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Dominican Celebrities
A
look at some of the famous people of the Dominican
Republic
The Dominican Republic has been the birthplace of
many local unique celebrities, world famous celebrities, and
others who
have contributed to entertainment, sports, fashion, beauty, literature,
and politics.
It is even more amazing to consider these achievements
when you remember that this has been a country that has struggled with
poverty and corrupt rulers until very recently.
The path to success and a world stage is not easy
under the best circumstances and is almost impossible under the
conditions that faced many in the Dominican Republic.
Today their names and faces are instantly recognizable in their
homeland and in many other countries as well.
Entertainment
 One
of the most popular Dominican celebrities among the composers and
singers from today is Juan Luis Guerra
who has dubbed his style of music, “Mamborengue”. His songs are often
dynamic and entertaining commentaries on many social conditions. He was
honored with 4 Grammy awards at the 2007 Latin Music Show in Las Vegas.
Another famous Dominican is Joseito Mateo, known across the world as
the king of the Merengue. He is also the first person from the
Dominican
Republic to ever perform at Carnegie Hall, Madison Square
Garden and Radio City Music Hall. Even NY Mayor Bloomberg has
officially declared the 27th of February to be Joseito Mateo
Day.
Photo by prphotos.com
Other popular
celebrities in the world of
entertainment are:
• Zoe Saldano - A favorite
actress of the Dominican
people.
• Ruby Perez - An extremely popular and self effacing vocalist
who began singing with a choir in his church. Today he is a favorite
vocalist of many throughout the world.
• Anais - Famed Dominican singer that became a star after winning a
reality show in Puerto Rico called Objetivo fama.
• Fernando Lamas - Well known Hollywood movie actor.
• Aventura - Popular bachata music group.
•
Juan Castillo- A filmmaker with many highly rated movies to his credit.
• Luis Lopez - An actor seen in Dirty Dancing and Havana Nights.
•
Cristal Marie - A pop Latin singer.
• Jose Alberto -"El Canario", a salsa singer.
Sports
Sports have long been a popular pastime in the
Dominican Republic and residents of this country enjoy competing at
many different games. One of the sports in which many Dominicans have
found fame is baseball. Today it is very common for
major scouts from many places
to visit the Dominican Republic just to watch the newest and best
players in action. Even very young boys know that they have a ticket
out of poverty if they can become one of the very best players in
baseball.
Sammy Sosa is one of baseball’s most
famous and beloved players and he is a strong supporter of youth
programs in his native land. As one of 7 children from a very poor
family Sammy once shined shoes and boxed, but he gave up the rough
sport of boxing to make his mother happy and turned to baseball when he
was 14. The Texas Rangers made plans to bring him to the US and groom
him for professional baseball when he was only 16. The rest of his
story is true sports history.
Some other famous players from the Dominican
Republic include:
• Osvaldo 'Ozzie' Virgil – He was the very first
Dominican to enter pro baseball in 1953, as a Major League player with
the New York Giants.
• Felipe, Jesus and Matty Alou (San Francisco Giants)
• Miguel Tejada (Baltimore Orioles)
• Pedro Martinez (New York Mets)
• Albert Castillo (New York Mets)
• Manny Mota (San Francisco Giants)
• Rico Carty (Milwaukee Braves)
• Cesar Geronimo (Houston Astros)
Fashion
No mention of Dominican celebrities would be
complete without including the world famous Oscar de la Renta.
Aside from him, there several well known designers like Leonel Lirio,
Jenny Polanco and Jorge Diep.
Beauty
The wonderful combination of Tainos,
Spanish, and African
ancestors has been a superb recipe for creating beauty. Women from the
Dominican Republic are noted for having beautiful faces with stunning
cheekbones and wide smiles. They are also distinguished for winning
many beauty crowns and titles. This is quite
remarkable given the relatively small size of the country and
population.
Some of the recent beauty winners include:
• Marianne Cruz - 2nd runner up to Miss Universe
2008
• Amelia Vega - 2003 Miss Universe
• Claudia Cruz - (1st runner up) Miss World 2004
• Renata Sońé - (2nd runner up) Miss Universe 2005
Literature and
Art
• Fabio Fiallo – This man is considered a literary genius as well as a
poet and a storyteller. Fiallo is considered one of the famous
celebrities in Spain, the DR, and to Spanish speaking audiences
throughout the world.
• Pedro Julio Mir Valentín - A famous poet laureate of the DR.
• Octavio Rodriguez - Famous artist, composer and designer.
• Junot Diaz – The first Dominican Republic native to achieve great
recognition in the US; New Yorker magazine listed him in their
selection of top 20 up and coming authors.
Politics
In the politics a very prominent man is Dr. Guillermo Linares. This
gentleman was born in the Dominican Republic and his family went to the
United States hoping for a better life. Dr. Linares drove a taxi
at one time and later became a teacher. He was appointed Commissioner
of Immigrant Affairs for NY by Mayor Bloomberg in 2004 and became the
first native born Dominican to hold a US public office.
Additionally, Diana Reyna is the first Dominican
woman to be elected as a New York City councilwoman; and Joseline
Pena-Melnyck is a member of the Maryland General Assembly.
As you have read there are many proud and talented
Dominicans who had the courage and the determination to make their
dreams come true.
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