The inter-institutional commission in charge of celebrations to commemorate the 500th anniversary of the founding of the city of Santo Domingo has announced that the activities organized for that important event will take place from March to December of this year. Metropolitan archbishop of Santo Domingo, Cardinal Nicolás de Jesús López Rodríguez, Mayor of Santo Domingo, Rafael Suberví Bonilla, the president of the Presidential Culture commission, Victor Victor and the president of the Oficina de Patrimonio Cultural, the cultural heritage office, Manuel Delmonte, said that the activities will climax on 5 August, the date that commemorates the foundation of the city. Commemorative activities begin this month and will include a contest to choose a song for Santo Domingo, children and adult painting contests focusing on the Colonial City, art exhibitions, music concerts, and drama presentations centered around Calle El Conde, the pedestrian mall adjacent to the Colonial City. In one of the exhibitions, archaeological findings of the original materials dating back to the foundation of the city in 1498 will be shown. A photography contest on the city of Santo Domingo is also scheduled. Also participating in the organization of the 500th anniversary celebrations is the Ministry of Tourism, the Ministry of Sports, the Columbus Lighthouse, the Association of Businesses of Calle El Conde, the Museum of Dominican Man, the Museum of Modern Art, the Dominican Academy of History, the Dominican Republic Library, the Dominican Postal Institute, the Dominican chapter of the International Council for Monuments and Sites, the Central Bank, the Banco de Reservas and the National Symphony Orchestra Foundation, among others.
