Wednesday, July 22, 2009

Hola

It has been overcast and cloudy the last couple of days while a tropical depression dumps some rain on us. And it has been incredibly HUMID. Otherwise it is pretty quiet.

This weekend (Friday, Saturday & Sunday) is the start of the annual Merengue Festival on the Malecon. So it should be really crowded in the colonial zone this weekend.

This Sunday is also the Mr. Republica Dominican 2009 bodybuilding contest. They are not really playing it up this year (though I will be there regardless!). And that is because the week after is the bodybuilding championship for the Caribbean, which will be hosted at a stadium in Santiago. Participants are expected from the Bahamas, Puerto Rico, Jamaica and Cuba, among other islands. Someone in our crew was able to get a press pass. I, of course, will be his assistant. I want to get backstage and help the contestants get ready. I mean, it is the least I can do. What I'm really looking forward to is the rumored after-party.

Major League Baseball has announced a partnership with Puerto Bani, a new residential ballpark community. Bani is less than an hour west of Santo Domingo. This is
the first of many projects planned for the southwest of the country. The plans are very ambitious and it will be interesting to see how this pans out.

Gloria Gaynor, the orignial singer of "I Will Survive," will be performing at the Hard Rock Cafe on August 1, 2009. I wonder how many times she has sang that so
ng?

Did you know that Santiago, Dominican Republic, is on the cutting-edge of stem cell breakthroughs? No. Neither did a lot of other scientists. That hasn't stopped people from paying tens of thousands of dollars to receive treatment. Click here for the story.


Lastly, Sylvester Paige is here and looks great. Also, I want to say Happy Birthday to David Lee.

Until soon,
The Monaga Blogger

8 comments:

Anonymous said...

You lucky hoe, oops, I mean, you lucky person you getting to be 'assisting' backstage and even planning to crash the after party. Nothing beats fulfilling one's lifelong ambition, is it!!! This might be me being too lazy, but is there a cultural atache for SDQ with a listing off all the festivals for the year that one can point me to? was just thinking that I could sometime plan my trips around some of these more 'cultural' or 'local' events. Buen Dia!
Brien, NY

Diandra said...

HOLA!! I am in the best of moods and seeing this only takes it up a notch or three. I LOVE/HATE you for going to that competition, and to get BACKSTAGE... LORD!!! Also Happy Birthday David!! And lastly, you should fall thru to that Hard Rock and get a 'real' pic of that Ms Gaynor...she ain't NEVER looked like that EVER!! She is gonna show up and folks are gonna be like QUE PASA?? Besos, Diandra

C.C. said...

I am hating also (smile). But I can't wait for the pictures. And I was thinking the same thing about that pic of Gloria. Somebody has photoshopped 25 years away. LOL.

I miss David and the Sports Bar. Happy birthday David.

John K said...

Anthony, have lots of fun at the weightlifting championships. I know you will. Will they permit you to take pictures?

Happy Birthday to David, and sending him all the best for his special day and beyond!

Anonymous said...

Where you can get the tickets for MR Republica Dominicana? any phone #

Santo Domingo Colonial Zone Apts said...

John, the entire audience takes photos and videos. I will have some of both, God willing.

And you can purchase tickets at the door. Call this number, 809.581.1051.

Anonymous said...

Lets see, X times 30 years = as many hours as it took to photoshop that picture! Have a good one drooling over the muscle mens, and take alot of pics of the amauteurs because they have the rocking natural bodies that I LOVE!

Anonymous said...

take pics of them both posing and natural.... The ones taken natural are more interesting....and... please don't drool while taking the pictures... and... take both back and front...and...well..why can't I be the assistant to the assistant?...and...