Claudine Bonó, chosen to represent the Dominican Republic in the Festival de la OTI 13-14 in San José, Costa Rica, is the talk of the town. Bonó will perform, "Me Levanto," lyrics by Manuel Jiménez and musical arrangements by Manuel Tejada. Last week, she visited Minister of Tourism Felix Jiménez seeking that department’s sponsorship for her participation in the festival, one of the most important in Latin America. The Listín Diario reported that she felt humiliated by Minister Jiménez’s response to her request. Bonó said that he offered her only US$1,000 for her to distribute brochures on the country among the audience of the festival. And he demanded that she sing the ballad, and then told her she didn’t have a chance. The minister was married to Maridalia Hernández, one of the best Dominican singers of all times. He has not told the press his version. Adriano Rodríguez, representative of the Organización de Televisión Iberoamericana said that the Minister asked him to request the site of the event for Santo Domingo next year.
