DR1 Daily News - Thursday, 15 December 2016

Dolores1

DR1
May 3, 2000
8,215
37
48
www.
Tripartite agreement with Haiti and USA
Environment to close Valle Nuevo National Park
Senate approved changes to 2016 budget
Penal Code with abortion clauses approved in Senate
Credits approved to complete second line of Metro
Los Tres Brazos property sale investigated by Congress
CMD and ARS at odds
DR economy has highest growth rate in LAC
World Bank study shows real salaries are lower than 2003
World Bank study calls for improving public services
Dominican coffee may not be Dominican
Government officials “had money in bankrupt funds”
Bernardo Vega: Should the DR take on more loans?
AG sends prosecutors to US
Peravia case defendant offers RD$100 million deal
V?ctor Masalles is the new Bishop of Ban?
Singer Carlos Silver goes for Guinness Record
Baseball Tournament 2016
Jazz Nights in the Colonial City
Fiesta Sunset Jazz: UNPHU and Brazilian ensembles
Christmas concert at Centro Cultural Mirador



Tripartite agreement with Haiti and USA
During his talk at the American Chamber of Commerce on Wednesday, 14 December 2016, Minister of Foreign Relations Miguel Vargas spoke of the importance of the recently signed DR-Haiti-Texas tripartite cooperation agreement to create a bi-national committee to modernize the border. The deal was agreed during a meeting in Laredo, Texas with delegations of legislators and authorities from the Dominican Republic and Haiti.

Vargas explained that the initiative covers trade facilitation with Haiti, strengthening the border and promoting bi-national companies that can contribute to economic development and migratory issues. He said it included the construction of three hospitals with international cooperation that will serve as a sanitary barrier for epidemics that can spread across from Haiti.

He pointed out that the lessons that can be learned from the Laredo experience. Laredo is the largest land port of entry in the Western Hemisphere with commercial traffic of over US$1 billion each day.

The Minister added that as part of the agreement, Texas International University in Laredo would provide technical coordination for the program at the Dominican border with Haiti.

As reported in the press, the Ministry of Foreign Relations and the American Chamber of Commerce signed another cooperation agreement to establish public and private alliances in order to strengthen foreign trade and support the country’s development.

Vargas also announced that talks are underway with Cuba. He said that a Cuban mission will be visiting the DR in the first quarter of 2017 to kick start the process towards a Partial Scope Trade Agreement to be signed with Cuba, similar to the agreement that the Dominican Republic has with Panama.

http://eldia.com.do/canciller-miguel-vargas-anuncia-la-firma-de-acuerdo-tripartito-en-laredo-texas/
http://www.diariolibre.com/economia...an-acuerdo-para-modernizar-frontera-NC5730249


Environment to close Valle Nuevo National Park
During a press conference on 14 December 2016, Minister of Environment Francisco Dominguez Brito told Diario Libre reporters that the Ministry’s most recent study in Valle Nuevo found that three groups of people are farming illegally inside the National Park: “many of them earning millions, with homes both here (Santo Domingo) and mansions there; we’re not talking about poor people.”

He told reporters: “Remember that we don’t have to take anybody out of the park because they are not there. They live on Av. Anacaona, or in Arroyo Hondo or in Santiago... The only thing we are going to do is not let them back into the park.”*According to the study some 4,000 Haitians are working inside the National Park.

The Minister says that the farmers are divided into three categories according to how much land they are cultivating. A total of 237 small farmers are cultivating under 50 tareas (a little more than 8 acres). Most of them live in Santo Domingo or Constanza and a small group lives inside the National Park. Then there are 58 medium-scale farmers who work between 51 and 100 tareas, and the Ministry says they live in Constanza and Santo Domingo although a few might also live inside the National Park. There are 75 large farms covering areas of more than 100 tareas.

The minister reiterated that no Dominican would go hungry together with their families because of this decision. If a solution needs to be found for some of them, some could choose to work with the Ministry in their reforestation programs.

When he was questioned regarding the number of families, perhaps based on the rumor that nearly 20,000 families were affected by the plan to close access to the park, Dominguez Brito said there are 409 farmers and that the total of 20,000 families was misinformation that was spread by the large farmers with the aim of preventing the Ministry from carrying out its work plan.

The Ministry has banned food farming in the protected area on grounds that priority needs to be given to the water sources that originate in the area.


Senate approved changes to 2016 budget
The Senate approved urgent legislation needed to modify 2016 National Budget Law 260-15 on Wednesday, 14 December 2016. The legislation was submitted by President Danilo Medina to reassign RD$11.8 billion to several government institutions.

The legislation is aimed at transferring RD$4.65 billion to the electricity sector for spending on the new coal-fired generating plant the government is building at Punta Catalina in the southwestern province of Peravia (Ban?). The legislation also proposes substituting internal financing sources for the budget by means of bond emissions on the local market for some RD$7.15 billion.

The legislation addresses a shortfall in estimated income from state collections and the bill points out that the changes will not affect the fulfillment of public policy.

Opposition senators Jos? Ignacio Paliza (PRM-Puerto Plata) and Jos? Hazim Frapier (PRSC-San Pedro de Macor?s) criticized the legislation saying that the persistent practice of indebtedness was going to lead the country “to cry tears of blood.”


Penal Code with abortion clauses approved in Senate
On Wednesday, 14 December 2016 the Senate approved the controversial Penal Code with the same strong abortion penalties that had led the President Danilo Medina to veto the bill in 2014. The Senate said that a special abortion law could be voted on later.*

The code was approved with a quorum of 19 senators out of 32. The session opened with the attendance of 25 legislators. The senators approved modifications to the bill that had been sent from the Executive Branch in 2014 when it was vetoed. The code increases the maximum jail term to 60 years.

During the same session, the senators approved a provision for the governmental BanReservas to lend RD$1.2 billion to city governments that have spent the funds they had been assigned for the 2016 Christmas wage.

During the same session, the senators approved the amendment to the 2016 National Budget to reassign RD$11.8 billion among several government institutions.

http://eldia.com.do/senado-aprueba-el-codigo-sin-aborto/


Credits approved to complete second line of Metro
The Chamber of Deputies has approved international financing for the extension of the second line of the Santo Domingo Metro that is under construction for EUR124.4 million. The second line will link eastern and western Santo Domingo across the Ozama River. The Chamber of Deputies approved credit lines for more than EUR74 million and a commercial loan for EUR49.8 million.

http://eldia.com.do/diputados-aprueban-lineas-de-creditos-para-concluir-segunda-linea-del-metro/


Los Tres Brazos property sale investigated by Congress
The Chamber of Deputies Contracts Commission chairman H?ctor F?lix says that an investigation is underway to establish whether the sale of the Dominican State Enterprises Corporation (Corde) property (910,054 square meters belonging to the closed F?brica Dominicana de Calzados) in Los Tres Brazos to Fern?ndez Parach? y Asociados (Infepa) was approved in Congress as is mandatory. He explained that the sale of any government property costing more than 200 minimum wages (around RD$1.2 million) requires congressional approval.

On Wednesday, 14 December 2016, El Dia newspaper broke the story that the site of a former government shoe manufacturing plant had been sold for RD$72 million, or approximately RD$80 per meter in 2010. The sales contract established that a first payment of RD$3.6 million would be made to the government on 10 August 2016, another of RD$3.6 million 90 days after the first payment, and a third payment for RD$28.8 million 75 days later. A final payment of RD$36 million would be made 120 days after that.

The site was sold despite having been occupied by hundreds of families and businesses for over 30 years. Nevertheless, they do not have property titles. The deal with Corde was that the purchaser of the site would subsequently sell the land to the families so they could legalize their ownership status. The families are complaining that they are being sold each meter for RD$1,500. The law in the Dominican Republic enables families who can demonstrate having held possession of government property for 20 years or more to apply for ownership by completing a costly legal procedure.

Santo Domingo East city councilors Alexander Heredia, Julio Decamps and Fe Maria Vicente criticized the deal and demanded that the government annul the contract returning any funds paid to the company.

El D?a reported that the Titulatec company, designated as the contract holders to the land of Los Tres Brazos, has already secured around 1,000 people interested in regularizing their status. Ynes G?mez of Titulatec says that around 500 families have already been granted their property titles. She said they were resolving a community problem.

http://eldia.com.do/el-gobierno-abre-investigacion-venta-terrenos-los-tres-brazos/
http://eldia.com.do/los-tres-brazos-cedidos-por-rd72-millones-a-empresa/


CMD and ARS at odds
Doctors who are not members of the Health Risk Administrators (ARS = HMO in the DR) service providers network cannot write prescriptions for medicines or laboratory tests because they will not be dispatched by pharmacies or laboratories, according to the Dominican Association of Health Risk Administrators (ADARS).

This warning from Adars president Jos? Manuel Vargas was made in a press release on 14 December 2016 stating that under Law 87-01 the ARS are obliged to create a network of health service providers according to the number of affiliates in the area where they live and work.

Vargas said that the ARS are holding discussions with the Dominican Medical Association (CMD) but that they will not allow the ARS to agree to allow unaffiliated doctors to write prescriptions.

On the question of the increase in doctors’ fees, the Adars president said that they had worked towards resolving many of the issues during a meeting with Dr. Waldo Ariel Suero, the president of the CMD. He said that when there is any disagreement concerning a doctor’s invoice it will be analyzed and discussed at a meeting in order to reach an agreement. Vargas said that the Adars agrees with the concept of an increase in the fees paid for medical outpatient consults, but this has to be decided by the CNSS and Sisalril.


DR economy has highest growth rate in LAC
According to the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) the Latin American and Caribbean countries will close 2016 in a 1.1% recession. However, the organization is forecasting a 1.3% growth rate for next year, pushed by growth in the Dominican Republic and Panama. Venezuela and Trinidad & Tobago led the fall in GDP this year with decreases of 9.7% and 4.5% respectively.

ECLAC reports that the Dominican Republic will be the country with the highest growth, at 6.4%, according to the Preliminary Overview of the Economies of Latin America and the Caribbean released by the United Nations agency.

Going over the balance sheet for 2016, the agency stated that after two consecutive years of contraction, the region has reached “a turning point.” However, ECLAC executive secretary Alicia Barcena, who presented the Preliminary Overview of the Latin American and Caribbean Economies 2016 in Chile on 14 December 2016, said: “Latin America and the Caribbean will resume growth but moderately and without clear engines driving it. Its recovery will be fragile as long as the uncertainties of the economic context continue, particularly the recently observed protectionist trends. For this reason, resuming the path of regional growth requires much caution and a reversal of the investment process dynamic, which will demand a significant mobilization of financial resources.”

The report shows the Dominican Republic, Panama, Nicaragua and Antigua & Barbuda as the best performing economies in the region. In contrast, Surinam (-10.4%), Venezuela (-9.7%), Trinidad & Tobago (-4.5%) and Brazil (-3.6%) were the worst performers. For the Dominican Republic, ECLAC sees a slight decrease from this year’s 6.4% growth, but the 6.2% predicted is still the highest in the region.

http://www.cepal.org/en/pressreleas...me-subdued-growth-2017-amid-uncertainty-about
http://www.cepal.org/en/node/40310


World Bank study shows real salaries are lower than 2003
A study released by the World Bank says that the good economic growth in the Dominican Republic has contributed to sustained reductions in poverty and improved equality. However the report contains the caveat that the improvements were less than expected. The international agency points out that this fact is recognized in the National Development Strategy (END). The study says “the real salaries in the DR are lower than before the banking crisis of 2003, with the 60% wealthiest earning about 2.5 times the salary of the poorest 40% in 2015.”

The study also shows that between 2000 and 2015 the real salaries of the poorest 40% fell by 8% and by 16.3% for the richest 60%. Altogether, real salaries fell by more than 30% between 2000 and 2004, partly because of 42.7% inflation in 2003 and 28.7% inflation in 2004. Inflation between 2004 and 2015 was pegged at 34% for the poorest 40% and 25% for the richest 60% during the same period.


World Bank study calls for improving public services
A World Bank sponsored study on Fiscal Policy and Redistribution in the Dominican Republic presented on Tuesday, 12 December 2016 at the Presidential Palace states that any increase in the ITBIS tax beyond its current 18% level would be regressive. At the same time the study points out that public spending on social services and infrastructure in the country is insufficient and ineffective.

World Bank vice president for Latin America and the Caribbean, Jorge Familiar was in the Dominican Republic for a two-day visit starting on Monday, 12 December 2016. He met with national authorities on future contributions aimed at reducing extreme poverty.

The study concludes: “Going forward, the challenge is to increase revenue collection without affecting the poor and vulnerable, while improving public service delivery.”

The report found that that so far, the fiscal system achieves intermediate levels of inequality reduction through direct and indirect taxation, transfers and subsidies, and it generates very little horizontal inequality. It concludes that enhancing the quality of public services would be a priority in the Dominican Republic, as it would not only help achieving social outcomes, but also improve citizen trust in institutions, which could ultimately lead towards formalization of economic activity and improved revenue collection.

http://www.commitmentoequity.org/pu...tribution in the Dominican Republic_final.pdf
http://www.diariolibre.com/noticias...el-pais-es-ineficiente-e-inefectivo-GF5722118
http://www.diariolibre.com/economia...el-pais-es-ineficiente-e-inefectivo-GF5722118


Dominican coffee may not be Dominican
That coffee you are drinking in the Dominican Republic may well be imported. The National Confederation of Dominican Coffee Producers (Concafed) said that the country has gone from being a major coffee exporter to importing 67% of its own 700,000 quintals consumption. Concafed said that the 2016-2017 harvest would be under 250,000 quintals.

Concafed blamed the situation on the failure to focus public policies on small producers. He said in the 2017 National Budget, the Dominican Coffee Council (Codocafe) was only assigned RD$283 million of which 97% will go to current spending.

He said this leaves the entity without the capacity to define policies that can benefit more than 30,000 producers whose farms have been devastated by the coffee rust disease and need to be recovered.

The remarks will made in a press conference called on Tuesday, 12 December 2016, with the representation from the Federaci?n de Caficultores de la Regi?n Sur (Fedecares), Federaci?n de Caficultores de San Juan (FecadesiJ), Uni?n de Asociaciones Caficultores del Norte (Unacafen), Asociaci?n de Caficultores de Villa Trina, Articulaci?n Nacional Campesina (ANC) and the Instituto de Desarrollo de la Econom?a Asociativa (IDEAC).

The producers say that the situation is worse because the government allows the dominant company to monopolize and control more than 90% of the national coffee market and is in a position to define prices, volumes, quality and even the coffee policies according to its own business interests, in violation of Codocafe Law 79-00.

The coffee producers blamed this monopoly situation and the poor national coffee policies, including the lack of funding to Codocafe for research.

http://elnacional.com.do/revelan-el-pais-importa-67-del-cafe-que-consume/


Government officials “had money in bankrupt funds”
Many of the investors who lost hundreds of thousands of pesos in the recently reported collapse of non-regulated finance companies may have been laundering their money through these businesses. An investigation by Hoy newspaper has found that the victims of these “bankruptcies” have not been complaining because some hold positions in government and would not be able to justify the millions that were not declared.

The newspaper mentions several cases:
Financiera Propiherbun. Most of the investors in this financial entity that operated internally as part of the Banco Providencial have not complained and this could be because they hold government positions. The bank belongs to the former chief of the Armed Forces, retired Major General Iv?n Aquiles Hern?ndez Oleaga. A court has ordered preventive measures.

Financiera Bergar. With 12 branches located nationwide, it had deposits exceeding RD$500 million affecting mostly Italian depositors. Its president is a fugitive of justice.

Financiera Men?ndez. Ana Iris Acosta Garc?a claims a loss of around RD$2 million in deposits after the finance company’s president C?sar Mel?ndez died and his relatives do not want to return her money and have only offered her a used luxury vehicle.

http://hoy.com.do/en-estafa-de-financieras-habrian-funcionarios-no-se-querellan/


Bernardo Vega: Should the DR take on more loans?
Writing in Hoy, former Central Bank governor Bernardo Vega analyzes the issue of public borrowing in foreign currency. He makes five observations and then shares his conclusions with his readers.

First, he mentions that the delayed release of the International Monetary Fund report (IMF) that acknowledges that there still is borrowing capacity when comparing debt/GDP in other Central American countries. The IMF, nevertheless, suggests that a greater portion of the debt should be in local currency and not in US dollars.

Second, he remarks that Fitch and other risk rating agencies have reported improved ratings for the country, which would make it cheaper to take on foreign debt.

Third, a reference to statements by opposition leader Luis Abinader against taking additional foreign debt when explaining that the focus needs to be on the proportion of tax revenues that need to be dedicated to repaying capital and debt interests, which in the case of the Dominican Republic is very high.

ourth, the analysis by journalist Juan Bol?var D?az who said that President Medina has opted for the alternative of taking on new debt when presenting a budget deficit for the 11th time, without previously having negotiated a fiscal pact that would have generated more tax revenue and made it possible to take on less debt, or tackling a reduction in government spending. He points out that the government prefers not to confront the business sector and instead will borrow abroad, taking advantage of its control of Congress.

Fifth, the recent statement by Administrative Minister Jos? Ram?n Peralta that the fiscal pact will happen but only after the electric pact is negotiated, implying that perhaps not all the borrowing approved by Congress will be used. There is talk that there is a harmonized position in the public electricity sector and the electric pact will soon be negotiated.

Vega writes:*“But it is one thing to borrow from the IDB, the World Bank or the USAID and another to sell sovereign bonds. Under the first operations, the resources are tendered, supervised, transparent and used only for investment projects. The funds generated by sovereign bonds, on the contrary, can be used for current spending, the excessive public payroll, for example, without any transparency. The sovereign bonds are paid for at commercial rates, in contrast with the PetroCaribe funds, which are no longer available. The time will come when the deferral of the expiration date of the bonds can be rolled over, but at a higher cost.

Vega comments that our Ministers of Hacienda do not like to borrow in pesos because these loans are subject to a higher interest rate. They know that borrowing in pesos does not carry an exchange risk but are also aware that this would benefit the next minister. The Central Bank does not like them because there is no inflow of hard currency. The multiple banks and pension funds like the bonds in pesos for their high yields until the day comes when the Hacienda Ministry may declare the country cannot pay them, which has happened in the past.

Vega makes his recommendation:*“Danilo Medina, as a good PLD party member, should slow down foreign debt taking for the good of his party. The possibilities that in 2020, an election year, the bomb of foreign indebtedness could explode when the risk classification of the country may decline coinciding with difficult international times could mean the PLD will lose those elections.”

He continues: “Danilo Medina’s political-economic model is unsustainable in the medium-term: excess payroll, excess government entities, low tax collection levels, high indebtedness at commercial rates and enormous losses for not charging for electricity provided.” He says there is also too much uncertainly in the world today to think that gold prices will not decline, or that oil will not go up, and that tourism and remittances receipts will continue the same. “Mexico and Central America are preparing for Trump, but here we keep on thinking we are living in another world,” he concludes.

http://hoy.com.do/debemos-seguir-endeudandonos/


AG sends prosecutors to US
Attorney General Jean-Alain Rodr?guez revealed on Wednesday, 14 December 2016 that he had sent Dominican prosecutors to the United States carry out an in-depth investigation on the alleged bribery of Dominican legislators who sought to obtain the approval of the loan that was taken out for purchasing the Super Tucano aircraft. The US Department of Justice took on the case after claims that bribery was involved in securing exports for the Brazilian company.

Rodr?guez said that he does not rule out the possibility of requesting the return of the money allegedly sent to this country to obtain the approval of the loan for the aircraft by the Brazilian aircraft manufacturer Embraer from the company itself.

Interviewed on the Hoy Mismo program on Channel 9 on Wednesday, 14 December 2016, the Attorney General said that he would do what he has to do based on evidence and proof in order to guarantee that justice is done in this case as well as the case involving the Odebrecht construction company. He said that if he has to order the construction of 10 new jails for these two cases he would order them built in order to house the guilty.


Peravia case defendant offers RD$100 million deal
One of the people indicted in the Peravia Bank fraud case is currently a fugitive in Puerto Rico and is negotiating with the District Attorney of the National District and the monetary authorities.

According to El Nacional newspaper, Rolando Cabral Veras is offering RD$100 million to avoid preventive custody in the case, and at the same time collaborate with the Justice Department in the process against the other people indicted on charges of fraud, money laundering, falsifying documents, criminal association and violations of the Monetary and Financial Law to the tune of RD$2 billion.

A source told El Nacional newspaper of the deal and it was confirmed by Cesar Amadeo Peralta, the legal representative for a group of businesspeople who claim to have been defrauded by the Peravia Bank.

The lawyer for Cabral Veras, Ulises Bonnelly, told El Nacional on Wednesday, 14 December 2016 that his client would be coming to the country next week but refused to give further details. Cabral Veras is currently working in Puerto Rico with the brother, Miguel, on their parking business as well as other business interests in Florida.


V?ctor Masalles is the new Bishop of Ban?
Pope Francis has appointed Monsignor V?ctor Masalles as the new bishop of the Diocese of Ban?. The position had been vacant since April 2015 when Monsignor Freddy Bret?n was appointed Archbishop of Santiago replacing retiring Monsignor Ram?n Benito de la Rosa y Carpio.

Masalles has been serving as auxiliary bishop in the Santo Domingo archdiocese since 2010. He was also the director of Televida, the Roman Catholic Church TV station and in charge of the San Jos? de Calazans parish in Cuesta Hermosa, Arroyo Hondo.

At 50 years of age, Masalles is the youngest cleric to be appointed a bishop in the Dominican Republic. Although he was born in Barcelona, Spain, but his parents relocated to Santo Domingo when he was a child and he has lived in the Dominican Republic for most of his life.

In a press release, the Apostolic Nunciature, the Holy See’s diplomatic mission in Santo Domingo, also announced the appointment of Fr. Carlos Tom?s Morel Dipl?n as auxiliary bishop in Santiago de los Caballeros.

http://eldia.com.do/victor-masalles-es-el-nuevo-obispo-de-bani/
http://acento.com.do/2016/actualida...ictor-masalles-nuevo-obispo-la-diocesis-bani/


Singer Carlos Silver goes for Guinness Record
Singer Carlos Silver is on the last day in his quest to set a Guinness Record for the longest singing marathon. His plan is to sing non-stop until 10pm on Thursday, 15 December 2016, completing four days and nine hours. The 105-hour record, held by Sunil Waghmare of India, was set in 2012.

Carlos Silver has set up shop in a glass enclosure within the Sambil shopping mall on Av. John F. Kennedy in Santo Domingo.

http://eldia.com.do/artista-dominicano-busca-record-guinness-lleva-tres-dias-cantando-sin-parar/
http://eldia.com.do/carlos-silver-esta-cansado-pero-optimista-y-alegre/


Baseball Tournament 2016
With just 22 games left in the regular season of the 2016 Dominican Professional Baseball Championship, all six teams still have a chance to enter the round robin phase that is limited to the top four teams.

The 2015 champions, the Gigantes Del Cibao continue to lead the standings and are “almost” guaranteed a spot in the semifinals.

The bloodiest fight will be between the Toros Del Este, currently at the bottom of the standings and the Leones Del Escogido, in fifth place, and the Estrellas Orientales who are in fourth place at the start of Wednesday, 14 December 2016 games.

In the 14 December games, the Aguilas Cibae?as enjoyed a walkoff sacrifice fly by Jonathan Villar in his first game in this year’s championship, and scoring Ynoa from third base, defeating the Leones Del Escogido by a score of 3-2. This marks yet another three-game winning streak for the Aguilas, just the second time this season. The Leones opened up a 2-0 after the first two innings but the Aguilas came back to tie the score in the seventh inning.

In La Romana, the Toros Del Este kept their hopes of classifying for the semifinal rounds of games alive by defeating the league-leading Gigantes del Cibao by a score of 7-4. The win holds a four-game losing streak and gives the Toros some possibility although small, of making the semifinals. Raul Valdez pitched six complete shutout innings as the Toros took eight 6-0 lead after three innings. The Gigantes tried to come back with three runs in the seventh inning and added another run in the eighth, but fell short.

At the close of this edition, the Tigres Del Licey were leading the Estrellas Orientales by a score of 1-0 in a game that was the delayed by rain.

In a good news story for Dominican fans, Red Sox slugger Hanley Ram?rez announced he would play for the Tigres del Licey to help the team that has won a league-record 23 championships. His stint in the DR will serve as a warm up for the World Baseball Classic that kicks off in March 2017, and in which Ram?rez will be playing to help the DR defend its 2013 title in international tournament. Ram?rez had one of his best seasons ever hitting .286 with 30 home runs.

Thursday’s games have the Leones playing a doubleheader – perhaps the first of the season – in San Francisco do Macoris against the Gigantes del Cibao. The first game begins at 3pm and the second game is scheduled to start at 7:30 p.m. and in the other Macor?s, San Pedro, the Tigres Del Licey will be playing the Estrellas Orientales.

Standings:*
Gigantes (23-18), Licey (22-19, half a game behind), Aguilas (23-20, 1 game behind), Estrellas (21-21, 1 game behind), Escogido (19-23, 3.5 games behind), Toros (18-25, 5 games behind).*

To follow the Dominican Professional Winter Baseball Championship, see http://www.lidom.com


Jazz Nights in the Colonial City
On Thursday evenings, Josean Jacobo & Tumbao will be playing jazz with special guests at the steps leading from Calle El Conde down to the Avenida del Puerto in Santo Domingo. Jazz music will be mixed with Caribbean and African beats – plena, rhumba, son, pambiche, mozambiche, merengue and samba. The jazz nights start in December and will continue on Thursdays through April. The event is sponsored by the Ministry of Tourism and its part of the Colonial City Animation Program (PFTCC).


Fiesta Sunset Jazz: UNPHU and Brazilian ensembles
This Friday, 16 December 2016 the rooftop nightclub of the Dominican Fiesta Hotel in the Mirador Park in Santo Domingo is presenting the UNPHU Latin Jazz Ensemble and the Brasileiro Jazz Ensemble directed by Gabriel Parra and Tadeu de Marco. Free admission. From 8:30pm.


Christmas concert at Centro Cultural Mirador
Jazz Christmas 2016 will be happening at the Mecenas Caf? at the Centro Cultural Mirador in Santo Domingo. The center is next door to the Meson de la Cava restaurant and nightspot. Performances by jazz vocalist Anthony Jefferson with pianist, composer and arranger Corey Allen and the Sabrina Estepan and Oscar Micheli jazz group. This is a production by Guido Despradel. Music starts from 8pm.

For information on upcoming events:
http://www.dr1.com/calendar


Archived News stories:
http://dr1.com/forums/forumdisplay.p...-Headline-News

Archived Travel News stories:
http://dr1.com/forums/forumdisplay.p...p-Tourism-News
 

CristoRey

Welcome To Wonderland
Apr 1, 2014
11,717
7,977
113
Tripartite agreement with Haiti and USA..
Level of vigilance equals level of pay for border patrol.
Expect to see very little of either.