National District Mayor David Collado and Culture Minister Eduardo Selman reopened the plaza dedicated to Fray Antonio de Montesino (1480-1540), the first human rights defender of indigenous people in the Americas. The moving ceremony held on the sea-fronting Malecón plaza remembered Fray Antonio de Montesino for his December 1511 sermon when he denounced abuses of the Spanish colonizers against the natives of the island. “The city hears again the cry of freedom of the Sermon of Montesinos that today is perceived in the voices of those who feared walking on the sidewalks around this monument,” said Mayor Collado speaking at the inauguration.
Mayor Collado said RD$24 million were invested in roof waterproofing, new windows, air-conditioning, rebuilding of restrooms, paving the terrace, polishing marble floors and stairs, and implementation of access ramps for people with disabilities. Access roads were rebuilt, space was added for parking, security systems were installed. Landscaping and recovery of the adjacent beach area were also part of the renovations.
The monument opens to the general public as of Friday, 28 June 2019. The plaza will now have five rooms for cultural activities, and a large terrace that overlooks the Caribbean Sea.
Speaking at the inauguration, Mayor Collado said the monument is a symbol of the city of Santo Domingo. He thanked the Ministry of Culture and the Mexican Embassy. The 15-meter tall statue was donated in 1982 by the government of Mexico under then-President Jose Lopez Portillo.
Businessman and history patron Manuel García Arévalo, of the Dominican Academy of History, and Culture Minister Eduardo Selman spoke at the event highlighting the importance of the monument. The monument now will be under the governorship of a public-private management committee, head by Rosanna Rivera.
Other government officers present at the inauguration were Defense Minister Lieutenant General Rubén Darío Paulino Sem; the president of the Constitutional Court (TC) Milton Ray Guevara; the Dominican Port Authority director, Víctor Gómez Casanova; historian Juan Daniel Balcácer, who presides the governmental Permanent Commission for Patriotic Anniversaries; and the president of the National Drug Control Agency (DNCD), Vice Admiral Félix Alburquerque Comprés. Also participating were business sector people Juan B. Vicini; Ligia Bonetti; the executive vice president of the Dominican Republic Association of Industries (AIRD), Circe Almánzar; Fernando Capellán, Juan José Arteaga and Servio Tulio Castaños, executive vice president of the Foundation for Institutionalism and Justice (Finjus).
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Hoy
26 June 2019