpackaged powdered milk
US$7 billion more in imports than exports in 2017
Transformer blowout leaves eastern Santo Domingo without water
Too much drinking in the DR, says government
Marcha Verde: Irregularities detected at Omsa are widespread in government
Omsa suppliers sell to many other government entities
White Marlin Fishing Tournament in Punta Cana
Santo Domingo Book Fair at Plaza de la Cultura
The 21st Santo Domingo International Book Fair is getting good reviews. The cultural event opened on Thursday, 19 April 2018, on the grounds on the Plaza de la Cultura center and will continue through the end of the month. The media reports that people have noticed that the book offerings this year are more extensive compared to previous years, and the fair is more organized and orderly and the grounds are being well kept.
In addition to bookstores, the government entities such as the Ministry of Culture, Vice Presidency, the Office of the First Lady and República Digital among others are prominently featured at the event. There is also a pavilion dedicated to Dominican authors. This year the fair is dedicated to essayist, poet and lawyer the late Lupo Hernández Rueda, to poet José Antonio Alix and to Guatemala, as guest country.
http://eldia.com.do/masiva-asistencia-de-publico-y-organizacion-se-destacan-en-primeros-dias/
City mayor promotes cycling in Santo Domingo
National District Mayor David Collado lead dozens of recreational cyclists on a six-kilometer circuit to promote the sport in the city of Santo Domingo. The city closed off the Malecon from Roberto Schomburg Street to Arzobispo Meriño Street in the Colonial City on Saturday, 21 April 2018, from 3pm.
The city government wants to encourage people to bike within the city, as the mayor emphasized the importance of cycling for sport and exercise. Mayor Collado said the activity is part of the city government’s “Santo Domingo by Land” program. He says this follows the international trend of people getting around more by bike.
Attorney General clears lands for developing Bahia de las Aguilas
The Attorney General Office (PGR) announced major advances in the clearing of the disputed lands in the Bahia de las Aguilas beaches area in Enriquillo municipality. As reported, land judge Juan Domingo Méndez Quezada issued ruling that recognizes the right of the Dominican state to plots in the area that had been irregularly assigned to private owners. This covers an extension of 4,530.6 tareas (1 tarea = 629 square meters) of prime beach property. The government seeks to resolve the legal issues in order to foster tourism development in Pedernales.
http://hoy.com.do/logran-reconozcan-al-estado-titularidad-parcela-40-en-bahia-de-las-aguilas/
Nature Conservancy seeks to reduce vulnerability of coasts to natural disasters
The Nature Conservancy has launched a project designed to make the Dominican Republic a more resilient island. The effort (Proyecto Diseñando Islas Resilientes) seeks to reduce the vulnerability of local coastal ecosystems to natural disasters. Carlos García Cartagena, director of The Nature Conservancy in the Dominican Republic, says that priority coastal zones are currently being identified. The project is to include 19 provinces.
The project is part of the International Climate Initiative (IKI) backed by the Federal Environment Ministry of Germany.
https://www.listindiario.com/la-rep...tende-disminuir-riesgo-de-desastres-naturales
https://www.listindiario.com/la-rep...lientes-para-reducir-riesgos-cambio-climatico
Public Health alerts to not consume unpackaged powdered milk
The Ministry of Public Health continues to alert the population to the risks of consuming powdered milk sold in bulk without proper storage. The Ministry says that recent inspections indicate the practice continues in 8 of 22 provinces inspected for the illegal practice. The Ministry says they have seized 7.7 tons of the product from colmados (44%), warehouses (24%), supermarkets (17%) and minimarkets (15%).
http://www.7dias.com.do/portada/201...-tonelada-media-leche-polvo.html#.Wt21m9Pwa9s
US$7 billion more in imports than exports in 2017
2018 was declared the year for exports by the Medina administration with much work cut out for the country to improve the situation. Central Bank statistics reveal that imports in 2017 were US$17.7 billion, compared to US$10.1 billion in exports. Of the exports, US$5.5 billion were carried out by duty free export industries and US$1.7 by mining companies. Farm product exports reached US$641 million, with bananas accounting for US$277 million and raw cacao US$54.6 million.
Economist Pavel Isa says the stats show the country is lagging in exports, despite a 2.9% improvement when compared to 2016. "This reflects two things,” said the economist. “First, the reduced productive and competitive capacity of the Dominican Republic to penetrate international markets, but also the country’s diminished capacity to compete with imports in the domestic market," he highlighted. He said if the obstacles to production and competitiveness are not resolved, the country would continue to depend on tourism and remittances.
https://www.diariolibre.com/economi...-millones-mas-que-las-exportaciones-GE9688495
1
Transformer blowout leaves eastern Santo Domingo without water
The director of the Santo Domingo Water and Sewage Corporation (CAASD), Alejandro Montás said that the blowout of a 10,000 kilowatts transformer caused the collapse of the drinking water service in eastern Santo Domingo on Saturday, 21 April 2018. He said a mobile substation would provisionally restore the service with a mobile substation on Monday, 23 April 2018. By Tuesday or Wednesday, (24-25 April 2018) service should be restored with the installation of a new transformer. Montas said the CAASD is working with the Transmisión Eléctrica Dominicana (ETED) and EDEEste to resolve the serious problem.
More than 100 sectors in East Santo Domingo municipality were affected, including El Naranjo, San Luís, Sabaneta, Prado de San Luís, Buena Ventura I and II, Almirante La Caña, Almirante Solares, Corporánea, Almirante 1era, 2da, 3era and 4ta etapa, Villa Esfuerzo, Amalia, San Isidro, El Bonito, Fuerza Área, Villa Felicia, Invivienda, Nuevo Renacer, San José de Mendoza, Brisas del Este, Reyolí, Nancy Nadhecha, Brisa Oriental and Los Maestros.
Also Radiante Amanecer, Los Educadores, Prado Oriental, San Isidro Labrador, Regina, Nuevo Amanecer, Amarilis I, II, III and IV, la Moneda I and II, Paraíso Oriental, Mirador del Este, Franconía, El Rosal, Ivette, Italia, Savica, Barrio LA Esperanza, Oasis, Amanda I and II, Los Coquitos de Mendoza, Alma Rosa II, Mendoza, Vecinos Unidos, Los Trinitarios I and II, Issffapol, Villa Carmen, Ciudad de los Trabajadores, Eugenio María de Hostos, Las Estrellas, Juan Pablo Duarte, Arcoíris, Bello Campo, Los Tres Ojos, Invidorex, Hipódromo V Centenario, Villa Jerusalén, Agua Loca, Tropical del Este, Los Frailes, Cancela and La Ureña, among others.
https://acento.com.do/2018/actualid...ansformador-saca-servicio-acueducto-oriental/
Too much drinking in the DR, says government
Ruth Santana, director of the Centro de Atención Integral a las Dependencias (CAID), a government agency concerned with addictions, said that alcohol consumption in the Dominican Republic is at 6.9 liters per year, a level that makes the matter an issue for public health. The Ministry of Public Health division alerts to the “damaging impact alcohol consumption has, especially on youths and women, many of which are pregnant.”
"It is a situation that goes beyond the physical damage,” said Santana. She spoke of how the people around the drinker and society as a whole are also harmed. Santana made the remarks when participating in the workshop, “Importance of a Comprehensive National Policy on Alcohol Consumption” organized by the mental health division of the Ministry of Public Health with the sponsorship of the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) and with participation of alcoholic beverage companies in the Dominican Republic.
Dr. Santana called for the approval of a law on alcoholic beverages that would tackle the problem from a legal perspective, as well as full compliance with Transit Law 63-17, and Children’s Protection Law 136-03.
http://www.7dias.com.do/portada/201...ohol-republica-dominicana-litros-por-ano.html
Marcha Verde: Irregularities detected at Omsa are widespread in government
Marcha Verde civic movement argues that the mechanisms uncovered by a recent investigation into procurement practices at the Metropolitan Bus Service Office (Omsa) are not exclusive to that department and are frequently employed by government agencies across the board.
Marcha Verde says that the mafia and corruption structure uncovered at the Metropolitan Bus Service Office (Omsa) could be easily found in many other government institutions where the passive complicity of those responsible for government controls also prevails.
A Chamber of Accounts audit that was carried out after the murder of a lawyer who was investigating corruption at the Omsa warns that wasteful spending for more than RD$3 billion at the bus company from 2012-2016. Marcha Verde says this may be only part of the broad model of embezzlement prevalent in the state that allows for the financing of the political-electoral projects of the ruling Dominican Liberation Party (PLD).
Marcha Verde urged an investigation into officers at the Controller General Office and the Procurement Office to explain in detail how it is possible that for almost five years, officers of the Omsa were suppliers of the same entity. It also requests explanations for the duplication in the repairs for the same buses at the same workshops, the contracting of work to ghost workshops, and how the government authorized payments without minimum paperwork.
"The OMSA is only a symbol, a clear and powerful example of the way in which political crime is stealing the money that every Dominican citizen contributes through the payment of taxes, through our work and sacrifice, "said the movement.
Marcha Verde stated: "Whomever wants to live in a country where the institutions are at the service of the people and not thieves should know that this model of theft is installed throughout all the government and we have the duty to denounce and dismantle it, for the sake of our present, our future and that of our families.”
https://www.listindiario.com/la-rep...alado-en-numerosas-instituciones-del-gobierno
http://hoy.com.do/marcha-verde-advi...estaria-instalado-en-numerosas-instituciones/
Omsa suppliers sell to many other government entities
A report in Hoy indicates that suppliers that have been criticized for violating procurement best practices are privileged by payments in many government entities in addition to the Metropolitan Bus Services Office (Omsa). The news report gives details of several of the companies in their dealings with government entities. A recent Chamber of Account audit leaked to the press reveals major irregularities. The Controller Office has defended the purchases saying they were authorized by a government resolution that cleared direct purchasing in 2008.
According to the report in Hoy, 47 of the 73 companies that show up with irregularities in the Omsa audit have supplied at least another government institution and have received payments outside of regular procurement procedures.
The other government entities with ties to these companies are:
Dirección General de Comunicación (DICOM), Ministerio Administrativo de la Presidencia (MAPRE), Dirección General de Programas Especiales de la Presidencia (DIGEPEP), Liga Municipal Dominicana, Instituto Nacional de la Vivienda (INVI), Promesecal, Banco Central, Dirección General de Contrataciones Públicas and Dirección Nacional de Drogas.
These also sell to Centro de Exportación e Inversión de la República Dominicana (CEI-RD), Dirección General de Migración, Oficina de Ingenieros Supervisores de Obras del Estado (OISOE), Cámara de Diputados, Autoridad Portuaria Dominicana, Archivo General de la Nación (AGN), Proconsumidor, el Acuario Nacional, Senado, Fideicomiso RD Vial, Superintendencia de Pensiones (SIPEN), el Organismo Dominicano de Acreditación and Oficina para el Reordenamiento del Transporte (OPRET), Oficina Nacional de la Propiedad Intelectual (ONAPI), Junta Central Electoral (JCE), Consejo Nacional para la Niñez y la Adolescencia (CONANI), Dirección General de Aduanas, Dirección General de Desarrollo Fronterizo, Proindustria, Tribunal Constitucional and the Instituto Nacional de Educación Física.
Also Instituto Nacional de Aguas Potables y Alcantarillados (INAPA), Seguro Nacional de Salud (SENASA), Contraloría, la Corporación Dominicana de Empresas Eléctricas Estatales (CDEEE), Sistema Único de Beneficiarios, la Superintendencia de Bancos (SIB), Consejo del Poder Judicial, la Corporación del Acueducto y Alcantarillado de Santo Domingo (CAASD) and the Cámara de Cuentas.
Also the ministries of Foreign Relations, Industry & Commerce, Agriculture, Labor, Economy, Hacienda, Women, Public Health, Interior & Police, Environment.
http://hoy.com.do/mayoria-de-proveedores-omsa-hacen-mas-negocios-con-el-estado/
White Marlin Fishing Tournament in Punta Cana
Cabeza de Toro branch of the Santo Domingo Yacht Club will be hosting sport fishermen at the 53rd White Marlin Fishing Tournament this 26-29 April 2018. The event is organized by Daniel Medina. Santo Domingo Yacht Club Commodore Jose Luis Nunez said the 2018 tournament will welcome fishermen from Puerto Rico, Venezuela and the United States. Around 100 participants have registered.
City mayor promotes cycling in Santo Domingo
Attorney General clears lands for developing Bahia de las Aguilas
Nature Conservancy seeks to reduce vulnerability of coasts to natural disasters
Public Health alerts to not consume unpackaged powdered milk
US$7 billion more in imports than exports in 2017
Transformer blowout leaves eastern Santo Domingo without water
Too much drinking in the DR, says government
Marcha Verde: Irregularities detected at Omsa are widespread in government
Omsa suppliers sell to many other government entities
White Marlin Fishing Tournament in Punta Cana
Santo Domingo Book Fair at Plaza de la Cultura
The 21st Santo Domingo International Book Fair is getting good reviews. The cultural event opened on Thursday, 19 April 2018, on the grounds on the Plaza de la Cultura center and will continue through the end of the month. The media reports that people have noticed that the book offerings this year are more extensive compared to previous years, and the fair is more organized and orderly and the grounds are being well kept.
In addition to bookstores, the government entities such as the Ministry of Culture, Vice Presidency, the Office of the First Lady and República Digital among others are prominently featured at the event. There is also a pavilion dedicated to Dominican authors. This year the fair is dedicated to essayist, poet and lawyer the late Lupo Hernández Rueda, to poet José Antonio Alix and to Guatemala, as guest country.
http://eldia.com.do/masiva-asistencia-de-publico-y-organizacion-se-destacan-en-primeros-dias/
City mayor promotes cycling in Santo Domingo
National District Mayor David Collado lead dozens of recreational cyclists on a six-kilometer circuit to promote the sport in the city of Santo Domingo. The city closed off the Malecon from Roberto Schomburg Street to Arzobispo Meriño Street in the Colonial City on Saturday, 21 April 2018, from 3pm.
The city government wants to encourage people to bike within the city, as the mayor emphasized the importance of cycling for sport and exercise. Mayor Collado said the activity is part of the city government’s “Santo Domingo by Land” program. He says this follows the international trend of people getting around more by bike.
Attorney General clears lands for developing Bahia de las Aguilas
The Attorney General Office (PGR) announced major advances in the clearing of the disputed lands in the Bahia de las Aguilas beaches area in Enriquillo municipality. As reported, land judge Juan Domingo Méndez Quezada issued ruling that recognizes the right of the Dominican state to plots in the area that had been irregularly assigned to private owners. This covers an extension of 4,530.6 tareas (1 tarea = 629 square meters) of prime beach property. The government seeks to resolve the legal issues in order to foster tourism development in Pedernales.
http://hoy.com.do/logran-reconozcan-al-estado-titularidad-parcela-40-en-bahia-de-las-aguilas/
Nature Conservancy seeks to reduce vulnerability of coasts to natural disasters
The Nature Conservancy has launched a project designed to make the Dominican Republic a more resilient island. The effort (Proyecto Diseñando Islas Resilientes) seeks to reduce the vulnerability of local coastal ecosystems to natural disasters. Carlos García Cartagena, director of The Nature Conservancy in the Dominican Republic, says that priority coastal zones are currently being identified. The project is to include 19 provinces.
The project is part of the International Climate Initiative (IKI) backed by the Federal Environment Ministry of Germany.
https://www.listindiario.com/la-rep...tende-disminuir-riesgo-de-desastres-naturales
https://www.listindiario.com/la-rep...lientes-para-reducir-riesgos-cambio-climatico
Public Health alerts to not consume unpackaged powdered milk
The Ministry of Public Health continues to alert the population to the risks of consuming powdered milk sold in bulk without proper storage. The Ministry says that recent inspections indicate the practice continues in 8 of 22 provinces inspected for the illegal practice. The Ministry says they have seized 7.7 tons of the product from colmados (44%), warehouses (24%), supermarkets (17%) and minimarkets (15%).
http://www.7dias.com.do/portada/201...-tonelada-media-leche-polvo.html#.Wt21m9Pwa9s
US$7 billion more in imports than exports in 2017
2018 was declared the year for exports by the Medina administration with much work cut out for the country to improve the situation. Central Bank statistics reveal that imports in 2017 were US$17.7 billion, compared to US$10.1 billion in exports. Of the exports, US$5.5 billion were carried out by duty free export industries and US$1.7 by mining companies. Farm product exports reached US$641 million, with bananas accounting for US$277 million and raw cacao US$54.6 million.
Economist Pavel Isa says the stats show the country is lagging in exports, despite a 2.9% improvement when compared to 2016. "This reflects two things,” said the economist. “First, the reduced productive and competitive capacity of the Dominican Republic to penetrate international markets, but also the country’s diminished capacity to compete with imports in the domestic market," he highlighted. He said if the obstacles to production and competitiveness are not resolved, the country would continue to depend on tourism and remittances.
https://www.diariolibre.com/economi...-millones-mas-que-las-exportaciones-GE9688495
1
Transformer blowout leaves eastern Santo Domingo without water
The director of the Santo Domingo Water and Sewage Corporation (CAASD), Alejandro Montás said that the blowout of a 10,000 kilowatts transformer caused the collapse of the drinking water service in eastern Santo Domingo on Saturday, 21 April 2018. He said a mobile substation would provisionally restore the service with a mobile substation on Monday, 23 April 2018. By Tuesday or Wednesday, (24-25 April 2018) service should be restored with the installation of a new transformer. Montas said the CAASD is working with the Transmisión Eléctrica Dominicana (ETED) and EDEEste to resolve the serious problem.
More than 100 sectors in East Santo Domingo municipality were affected, including El Naranjo, San Luís, Sabaneta, Prado de San Luís, Buena Ventura I and II, Almirante La Caña, Almirante Solares, Corporánea, Almirante 1era, 2da, 3era and 4ta etapa, Villa Esfuerzo, Amalia, San Isidro, El Bonito, Fuerza Área, Villa Felicia, Invivienda, Nuevo Renacer, San José de Mendoza, Brisas del Este, Reyolí, Nancy Nadhecha, Brisa Oriental and Los Maestros.
Also Radiante Amanecer, Los Educadores, Prado Oriental, San Isidro Labrador, Regina, Nuevo Amanecer, Amarilis I, II, III and IV, la Moneda I and II, Paraíso Oriental, Mirador del Este, Franconía, El Rosal, Ivette, Italia, Savica, Barrio LA Esperanza, Oasis, Amanda I and II, Los Coquitos de Mendoza, Alma Rosa II, Mendoza, Vecinos Unidos, Los Trinitarios I and II, Issffapol, Villa Carmen, Ciudad de los Trabajadores, Eugenio María de Hostos, Las Estrellas, Juan Pablo Duarte, Arcoíris, Bello Campo, Los Tres Ojos, Invidorex, Hipódromo V Centenario, Villa Jerusalén, Agua Loca, Tropical del Este, Los Frailes, Cancela and La Ureña, among others.
https://acento.com.do/2018/actualid...ansformador-saca-servicio-acueducto-oriental/
Too much drinking in the DR, says government
Ruth Santana, director of the Centro de Atención Integral a las Dependencias (CAID), a government agency concerned with addictions, said that alcohol consumption in the Dominican Republic is at 6.9 liters per year, a level that makes the matter an issue for public health. The Ministry of Public Health division alerts to the “damaging impact alcohol consumption has, especially on youths and women, many of which are pregnant.”
"It is a situation that goes beyond the physical damage,” said Santana. She spoke of how the people around the drinker and society as a whole are also harmed. Santana made the remarks when participating in the workshop, “Importance of a Comprehensive National Policy on Alcohol Consumption” organized by the mental health division of the Ministry of Public Health with the sponsorship of the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) and with participation of alcoholic beverage companies in the Dominican Republic.
Dr. Santana called for the approval of a law on alcoholic beverages that would tackle the problem from a legal perspective, as well as full compliance with Transit Law 63-17, and Children’s Protection Law 136-03.
http://www.7dias.com.do/portada/201...ohol-republica-dominicana-litros-por-ano.html
Marcha Verde: Irregularities detected at Omsa are widespread in government
Marcha Verde civic movement argues that the mechanisms uncovered by a recent investigation into procurement practices at the Metropolitan Bus Service Office (Omsa) are not exclusive to that department and are frequently employed by government agencies across the board.
Marcha Verde says that the mafia and corruption structure uncovered at the Metropolitan Bus Service Office (Omsa) could be easily found in many other government institutions where the passive complicity of those responsible for government controls also prevails.
A Chamber of Accounts audit that was carried out after the murder of a lawyer who was investigating corruption at the Omsa warns that wasteful spending for more than RD$3 billion at the bus company from 2012-2016. Marcha Verde says this may be only part of the broad model of embezzlement prevalent in the state that allows for the financing of the political-electoral projects of the ruling Dominican Liberation Party (PLD).
Marcha Verde urged an investigation into officers at the Controller General Office and the Procurement Office to explain in detail how it is possible that for almost five years, officers of the Omsa were suppliers of the same entity. It also requests explanations for the duplication in the repairs for the same buses at the same workshops, the contracting of work to ghost workshops, and how the government authorized payments without minimum paperwork.
"The OMSA is only a symbol, a clear and powerful example of the way in which political crime is stealing the money that every Dominican citizen contributes through the payment of taxes, through our work and sacrifice, "said the movement.
Marcha Verde stated: "Whomever wants to live in a country where the institutions are at the service of the people and not thieves should know that this model of theft is installed throughout all the government and we have the duty to denounce and dismantle it, for the sake of our present, our future and that of our families.”
https://www.listindiario.com/la-rep...alado-en-numerosas-instituciones-del-gobierno
http://hoy.com.do/marcha-verde-advi...estaria-instalado-en-numerosas-instituciones/
Omsa suppliers sell to many other government entities
A report in Hoy indicates that suppliers that have been criticized for violating procurement best practices are privileged by payments in many government entities in addition to the Metropolitan Bus Services Office (Omsa). The news report gives details of several of the companies in their dealings with government entities. A recent Chamber of Account audit leaked to the press reveals major irregularities. The Controller Office has defended the purchases saying they were authorized by a government resolution that cleared direct purchasing in 2008.
According to the report in Hoy, 47 of the 73 companies that show up with irregularities in the Omsa audit have supplied at least another government institution and have received payments outside of regular procurement procedures.
The other government entities with ties to these companies are:
Dirección General de Comunicación (DICOM), Ministerio Administrativo de la Presidencia (MAPRE), Dirección General de Programas Especiales de la Presidencia (DIGEPEP), Liga Municipal Dominicana, Instituto Nacional de la Vivienda (INVI), Promesecal, Banco Central, Dirección General de Contrataciones Públicas and Dirección Nacional de Drogas.
These also sell to Centro de Exportación e Inversión de la República Dominicana (CEI-RD), Dirección General de Migración, Oficina de Ingenieros Supervisores de Obras del Estado (OISOE), Cámara de Diputados, Autoridad Portuaria Dominicana, Archivo General de la Nación (AGN), Proconsumidor, el Acuario Nacional, Senado, Fideicomiso RD Vial, Superintendencia de Pensiones (SIPEN), el Organismo Dominicano de Acreditación and Oficina para el Reordenamiento del Transporte (OPRET), Oficina Nacional de la Propiedad Intelectual (ONAPI), Junta Central Electoral (JCE), Consejo Nacional para la Niñez y la Adolescencia (CONANI), Dirección General de Aduanas, Dirección General de Desarrollo Fronterizo, Proindustria, Tribunal Constitucional and the Instituto Nacional de Educación Física.
Also Instituto Nacional de Aguas Potables y Alcantarillados (INAPA), Seguro Nacional de Salud (SENASA), Contraloría, la Corporación Dominicana de Empresas Eléctricas Estatales (CDEEE), Sistema Único de Beneficiarios, la Superintendencia de Bancos (SIB), Consejo del Poder Judicial, la Corporación del Acueducto y Alcantarillado de Santo Domingo (CAASD) and the Cámara de Cuentas.
Also the ministries of Foreign Relations, Industry & Commerce, Agriculture, Labor, Economy, Hacienda, Women, Public Health, Interior & Police, Environment.
http://hoy.com.do/mayoria-de-proveedores-omsa-hacen-mas-negocios-con-el-estado/
White Marlin Fishing Tournament in Punta Cana
Cabeza de Toro branch of the Santo Domingo Yacht Club will be hosting sport fishermen at the 53rd White Marlin Fishing Tournament this 26-29 April 2018. The event is organized by Daniel Medina. Santo Domingo Yacht Club Commodore Jose Luis Nunez said the 2018 tournament will welcome fishermen from Puerto Rico, Venezuela and the United States. Around 100 participants have registered.