Leonel Fernández Heads Miami Launch of the Diccionario Cultural Dominicano

Alongside the Fundación Global Democracia y Desarrollo (Funglode) and Editorial Funglode, Dr. Leonel Fernández, former president of the Dominican Republic headed the ceremony which put the Diccionario Cultural Dominicano into circulation in The Magic City.

The
Diccionario was written by noted lawyer, journalist, and university professor Dr. Jimmy Sierra, in collaboration with Reynaldo Disla, Héctor Martínez, León Félix Batista, Carlos Peña, and Dr. Fernández himself, writer of the prologue for the Diccionario.

The ceremony was carried out at Miami Dad College under the framework of the Miami Book Fair, which began its week-long festivities on Sunday, November 12th.

Isabel
Palacio Martínez, Miami Dade College representative and event co-organizer in collaboration with the Global Foundation for Democracy and Development (GFDD) and Funglode, attended the launch.

Additionally, José Zaiter, Florida-based Funglode representative, Yamile Eusebio, Acting Co-Executive Director of GFDD, and entrepreneurs Guillermo Sención, Ralph Patiño, and Freddy Balsera, were present.

During his remarks, Fernández spoke of the large numbers of
Dominicans that make up the literary ranks in the United States, something he considered very positive for future prospects in the Dominican Republic.

Giving an example of these positive signs, Fernández detailed that: “Precisely from a story by the great Juan Bosch, La Nochebuena de Encarnación Mendoza (Encarnación Mendoza’s Christmas Eve), which has a spectacular ending, Fernando Báez has made a great movie following the North American tradition of taking well-known literature and adapting it to film.”

The Diccionario Cultural
Dominicano is an educational book of reference that synthesizes key Dominican cultural figures, groups, institutions, and events, making them easily accessible to anyone interested in learning more about the people and events that have shaped the trajectory of the Quisqueyanos.

It is a detailed registry of 851 individuals, 101 groups, 90 institutions, 33 events, 29 publications, and 57 concepts, summing to a grand total of 1,164 entries.

The
Miami launch also included a discussion section where Dr. Sierra, collaborators, and other culture-focused figures exchanged ideas and discussed topics of relevance to the Diccionario.