SANTO DOMINGO.– The Dominican Republic today commemorates the 209th anniversary of Juan Pablo Duarte, liberator of the homeland, founder of the secret society La Trinitaria, and leader of the independence struggle to free the country from Haitian domination.
Every January 26th, the country honors Juan Pablo Duarte, one of our founding fathers, with various events to commemorate his thought, work, and ideals. El Inmobiliario posed a question to several industry representatives on this day: What does the name Juan Pablo Duarte mean to you as a Dominican?.
"Juan Pablo Duarte means 'homeland' to me!
After the Haitian occupation, while many theorists of the time debated whether to unite with Spain or France, Duarte held a firm stance: to establish ourselves as a free and independent Republic. We must all be like Duarte! We must set aside theories and speak with facts and firm positions, just as when he created La Trinitaria with the sole purpose of our freedom. In short, we owe our independence to many men and women, but the most determined, selfless, and tireless fighter was our father of the nation, Juan Pablo Duarte."
"First of all, the Duarte y Diez family owned a hardware store. A unique business for its time. For me, as a business manager in the hardware and construction sector, this is very important. Considering that our Father of the Nation used family resources to finance the necessary projects so that today we can enjoy an independent Republic, Juan Pablo Duarte is, for me, a symbol of courage, commitment, hard work, nobility, and perseverance. He also had a vision for the future. Thank you, Juan Pablo, for what you did for this nation!".
"Juan Pablo Duarte was a visionary who understood from a very young age that the Dominican Republic had the capacity to move forward and did not need the supervision or help of any foreign power—if what we received from Spain and other powers at that time could even be called protection or aid—and he put the interests of the nation above his own personal and family interests. We owe him our independence and our ability to act according to our own values and to reinvent ourselves when those values need to be improved or changed. Long live Juan Pablo Duarte and long live the nation!".
"For me, it signifies honor, courage, freedom, pride, and triumph. Our father of the nation, with his illustrious ideas, his honor, and his courage, dedicated himself to the noble task of changing the course of our country's history, making it sovereign and independent, and endowing it with a national identity. He sowed the seeds of sacrifice and selflessness, with the sole intention of seeing his people forge their own destiny, convinced that it was possible and necessary to travel along paths of light and progress, without any kind of ties.".
Long live the example and thought of our Juan Pablo Duarte, Father of the Nation!
"Juan Pablo Duarte represents Dominican identity; he is the DNA of Dominican thought. From his selflessness, courage, and thinking, our nation is born, and it is moving steadily toward a promising future.".
"Honoring the founding fathers is an act of respect and courage in the eyes of society. The ideals of equality and civic freedom are the most important legacy for democracy and the future of a country. History shows us that Juan Pablo Duarte was a visionary leader, along with Francisco del Rosario Sánchez and Ramón Matías Mella, who achieved the independence of our great Dominican Republic. In my opinion, and above all, my respect, honor to whom honor is due.".
