Somewhere in Santiago

 

Weekend Winner

The representative of Duarte province (San Francisco de Macorís), 24-year old 5'11 Carmen Muñoz Guzmán was crowned Miss Dominican Republic by her predecessor Sal García during a gala that for the first time took place outside of Santo Domingo. The stage of the Gran Teatro Cibao in Santiago was chosen this time to host the contest. 37 women competed for the grand prize, the right to represent the Dominican Republic in the Miss Universe 2017 scheduled to take place in Phoenix, Arizona, USA on 26 November 2017.

The first runner up was Lytza Sofía Álvarez di Crestana from Santo Domingo East, who won the right to compete in Miss United Continents 2017. The second runner up was Jeisy Lucía Rodríguez Estévez, who will represent the country in the Reina Hispanoamérica 2017 pageant. Fourth place went to Zaidy Bello, representing Barahona, who was chosen Miss Quisqueya.

Other awards that event went to Mayelin de la Cruz from La Vega, who won the best reality show, Lytza Alvarez of Santo Domingo East, who won the best typical dress, created by designer Leonel Lirio. Kassandra Montandón, of the National District, won the "best body” award. Jennifer Daniel of Independencia province won the title for the "best smile” and Lorenne de Oleo from Elías Piña was voted Miss Communication.

The favorites of the public were
Zaidy Bello, representing Barahona; Alicia Restituyo, representing La Vega; Dharla Bodden for San Juan de la Maguana; Carmen Muñoz de la for Duarte province and Jeysi Rodríguez, from the host city, Santiago.

https://www.metrord.do/do/entretenci...erso-2017.html

Food & Fun

Picnic at the Botanical Gardens The Santo Domingo National Botanical Gardens has organized "El Picnic,” a family day with food trucks, electronic music, art and other cultural attractions for 19 and 20 November 2016. The organizers have announced that DJs Poteleche, Marcos Cabrera, Bubu Vega, Ugo, Bob Hache and Heff Huffner will be playing the music. From 11am. Admission is RD$250 adults, and children enter free of charge.

Street Food Festival in Santiago
Food trucks will be bringing a variety of food to Santiago's Jardín Cabrera Vidal on 3 and 4 December.


For information on upcoming events:http://www.dr1.com/calendar

DR JAZZ FESTIVAL

Now in its 19th year, the Dominican Republic Jazz Festival promises five nights of free concerts 4-8 November in Santiago, Puerto Plata, Sosua and Cabarete. Confirmed artists for 2015 include international jazz players David Sanchez Quartet and John Patitucci, and the Pedrito Martinez Group. From the Dominican Republic, Pengbian Sang and Retro Jazz, and Manuel Tejada will be playing, as well as Josean Jacobo, Javier Vargas and the Big Band of the Santo Domingo Music Conservatory. Marco Pignataro and Matt Marvuglio of the Berklee Global Jazz Institute will also be playing.
This year the festival will pay tribute to saxophone players Juan Colon, Crispin Fernandez and Sandy Gabriel.
The event is sponsored by the Ministry of Tourism.

The CNN List

CNN recently featured a gallery of 20 beautiful places for people to put on their list of attractions to visit in the Dominican Republic. Their selection included:
Northeast: Moron and Rincon beaches in Samana, and El Limon Waterfall and Los Haitises National Park.
Puerto Plata: The cable car to Mount Isabel de Torres botanical gardens, Damajagua Falls, and La Isabela, the first European settlement site.
Montecristi: El Morro beach.
Santo Domingo: the Santo Domingo Cathedral, Ozama Fort and the Presidential Palace.
La Romana: Altos de Chavon, Las Maravillas cave and Playa Bayahibe beach.
Higuey: Basilica La Altagracia church.
Punta Cana: Juanillo Beach (Cap Cana) and Punta Cana beach.
Santiago: El Monumento.
Peravia: Las Dunas de Bani. http://dr1.com/forums/showthread.php/153778-CNN-20-Most-Beautiful-DR-Places http://edition.cnn.com/2015/10/12/travel/gallery/dominican-republic-beauty/

Jazz Festival

The Dominican Republic Jazz Festival will take place November 26-27 at the Cabarete Beach in Puerto Plata. The festival will close November 28 at the Gran Teatro del Cibao in Santiago. Leading jazz performers from the US and caribbean will participate. Visit their website for more information!

Charming Santiago

dr1 reports:
Santiago de los Caballeros, the first city in the New World to be named Santiago, is gaining fame as an attractive place to visit. Listin Diario calls the city "gentlemanly" and "old world". Some of its citizens, such as movie critic Jose D'Laura, never set foot outside the city unless it is a case of "life or death." The fervent fans of the Aguilas Cibaenas baseball team and its imposing Monument to the Restoration are just two of the characteristics of the 500-year old city.

As well as the Monument, there is the Cathedral, the Governor's Palace, the Duarte Park, the San Luis Fort Museum, the Model Market, the Victorian architecture of so many of its houses, and the friendly barrios such as Los Pepines or La Joya.

There is a long list of cultural attractions as well, headed by the Centro Leon, the Casa de Arte, the Alianza Cibaena, the Ateneo Amantes de la Luz (the DR's first public library), the Centro de la Cultura with its award-winning folkloric dance troupe, the Tomas Morel Folklore Museum, the artists' refuge, La 37 Por Las Tablas, and the Grand Cibao Theater.

Santiago is located in the center of the Cibao Valley, 150 kilometers from Santo Domingo. The towns of Tamboril, San Jose de las Matas, Villa Gonzalez, Navarrete (Villa Bisono) and Licey al Medio are part of the province and lend their charm to the city.

MAS SANTIAGO

There seems to be quite a stir in Santiago now. Not only are they increasing the number of hotel rooms and sprucing up the Monument, but there was an article recently on dr1.com that mentioned the lighting project and cleaning project that was happening as well.

I got a recommendation for Hotel Platino, located close to the heart of Santiago on Estrella Sadhala Avenue. Rooms start around US $35 dollars per night with an average room rate of US $77 dollars. They can be reached at 1-809-724-7576 As always, guest policies vary. So call ahead to inquire.

There is a gay club in Santiago. It's fairly new so I haven't heard much about it. The Krash Vogue Club House is located on Avenida 27 de Febrero in front of Banco Santo Cruz.

A nice way to sample the city may be to take an overnight excursion. The Caribe Tours bus from Santo Domingo to Santiago is about US $8 dollars. 1-809-221-4422

While there you could check out the Carnaval Mask Museum and the local falls and beaches.

THE MONUMENT

After its re-opening, the Monument to the Heroes of the Restoration in Santiago de los Caballeros has become a tourist attraction. On Sunday, alone, the ticket office took in over RD$23,000. Tickets are just RD$20 for locals and RD$80 for tourists. There are five levels to explore, aside from the newly redesigned gardens and their statuary. The fifth level, called the Santiago Lookout, is by far the most popular with its views of the entire city. Local folks from as far away as San Juan de la Maguana have traveled to Santiago to see the "new" Monument. The site provides guided tours in several languages for the tourists, and locals can explore the areas without any guides.

LA OTRO CIUDAD

It's time to take a look at Santiago, The Other City. There has been some interest recently due to renovations and other things happening in the junior metropolis of the Dominican Republic.

dr1 reports: Recent hotel construction in Santiago has placed the nation's second largest city on the tourist map. According to a major article in Diario Libre, the soon-to-be-finished Gran Hotel Cibao and the Crown Plaza will join other hotels and bring the total hotel room availability to 2,500. This is in time for the Caribbean Baseball Championship, scheduled for 2-8 February 2008 in that city. Not only are the two new hotels nearly finished, the city's smaller hotels are expanding. Hotels like the Aloha Sol, Platino, Century Plaza, Los Jardines, El Ambar and others have recently expanded their facilities. In San Jose de las Matas, half an hour away, the Mansion has increased its capacity and now provides 52 rooms for visitors. There are more and more tourist attractions in the city: the Monument, the Leon Cultural Center, the museum at the San Luis Fort, the Cathedral, the golf course at Las Aromas and a bowling center are part of what's now on offer. There are also 100 bars, and 200 large, medium and small restaurants.

Look for more information on Santiago within the week!