New York: The weekend of March 8th to 9th, the First International Congress of Dominican Sports was celebrated with great success. This event was dedicated to Ángel Mescain, a pioneer of sports in New York City, who founded the Dominican Sports Union in 1970.
The “Ángel Mescain International Congress,” endorsed by the Dominican government and the General Consulate of the Dominican Republic in New York, issued a statement outlining the considerations, perspectives, and justifications for requesting the creation of the Directorate of Sports Abroad.
This would be a decentralized body of the Ministry of Sports based in New York, along with its corresponding budget allocation and necessary personnel for its operation, as well as the creation of the Operational Technical Unit. Additionally, the institutionalization of the Dominican Patriotic Games in different regions and the formalization of the Sixth Zone as a representation of Dominican sports abroad were proposed.
The document was signed by the Consul General of the Dominican Republic in the state of New York, Eligio Jáquez; Ángel Mescain, Vice President for External Affairs of the Federation of Sports Unions; José Ortiz, President of the Dominican Sports Union; José Valdez, representative of MIDEREC; and Manolo Prince, Vice Consul and Director of Sports of the General Consulate of the Dominican Republic in New York.
“With the participation of prominent sports figures, the First Dominican Sports Congress in New York City concluded today. Several viewpoints have been raised with great interest, so we look forward to their prompt implementation,” wrote the honorable Consul Eligio Jáquez on his X account.
The event featured distinguished personalities from the sports sector as speakers, including Luis Mejía Oviedo, a member of the IOC and president of the Caribbean Sports Center, who spoke about “The Dominican Republic in the Central American and Caribbean Games, Pan American Games, and Olympics”; Garibaldy Bautista, president of the Dominican Olympic Committee, addressed the topic of “Olympism in the Dominican Republic, the Olympic Pyramid, and sports federations”; Alberto Rodríguez, director of INEFI, discussed the “Work Program and Achievements of INEFI”; Felicia Candelario, sports immortal, presented on “Women’s Participation in Sports”; journalist Antonio Valdez spoke about “The Central American and Caribbean Games of 1974”; and Deputy Pedro Botello discussed the “Legal Structure of Sports in the Dominican Republic.”
Attendees
The attendance comprised sports leaders, officials, coaches, and athletes from the sports movement based in New York City, New Jersey, Providence, Boston, Miami, and Puerto Rico.
The “Sports Fraternity” Gala Dinner occurred at the NOMA Hotel’s Assembly Halls in New Rochelle, New York. Special guests were recognized by Congressman Adriano Espaillat, Member of the United States House of Representatives; State Assemblywoman Ana B. Quezada of the State Senate of Providence, Rhode Island; and the Organizing Committee of the First Congress.
The Congress
The Congress was inaugurated with great elegance and glamour on Friday, March 8th, at the Hammer Health Sciences Building of the prestigious Columbia Presbyterian Medical Center in Washington Heights, Manhattan, New York City.
The honorable consul of the state of New York, Eligio Jáquez, and businessman José Ortiz, president of the Dominican Sports Union, welcomed the select audience, formally inaugurating the Congress, which featured prominent Dominicans such as Mr. Kennedy Vargas, Deputy Minister of Sports; the prestigious and distinguished Dominican doctor and director of Columbia Presbyterian Hospital, Dr. Rafael Lantigua; and Manolo Prince, vice consul and director of sports at the Dominican Consulate in this city, as well as general director of the Congress.
Congress Closing Party
The grand Closing Party of the Congress took place on Saturday, March 9th, at the Cultural Center of Alianza Dominicana in Washington Heights, Manhattan. Wine, fine liquors, various beverages, appetizers, and a delicious buffet were served during the event. At the same time, attendees enjoyed relaxed conversations among friends, businessmen, special guests, and athletes in a warm atmosphere imbued with Dominican culture, to the rhythm of the folk and culinary values of “a country placed in the same path of the sun in the world. Native of the night. Placed in an improbable archipelago of sugar and alcohol,” as described by the Dominican National Poet, Pedro Mir, about the Dominican Republic.
