Previously Dominicans had to travel to Haiti for a visa, but can now request it in the Canadian office in the capital’s Acropolis Plaza.

The diplomat noted however that they haven’t the capacity to issue visas to a large number of people yet. “When I have arrived here four months ago the first thing I was asked was why must we go to another place to request a visa to go to Canada? Then we worked on that and we have the capacity to issue visas.”

In another topic, Kuiack affirmed that the Canada based mining company Barrick Gold contributes to the country’s economy, citing among them the creation of 3,000 direct jobs and US$3.0 billion investment.

It’s Carnival time in the DR. This means that carnival processions are celebrated every Sunday afternoon. Dominican carnival is a colorful experience in which the festive spirit of the country’s people comes to the fore as carnival characters take to the streets in search of fun. While originally a Spanish custom, throughout the centuries carnival has evolved and the traditional costumes representing devils parade alongside vestiges of Indian and African ancestors, throughout the cities and towns from early morning to late Sunday night. The most famous carnival parades take place in La Vega, Bonao and Santiago.

Boston.– Dominican singer Juan Luis Guerra received an honorary doctorate from the University Berklee College of Music in Boston, where he studied for over two decades.

“Most musicians I know in the south of Miami want to come to Berklee, because Juan Luis Guerra studied here,” Roger Brown said during the ceremony, the chancellor of the university.

The musician of hits like “Visa para un sueno” and “Ojala que llueva cafe” at the hands of Brown picked up the title, with over 4 thousand people in attendance, including 850 students who graduated.

Guerra dedicated his award to his wife, his sons and to Dominicans, who applauded  in the stadium Agganis, in Boston University, where the ceremony took place.

Source: DominicanToday.com

SANTO DOMINGO.- Just days away from the inaugural of the Santo Domingo International Book Fair 2008, Dominican literature in the pen of Junot Diaz obtains the highest prize, a Pulitzer, the first for an author from this country.

A Dominican living in the United States, Díaz joins the ranks of William Faulkner, Ernest Hemingway, Tennessee Williams, Arthur Miller, Saul Bellow, John Steinbeck, Sam Shepard, Norman Mailer, and a host of legends awarded the coveted prize.

The Pulitzer laureate’s hometown Baitoa is near Santiago, from where he emigrated to the U.S. at the age of six.

Source: DominiconToday.com