El Arte de la República Dominicana

Last night we went to the Plaza de España just in time for a free outdoor performance sponsored by the Ministerio de Cultura in the DR. We arrived at 8:15 p.m. and that was early enough to get front row seats for the performance that was originally scheduled to begin at 7 p.m. In 2010, Santo Domingo was declared La Capital de Cultura en las Americas and according to last night's host Quito, Ecuador holds the title in 2011. I'm so glad we made to the performances and the weather was perfect at a breezy 80 degrees Farenheit.

We enjoyed a trio playing romantic ballads on the guitar, mandolin(?) and maracas and then the rest of the night was dedicated to children.

We listened to and watched a group of children playing Christmas songs on recorders, two groups of children dancing folkloric dances to merengue and some other music from the southern part of the DR.

The night (for us anyway) ended with an adult group performing folkloric dance and then any and everyone in the audience dancing merengue with one of the children or adult performers. I loved it - it's so refreshing to be in a place where people just get up and dance without worrying about who is watching or whether they are doing it right. It's even more beautiful to see multiple generations of people having fun together and celebrating their folkloric culture.