President Danilo Medina has congratulated Dominican-American author Julia Alvarez on being awarded the National Medal of Arts, presented by the United States President Barack Obama on Monday, 28 July 2014.
In a letter to the novelist from himself and the Dominican Government, Medina said that it was in recognition of her contribution to the world of literature and wished her more and more success in the future.
The Dominican novelist, poet and essayist was recognized for her outstanding contributions to the excellence, growth, support, and availability of the arts in the United States. This is the highest award given to artists and arts patrons by the US government. Julia Alvarez was honored for her “extraordinary storytelling”. Alvarez rose to prominence with the novels “How The Garcia Girls Lost Their Accents,” “In the Time of the Butterflies,” and “Yo!”
http://presidencia.gov.do/comunicados/presidente-medina-felicita-julia-%C3%A1lvarez-por-premio-en-estados-unidos