Porfirio Rubirosa

Maria Montez (June 6, 1912 – September 7, 1951) was a Dominican-born motion picture actress who gained fame and popularity in the 1940s as an exotic beauty starring in a series of filmed-in-Technicolor costume adventure films. Her screen image was that of a hot-blooded Latin seductress, dressed in fanciful costumes and sparkling jewels. She became so identified with these adventure epics that she became known as "The Queen of Technicolor." Over her career, Montez appeared in 26 films, 21 of which were made in North America and five in Europe.

Her beauty soon made her the centerpiece of Universal's Technicolor costume adventures, notably the six in which she was teamed with Jon Hall —Arabian Nights (1942), White Savage (1943), Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves (1944), Cobra Woman (1944), Gypsy Wildcat (1944), and Sudan (1945). Montez also appeared in the Technicolor western Pirates of Monterey (1947) with Rod Cameron and the sepia-toned swashbuckler The Exile (1948), directed by Max Ophuls and starring Douglas Fairbanks Jr.

While working in Hollywood, she met and married French actor Jean-Pierre Aumont, who had to leave a few days after their wedding to serve in theFree French Forces fighting against Nazi Germany in the European Theatre of World War II. At the end of World War II, the couple had a daughter, Maria Christina (also known as Tina Aumont), born in Hollywood in 1946. They then moved to a home in Suresnes, Île-de-France in the western suburb of Paris under the French Fourth Republic. There, Montez appeared in several films and a play written by her husband. She also wrote three books, two of which were published, as well as penning a number of poems.

The 39-year-old Montez died in Suresnes, France on September 7, 1951 after apparently suffering a heart attack and drowning in her bath. She was buried in the Cimetière du Montparnasse in Paris where her tombstone gives her amended year of birth (1918), not the actual year of birth (1912). Shortly after her death, a street in the city of Barahona, Montez's birthplace, was named in her honor.

In 1996, the city of Barahona opened the Aeropuerto Internacional María Montez (María Montez International Airport) in her honor.

The American underground filmmaker Jack Smith idolized Montez as an icon of camp style. Among his acts of devotion, he wrote an aesthetic manifesto titled "The Perfect Filmic Appositeness of Maria Montez", referred to her as "The Wonderful One" or "The Marvelous One", and made elaborate homages to her movies in his own films, including the notorious Flaming Creatures. 

Actress (27 titles)

1951Revenge of the Pirates
Consuelo

 

1951Schatten über Neapel
Dolores

 

1951Amore e sangue
Dolores

 

1950The Thief of Venice
Tina

 

1949Portrait d'un assassin
Christina de Rinck

 

1949Wicked City
Dolores - l'entraîneuse

 

1949Siren of Atlantis
Queen Antinea

 

1947Pirates of Monterey
Marguerita Novarro

 

1947The Exile
Countess Anbella de Courteuil

 

1946Tangier
Rita

 

1945Sudan
Naila

 

1944Bowery to Broadway
Marina

 

1944Gypsy Wildcat
Carla

 

1944Cobra Woman
Tollea / Naja

 

1944Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves
Amara

 

1943White Savage
Princess Tahia

 

1942Arabian Nights
Scheherazade

 

1942Pardon My Sarong (scenes deleted)

 

1942Mystery of Marie Roget
Marie Roget

 

1942Bombay Clipper
Sonya Dietrich Landers

 

1941South of Tahiti
Melahi

 

1941Moonlight in Hawaii
Ilani

 

1941Raiders of the Desert
Zuleika

 

1941That Night in Rio
Inez

 

1941Lucky Devils
Bathing Beauty (uncredited)

 

1940The Invisible Woman
Marie

 

1940Boss of Bullion City
Linda Calhoun

 

The Dominican Republic & The Olympics

The Dominican Republic first participated in the Olympic Games in 1964, when Alberto Torres de la Mota ("El Gringo" ) participated in the 10th heat of the 100m competition and ran 10.9sec, finishing 6th, not qualifying for the next round. The Dominican Republic has appeared in every one of the games since then. The Dominican Republic has never competed at the Winter Olympic Games.The Dominican Republic has won four medals at the Olympics. Pedro Nolasco won a bronze in boxing at the 1984 Summer Olympics and in 2004 Félix Sánchez won a gold in the 400 metre hurdles. In the 2008 Summer Olympics Manuel Felix Diaz won a gold medal in Boxing and Gabriel Mercedes won silver in Taekwondo.

They are represented by Dominican Republic Olympic Committee. The Dominican Republic Olympic Committee (Spanish: Comité Olímpico Dominicano) is the organization that represents Dominican athletes in the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and the Pan American Games. The Dominican Republic Olympic Committee is headquartered in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. The organization is currently directed by Luis Mejía Oviedo.

Félix Sánchez, (born August 30, 1977) is a Dominican track and field athlete who specializes in the 400 meter hurdles event. He was the 2004 Olympic champion in the event and was world champion in 2001 and 2003. He is nicknamed "Super Felix", "the Invincible" and "the Dictator". Sánchez was born in New York City to Dominican parents and was raised in San Diego, California. He attended University City High School and San Diego Mesa College in the city, and then went on to study psychology at the University of Southern California in 1998. He opted to represent the Dominican Republic internationally, and made his debut for that nation in 1999Competing for University of Southern California's USC Trojans, he was a Pac-10 champion (400 m hurdles) and All-American relay champion (1600 m) in 1999. Between 2001 and 2004 he won 43 races in a row at 400 m hurdles, including the 2001 and 2003 World Championships. He won a share of the Golden League million dollar-jackpot in 2002 after winning all 7 races.

At the 2003 Pan American Games, Sánchez won the Dominican Republic's first gold medal at the competition and also broke the Pan American Games record in the 400 m hurdles. He was named Track and Field News Track & Field Athlete of the Year in 2003. Subsequently, he won the first ever Olympic gold medal for the Dominican Republic on 28 August 2004 during the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, Greece. During his 43-race winning streak, from 2001 to 2004, Sánchez was known for wearing a wristband while competing. The red flashing wristband, a souvenir from the 2000 Olympics, served as a motivation for him after failing to advance to the final in Sydney. After winning the Olympic gold medal in Athens 2004, Sánchez gave the wristband to the IAAF for auction and the profits were donated to charity. In his first race after the Olympics - and his first race without the wristband - at the Van Damme Memorial meet in Brussels, Sánchez injured his leg and had to abandon the race halfway through.

Manuel Félix Díaz Guzman (born 10 December 1983) is a professional boxer from the Dominican Republic who won Olympic Gold in 2008. Díaz Guzman had also won the bronze medal in the same division in 2003, at the Pan American Games in Santo Domingo.

The aggressive southpaw brawler participated in the 2004 Summer Olympics for his native Caribbean country. There he was stopped in the first round of the Lightweight (60 kg) division by Kazakhstan's eventual bronze medalist Serik Yeleuov. At the PanAm Games 2007 he lost the quarterfinal 12:13 to Inocente Fiss. He qualified for the 2008 Olympics by defeating Myke Carvalho 8:6. In Beijing though, he won all five bouts and sensationally won Gold against reigning champion Manus Boonjumnong of Thailand. It was the nation's second ever Olympic gold after Félix Sánchez in 2004 and the second boxing medal after Pedro Nolasco won a bronze in Los Angles in 1984.

We here at the Dominican Heritage Foundation would like to extend our well 

wishes to all athletes participating in the 2012 Olympics. 

National Symphony Orchestra of the Dominican Republic

The National Symphony Orchestra was officially created on August 5, 1941. Nevertheless, its history can be traced to the beginning of the 20th century, when under the initiative of Juan Bautista Alfonseca, the Octet of the Youth Casino was founded in Santo Domingo.
Since its beginning in 1904 the Octet turned into an active group, conducted by Maestro José de Jesús Ravelo, which diffused classical music. The support offered to the public was so enthusiastic that before its first year the Octet had been established as a small chamber orchestra (although it always maintained its original name) with a regular program of concerts.
After the disappearance of the Youth Casino in 1922, the Octet turned into the Concert Society Orchestra with headquarters in the Dominican Athenaeum. At the same time, in 1932, the Santo Domingo Symphony Orchestra was formed, conducted by Maestros Enrique Mejia Arredondo and Julio Alberto Hernández.

The first conductor of the National Symphony Orchestra was Enrique Casal Chapí (1941–1945) y Enrique Mejía Arredondo, it first assistant conductor. The following have been Principal conductors: Mexican Abel Eisenberg (1946–1951); Italian Roberto Caggiano (1951–1959); Dominicans Manuel Simó (1959–1980), Jacinto Gimbernard (1980–1984), Carlos Piantini (1984–1994), Rafael Villanueva (1994–1995), Julio De Windt (1995–2000); Alvaro Manzano from Ecuador (2001–2004), who occupied the position under the title of Musical Conductor; Carlos Piantini, Principal Laureate Conductor (2001 al 2006); Alvaro Manzano, Music Director (2007–2009). Presidential Decree 245-09 dated March 20, 2009 designates maestro José Antonio Molina as Principal Conductor of the National Symphony Orchestra.
After sixty six years and more than 1,700 concerts, the National Symphony Orchestra has been the most representative Dominican musical institution. Its repertoire covers from the most important Baroque and Classic works to pieces from contemporary composers. Symphony music of Dominican composers has occupied a place of exception in its repertoire and the premiering of new works form part of its contribution to the development of Dominican music. In addition, the National Symphony Orchestra plays opera, ballet and zarzuela, in a great part of the annual productions of such genders.
Since its beginning, the National Symphony Orchestra has been integrated by outstanding Dominican musicians, as well as musicians of various nationalities, many of which have made Santo Domingo their home. The most recent history of the Orchestra is intimately linked to the Fundación Orquesta Sinfónica Nacional (Sinfonía). This private non profit organization was founded in 1986 by Pedro Rodriguez Villacañas, who together with his wife Doña Margarita Copello de Rodriguez, actual President, gathered a distinguished group of music lovers with the purpose of helping in the consolidation and increase of the prestige of the National Symphony Orchestra. For more than two decades, “Sinfonía” has done an extraordinary work, always with the support and collaboration of the Dominican Government, together modelling the present and the future of the musical life of the Dominican Republic

Pedro Jaime Martínez

Born October 25, 1971 in Manoguayabo, Dominican Republic is an eight-time All-Star, three-time Cy Young Award winner, and 2004 World Series champion. At the time of his 200th win in April 2006, Martínez had the highest winning percentage of any 200-game winner in modern baseball history he eventually slipped .003 behind Whitey Ford. His ERA+ is the highest of any starting pitcher in MLB history.

Officially listed at 5 ft 11 in and 195 pounds, Martínez was unusually small for a modern-day power pitcher, and he is believed to be somewhat smaller than his officially listed height and weight. Martínez's pitching style was atypical as he commanded an arsenal of "out" pitches. His fastball, cutter, curveball and circle changeup were all well above average; combined with his historically excellent control, they proved to be an overpowering package. Martínez threw from a low three-quarter position that hid the ball very well from batters, who have remarked on the difficulty of picking up Martínez's delivery.

Early in his career, Martínez's fastball was consistently clocked in the 95–97 mph range. Using it in combination with his devastating changeup and occasionally mixing in his curveball, he was as dominant a pitcher as the game has ever seen. As injuries and the aging process took their toll, Martínez made the adjustment to rely more on finesse than power. His fastball settled into the 85–88 mph range, although he was able to occasionally reach 90-91 mph when the need arose. Martínez continued to use a curveball, a circle changeup, and an occasional slider. With his command of the strike zone, he remained an effective strikeout pitcher despite the drop in velocity.

Approaching free agency, Martínez was traded to the Boston Red Sox in November 1997, and was soon signed to a six-year, $75,000,000 contract with an option for a seventh at $17 million by Red Sox general manager Dan Duquette, at the time the largest ever awarded to a pitcher. Martínez paid immediate dividends in 1998, with a 19–7 record, and finishing second in the American League in ERA, WHIP, strikeouts, and the Cy Young voting. In 1999, Martínez delivered one of the greatest pitching seasons of all time, finishing 23–4 with a 2.07 ERA and 313 strikeouts earning the pitching Triple Crown, unanimously winning his second Cy Young Award this time in the American League, and coming in second in the Most Valuable Player ballot. Between August 1999 and April 2000, Martínez had ten consecutive starts with 10 or more strikeouts. Only three pitchers have had as many as seven such starts in a row, and one of those was Martínez himself, in April–May 1999. He averaged more than 15 strikeouts per nine innings during his record 10-game streak. During the 1999 season, he set the record for most consecutive innings pitched with a strikeout, with 40. For his career, Martínez has compiled 15 or more strikeouts in a game ten times, which is tied with Roger Clemens for the third-most 15-K games in history. Martínez punctuated his dominance in the 1999 All-Star Game start at Fenway Park, when he struck out Barry Larkin, Larry Walker, Sammy Sosa, Mark McGwire and Jeff Bagwell in two electrifying innings. It was the first time any pitcher struck out the side to start an All-Star Game, and the performance earned Martínez the All-Star Game MVP award.

Following up 1999, Martínez had perhaps his best year in 2000. Martínez posted an exceptional 1.74 ERA, the AL's lowest since 1978, while winning his third Cy Young award. His ERA was about a third of the park-adjusted league ERA (4.97). No other single season by a starting pitcher has had such a large differential. Martínez's WHIP in 2000 was 0.74, breaking both the 87-year-old modern Major League record set by Walter Johnson, as well as Guy Hecker's mark of 0.77 in 1882. The American League slugged just .259 against him. Hitters also had a .167 batting average and .213 on base percentage, setting two more modern era records. Martínez became the only starting pitcher in history to have more than twice as many strikeouts in a season (284) as hits allowed (128). This performance represents the peak for any pitcher in baseball history.

Martínez went 16–9 in 2004, despite an uncharacteristic 3.90 ERA, as the Red Sox won the American League wild card berth. He pitched effectively in the playoffs, contributing to the team's first World Series win in 86 years. Martínez again finished second in AL strikeouts, and was fourth in that winter's Cy Young voting.

The seven-year contract he received from the Red Sox had been considered a huge risk in the 1997 offseason, but Martínez had rewarded the team's hopes with two Cy Young Awards, and six Top-4 finishes. Martínez finished his Red Sox career with a 117–37 record, the highest winning percentage any pitcher has had with any team in baseball history. After Boston's World Series triumph in 2004, Martínez became a free agent and signed a 4-year, $53 million contract with the New York Mets.

On September 3, 2007, Martínez returned from the disabled list with his 207th career win, allowing two earned runs in five efficient innings and collecting his 3000th career strikeout, becoming the 15th pitcher to do so. Martínez's comeback was considered a great success, as the right-hander went 3-1 in five starts with a 2.57 ERA. Martínez became just the fourth pitcher to reach 3,000 strikeouts with fewer than 1,000 walks with 701.

During his four-year Met contract, Martínez was 32–23 in 79 starts, with a 3.88 ERA and a 1.16 WHIP. A free agent, Martínez did not sign with a major league team during the winter. In March, he joined the Dominican Republic's squad for the 2009 World Baseball Classic, in an attempt to showcase his arm. Martinez pitched six scoreless innings with 6 strikeouts and no walks, but the team was quickly eliminated from the tournament and no MLB contract was forthcoming. In July 2009, Phillies scouts evaluated Martinez in two simulated games against the Phillies DSL team, leading to a one-year, $1-million contract. In his third as a Phillie and his 100th as a National Leaguer—Martinez became the 10th pitcher in history to win at least 100 games in each league.

Intense media interest preceded Martinez's "return to Yankee Stadium" in Game 2 of the World Series. At the pre-game press conference, he seemed to relish the attention, telling reporters,

"When you have 60,000 people chanting your name, waiting for you to throw the ball, you have to consider yourself someone special, someone that really has a purpose out there."

Martinez pitched effectively in his second-ever World Series start, but left the game in the 7th inning trailing 2-1 and wound up taking the loss. Before his second start of the Series, Martínez called himself and opposing pitcher Andy Pettitte "old goats", and acknowledged that Red Sox fans were rooting for him: "I know that they don’t like the Yankees to win, not even in Nintendo games."^[20] However, Martínez allowed 4 runs in 4 innings, falling to 0-2 as the Phillies lost the sixth game and the 2009 World Series to the New York Yankees.

Martinez's agent announced in July that he would not be pitching at all in 2010, while remaining interested in a 2011 return he went unsighned in 2011, on Dec. 4, 2011, he officially announced his retirement. Sports Illustrated MLB All-Decade Team On February 2011, the Smithsonian's National Art Gallery announced that it had acquired an oil painting of Martinez for its collection.

 

Boston Red Sox Official Site

boston.redsox.mlb.com

Michel Camilo

Born April 4, 1954 is a pianist and composer from Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. He specializes in jazz, Latin and classical piano work. Camilo lists some of his main influences as Chick Corea, Keith Jarrett, Oscar Peterson, Bill Evans, and Art Tatum. Camilo was born into a musical family and as a young child showed aptitude for the accordion that his parents gave him. Although he enjoyed the accordion, it was his grandparents' piano that sparked his interest the most, so at aged 9 he asked his parents to buy him one. Their response was to first send him to the Elementary Music School, part of the National Conservatory, and then a year later to grant his wish.

The formal system of the music school taught Camilo to play in the classical style, and by age 16 he was playing with the National Symphony Orchestra of the Dominican Republic. Camilo comments on his first encounter with the sounds of jazz, in an interview with the All About Jazz website:

"The first time I heard jazz was when I was 14 and a half. I heard the great Art Tatum on the radio playing his solo piano rendition of 'Tea for Two.' That immediately caught my ear. I just wanted to soak it in, to learn to play that style. Then I found out it was jazz."

Camilo studied for 13 years at the National Conservatory, and whilst developing his strong classical abilities was also heavily influenced by the bop tradition, and by the contemporary jazz of Herbie Hancock, Keith Jarrett and Chick Corea. His influences at this time also included Horace Silver, Errol Garner, and the ragtime music of Scott Joplin.

When the Harvard University Jazz Band visited the Dominican Republic and heard Camilo at a jam session, the bandleader encouraged him, 'You should be in the States', and so the idea was planted. In 1979, Camilo moved to New York to study at Mannes College and at The Juilliard School, and broke onto the international stage in 1983 when Tito Puente's pianist was unable to make a concert at the Montreal Jazz Festival. On a recommendation, without hearing him, Puente asked Camilo to play. Cuban reedman Paquito D'Rivera was in the audience and offered him a place in his band. For four years, Camilo toured internationally with D'Rivera and recorded two albums with him.

Camilo's emergence as a star in his own right began around 1985, the year he debuted with his trio at Carnegie Hall. In that same year he toured Europe with Paquito D’Rivera's quintet, and recorded his first album, Why Not?, for Japan's King label. Suntan / In Trio had a trio with Anthony Jackson on the bass and Dave Weckl on the drums. In 1988, Camilo debuted on a major record label, Sony, with the release of Michel Camilo, which became a bestseller and held the top jazz album spot for ten consecutive weeks. Special guests joined in with Camilo, such as percussionist Sammy Figueroa and tap dancer Raul. Other bestselling albums followed and so did the accolades, including a Grammy and an Emmy. Camilo's collaborative 2000 album with flamenco guitarist Tomatito Spain won Best Latin Jazz Album in the first Latin Grammy Awards.

As well as being an outstanding performer, Camilo is a talented composer and has written scores for several Spanish language films including Los Peores Años de Nuestra Vida and the award-winning Amo Tu Cama Rica.

Camilo tours extensively, and lectures in Europe, the US, and in the Conservatory of Music of Puerto Rico. He holds several honorary degrees, a Visiting Professorship and a Doctorate at Berklee College of Music, and has been honored in his home country by being named a Knight of the Heraldic Order of Christopher Columbus, and being awarded the Silver Cross of the Order of Duarte, Sanchez & Mella.

Michel Camilo Official Site

http://www.michelcamilo.com/

 

Oscar De La Renta

Born July 22, 1932 in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic is one of the world's leading fashion designers. Trained by Balenciaga, he became internationally known in the 1960s as one of the couturiers to dress Jacqueline Kennedy. An award-winning designer, he worked for Lanvin and Balmain; his eponymous fashion house continues to dress leading figures, from film stars to royalty, into the 2010s. De La Renta is particularly known for his red carpet gowns and evening wear.

At the age of 18 he left the Dominican Republic to study in Spain, where he studied painting at the Academy of San Fernando in Madrid. He quickly became interested in the world of fashion design and began sketching for leading Spanish fashion houses, which soon led to an apprenticeship with Spain's most renowned couturier, Cristóbal Balenciaga. Later, de la Renta left Spain to join Antonio Castillo as a couture assistant at Lanvin in Paris.

In 1963, torn between designing custom clothing for Elizabeth Arden as well as designing shoes and accessories, and designing ready-to-wear for Christian Dior-New York, de la Renta turned for advice to Diana Vreeland, the editor-in-chief of Vogue, saying that what he really wanted was to "get into ready to wear, because that's where the money is". Vreeland replied, "Then go to Arden because you will make your reputation faster. She is not a designer, so she will promote you. At the other place, you will always be eclipsed by the name of Dior." De la Renta proceeded to work for Arden for two years before he in 1965 went to work for Jane Derby and launched his own label. When Derby died in August 1965 Oscar de la Renta took over the label.

He was one of the three major protégés of Baron de Gunzburg; the others were Bill Blass and Calvin Klein. From 1993 to 2002, Oscar de la Renta designed the haute couture collection for the house of Balmain (fashion house), becoming the first Dominican to design for a French couture house. His clothes have been worn by many celebrities, including Gloria Guinness, Hillary Clinton, Nancy Reagan, Laura Bush, Jenna Bush, Princess Maxima of the Netherlands, Princess Madeleine of Sweden, Tina Fey, Anne Hathaway and Megan Fox.

In 1967 and 1968, de la Renta won the Coty award (the US fashion industry 'Oscars') and in 1973 was inducted into the Coty Hall of Fame. From 1973 to 1976, and from 1986 to 1988, he served as President of the CFDA. He is also a two-time winner of the American Fashion Critic's Award and was inducted into the Fame in 1973. He was named to the International Best Dressed List Hall of Fame in 1973. In 1968 he got the Neiman Marcus Fashion Award. De la Renta's talents receive continual international recognition. Among them, he received the Council of Fashion Designers Designer of the Year Award in 2000 and in 2007 (tied with Proenza Schouler). In February 1990, he was honored with the CFDA Lifetime Achievement Award.

Oscar De La Renta Fasion House Official Site
http://www.oscardelarenta.com