The S.S Aida is expected to begin berthing at the port of Santo Domingo from 8 October, bringing approximately 1,400 tourists to the first city in the Americas every week. The ship will use the port as its Caribbean base. It is expected to inaugurate the new facilities of the Port of Santo Domingo, renovated at a cost of more than RD$100 million, and expected to be fully operational by mid-November. The tourists will fly in from Germany and then begin their Caribbean cruise.
Musician Jose Antonio Molina is contributing to the good name of the country abroad. Son of Papa Molina, one of the best Dominican orchestra conductors of all times, and Josefina Molina, who has dedicated her life to folk dancing, he was recently named conductor of the Greater Palm Beach Symphony Orchestra, and will be spending many weeks in Florida.
The 36 year old pianist and composer was invited to Florida by a resident Dominican ophthalmologist who, upon hearing the musical arrangement Molina had prepared for a Juan Luís Guerra piece, “Cuando te beso,” contacted him and asked him to try his luck in Florida. Jose Molina has performed with Luciano Pavarotti (Pavarotti and Friends Concert in Rome), and he directed the Orchestra of Gloria Estefan in the Vatican, televised to millions of Europeans. He has also performed with Liza Minnelli, Elton John, Eric Clapton, Joan Osborne, Raul Di Blasio, Jon Secada, Alejandro Fernández, among others.