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Altos de Chavon interview [cont]

Q] And these are all Dominican works?
A] Yes Dominican, but also many foreign students exhibit here and attend the school.

Q] And there is an open air amphitheatre here too.
A] Yes we have had the likes of Frank Sinatra, they say Michael Jackson is going to come but I don`t know if that`s true.

Altos de Chavon interview

Q] I came here for the Sting concert about 3+ years ago. Were you here then?
A] No.

Q] Is it true that there are many weddings held here?
A] Yes here in the Altos church [see photo below]. Michael Jackson, Prince have all attended weddings here. In the last couple of weeks we have had the wedding here of one of the famous young Dominican stars.

Q] So what can the toursits do here?
A] Well they can visit the museum, the gallery, they can take beautiful photos, they can buy authentic artesanal Dominican products here in the street, paintings, tobacco, lots of variety. They can take pictures of this beautiful landscape, and the magnificent golf course you see in the background.

Q] And the music that we have been listening too in the background?

A] This is the typical Dominican music.

Q] This is the "perico ripiao" no? Tell us a bit about that. I understand that this was originally the music of the countryside, of the peasants. Then the famous dictator Trujillo was responsible for bringing it into the cities in the 1930s and 40s and making it more popular amongst the upper classes right?
A] Yes and from there developed the authentic, classic merengue.

Altos de Chavon interview

Q] But this original music was the foundation of modern day merengue right?
A] Yes. Trujillo brought it to wider society. So the final product was not what we hear today, it was a more classical version (with more modern instruments).

Q] So what we hear today is the original, more simple, authentic "perico ripiao" from the countryside. Well now Lester very many thanks for your time.
A] It is my pleasure.

Q] So we are going to give you a card of the website www.dominican-republic-holiday.com, so you can see the interview on there!

Click here for more info on Altos de Chavon itself.

 Altos de Chavon interview

Altos de Chavon interview [end]

Altos de Chavon interview

Interview Pt 1
Interview Pt 2