Santo Domingo.- The Ministry of Culture and the Banco de Reservas inaugurated the pavilion of the writer Carmen Natalia (1917-1976), to whom the 24th Santo Domingo International Book Fair is dedicated, which is held from April 22 to May 2 at the Colonial city.
The general manager of Banreservas, Samuel Pereyra, highlighting the importance of Carmen Natalia’s work, he said that it is an honor for that institution to host the pavilion dedicated to the writer in the Cultural Center of the financial institution.
“Carmen Natalia’s intellectual and civil career spanned poetry, novels, theater, diplomacy, defense of women’s rights and resistance against the Trujillo dictatorship,” said Pereyra Rojas.
He added that among the poetic works of the author stand out for their fine sensitivity, her poem Lament without end for the son who has never arrived; works like
Soul Inside; his moving heroic Ode to the Mirabals; the monologue Behind bars and the novels La victoria and Cristóbal.
While the Minister of Culture, Milagros Germán, considered it a high honor to open a pavilion that honors the memory of Carmen Natalia, who was a fighter for this town in the difficult days of the Trujillo dictatorship. This is a well-deserved tribute to the writer who was active in the Democratic Youth when she was barely 26 years old and was confined in her own home for opposing the regime.
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Germán predicted that, as the poet Pedro Mir said, the day is not far off when the work of carmen natalia be known by all Dominicans.
The Minister for Women, Mayra Jiménez, expressed that she felt moved and overwhelmed by the tribute to her fellow Petromacorisana Carmen Natalia, defined as an illustrious woman who was characterized by her fight for the civil, political and cultural rights of women, and suffered the political persecution of the dictatorial power.
Meanwhile, Carmen Roques, great-niece of Carmen Natalia, thanked on behalf of the family and recognized the efforts of the poet Ylonka Nacidit Perdomo, for her decisive contribution to making this dedication of the Book Fair possible. She added that this initiative will allow her aunt’s work to be known by current and future generations.
Carmen Natalia, for defending the best interests of the country and opposing the regime of Rafael Leónidas Trujillo, lived in exile in Puerto Rico, where she wrote and published most of her work.
The opening ceremony of the stand, which works at the Banreservas Cultural Center, located on Isabel la Católica street, was also attended by Joan Ferrer, director of the Book Fair; Román Jáquez, president of the Central Electoral Board; Wilson Rodríguez, general director of Public Relations of Banreservas, and Mijaíl Peralta, manager of Culture of the financial entity.
Writers, artists, cultural managers and various intellectuals accompanied the poet Ylonka Nacidit Perdomo, coordinator of the aforementioned pavilion; Gala Helena Mayí-Miranda, art historian, from the University of Geneva, and Carmen Elsa Roques Martínez, great-niece of Carmen Natalia, on behalf of the Martínez Bonilla family.
The first activity held in the pavilion will be the colloquium “Carmen Natalia is a voice of poetry, but also a heroic voice of guidance, warning and combat”, with the poet and essayist Sherezada «Chiqui» Vicioso; the writer Ángela Hernández and Yury María Parra Tió, historian and author of the book “Carmen Natalia Martínez Bonilla: Dictatorship, literature and resistance”. This panel will be moderated by Ylonka Nacidit Perdomo.
The extensive cultural program of this space, located at 202 Isabel La Católica Street, contemplates, as a second activity, the circulation of Carmen Natalia’s Poetic Anthology, a compilation by Angela Hernández. In addition, every day, at nine in the morning, visitors to the pavilion will have a guided tour of the exhibition “Carmen Natalia, soul of rebellion.”
The Santo Domingo Book Fair is also dedicated to the writer Pedro Peix (1952-2015), whose stand is located on Arzobispo Meriño street, corner with Las Mercedes, in the Colonial City.
