NEW YORK — The Consulate of the Dominican Republic in New York and the Department of Dominican Culture Abroad announced on Tuesday an initiative to send musical instruments for use by young people in various municipalities in this country.
“A musical instrument for your people”, which will be the subject of a media campaign in New York, aims to collect all kinds of instruments from the Dominican diaspora in the Big Apple, in response to a need expressed by different mayors Dominicans when they visited this city, explained Consul Eligio Jáquez during a press conference today.
“Every time a mayor comes, he goes to the consulate to ask for an instrument for his orchestras. We want to respond to the mayors by making a contribution from the community abroad by sending instruments,” he said. during the conference at the new headquarters of the Dominican Culture Directorate in Upper Manhattan, the heart of the Dominican community
Jáquez recalled the benefits of music, including that it promotes learning and memory, modulates the speed of brain waves, helps plants flourish and helps regulate emotions, among others.
The consul called on the community to join the initiative which has already borne fruit as they have already collected instruments, including güiros and drums, two basic pieces in the interpretation of merengue, and during the conference some people came with instruments.
He explained that the idea came from musician Sergio Tusen, popularly known as “Tato Tambora” who leads his own band, and who also expressed his desire for this experimental program to be a way to help young Dominicans in his country because “there are many needs”.
The instrument collection campaign will be carried out on radio, television and social media for a month, and has been joined by well-known Dominican musicians such as singers Rafa Rosario, of the famous merengue group Los Hermanos Rosario , and the salsaist Henry García. , who recorded videos inviting them to donate instruments, Tusen said.
He said “for every instrument donated, a young person will be taken off the streets”. “Whoever practices music is entertained, it is very difficult for him to fall into crime,” he said, while the director of the Dominican culture office, Ray Andújar, pointed out that “in this initiative, there are no limits” and that both the consulate and the cultural delegation can receive donations of instruments.