Dominican Independence Day Gone Viral

Posted on March 2, 2012

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This past Monday was the 168^th anniversary of Dominican Independence and what an awesome Febrero 27^th it was. First off, the words Dominican Independence Day were trending on Twitter. Say Word! Everyone from Zoe Saldana, to David Ortiz, to everyday Dominicans, were proclaiming their love loudly for the island nation via Social Media. Even non-Dominicans like Kimora Lee Simmons showed love. Personally, I was honored that the good folks at Remezcla posted my Dominican Independence Day piece on such an important day.

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Secondly my beloved Washington Heights, the third capital of the Dominican Republic, was, in my humble opinion, the epicenter of Dominicanidad (i.e. Dominican-ness) on that day. To zero in even further, Dyckman Street was the eye of the proverbial storm.

That afternoon, I had the privilege to attend the moving Dominican Independence Day celebration honoring the late, great Dominican actress Maria Montez at Mamajuana (247 Dyckman Street). State Senator Adriano Espaillat, Councilman Ydanis Rodriguez and actress Celines Toribio among many others were there for this wonderful celebration of the indomitable Dominican spirit. I even got to meet the irascible Altagracia Guzman aka Doña Tatica of Raising Victor Vargas fame.

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From there it was off to 809 Lounge (112 Dyckman) for an all out Dominican Independence Day bash. All I have to say is that Mr. DR himself, Fernandito Villalona, was in the building. What else could you want? Well, the fact the Presidente, our national beer, flowed freely made the night even better. But really, the folks in attendance were a veritable whose who of well known Dominicans and Latinos. Even Mayor Bloomberg showed up briefly to pay his respects to the Dominican Republic and its people.

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As a proud Dominican, let me be the first to state that I think one day is not enough. It should be Dominican Independence week. And in El Alto it was. First of all, Apt 78 threw a pre-Dominican Independence Day Que Lo Que fiesta on Sunday, the 26^th that people are still talking about.

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It was a good week for Dominicans overall. News broke that Pulitzer-Prize winning author, Junot Diaz, has a new book entitled, coming out in September of this year. Also, the 1-year anniversary of the Bago Bunch Mixers at Dyckman Bar on Wednesday was simply amazing. Furthermore, on Thursday, March 1^st, there was an awesome Dominican Independence Day celebration at Uptown’s best-kept secret, the Hispanic Society of America, put together by the office of Councilman Robert Jackson.

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So there you have it, the breakdown of Dominican Independence Day February 2012 Online and Uptown. Next up, our other Dominican Independence Day in August!

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