Although there have long been nongovernmental events and unofficial governmental observations of the anniversary of the 1965 war that eventually led to U.S. intervention, never before has the Dominican Government sponsored a series of official events to commemorate the anniversary. The move to do so this time caught many by surprise, and the schedule was only just released last night by a Presidential Commission on national events, with many details not yet provided. According to the sketchy official program released, tomorrow, Friday April 23rd, all schools will have talk sessions with the students on the general theme of "Content and Dimensions of the War of April 1965." Then at 8:00 pm, a guitar performance led by guitarist Manuel Jiménez, will be held at the Fine Arts Palace (Palacio de Bellas Artes) on the theme of the war. Saturday, April 24th, 300 copies of René Fortunado’s documentary film, "Abril, la Trinchera del Honor," will be distributed 9-10:00 am at the Copello building in the Colonial Zone’s El Conde sector. This building was where the government of Colonel Francisco Alberto Caamaño Deñó was set up during the conflict. At 10 am there will be a memorial mass presided over by Cardinal Nicolás de Jesús Rodríguez at the Catedral Primada de América for all those killed during the war.
