SANTO DOMINGO.– Banco Popular Dominicano launched its new publishing project, entitled “National Heritage: Dominican Jewels of Culture and Nature,” a work created with the purpose of promoting and highlighting the cultural and natural heritage of the Dominican Republic and motivating the importance of its conservation.
The book explores Dominican treasures framed within four dimensions: tangible heritage, intangible heritage, natural heritage, and underwater heritage, narrated by six leading experts in history, architecture, and environmental conservation, who detail in each chapter the origins and riches of these heritages and how they have shaped Dominican identity.
The authors of this publication are the architects Juan Mubarak and Mauricia Domínguez; the anthropologist Manuel Vargas; the lawyer Pedro Morales and the historians Frank Moya Pons and Manuel García Arévalo, whose texts are illustrated with the photographs and design of the renowned artist Víctor Siladi.
The prologue is written by Ms. Anne Lemaistre, director of the UNESCO Regional Office for Latin America and the Caribbean, who in her words emphasizes how the Caribbean, and in particular the Dominican Republic, “is a privileged place of syncretic influences”, which is why “it enjoys a rich, diverse and joyful culture”.
Multiplatform project
As is customary, Banco Popular accompanies this institutional publication with a multimedia platform, which serves to amplify the central message and reach new audiences, according to a press release from the financial institution.
This time, the cultural offering includes a video podcast, a docudrama, and the MIRA (My Augmented Reality) mobile app, available on the App Store and Google Play. All content is accessible from the website www.popularenlinea.com/patrimonionacional.
The video podcast “Herencias”, hosted by communicator Mariasela Álvarez, will allow listeners to learn more about the riches of the nation's tangible, intangible and natural heritage, through several conversations with expert guests in each of these heritage areas, who emphasize the importance of education to preserve the legacy that identifies us as Dominicans.
In the docudrama “RDescubre”, starring actor and digital content creator Jean Villanueva, known as El Panda Que Anda, some of the island's emblematic places are explored, inviting viewers to rediscover their country with new eyes and understand what makes us unique.
Meanwhile, the MIRA mobile app allows users to enjoy 3D images that appear when the book is scanned, immersive portals, and GEO or augmented reality experiences of various heritage sites across the country. It also features an AI-powered virtual assistant that explains the book's content.
Safeguarding the nation's heritage treasures
The Chairman of the Board of Directors of Grupo Popular, Manuel A. Grullón, led the formal presentation of the book by the historian Frank Moya Pons and the other authors, accompanied by Christopher Paniagua, Executive Chairman of Banco Popular, and José Mármol, Executive Vice President of Communications, Reputation and Responsible Banking of Grupo Popular.
Paniagua stated that this initiative is part of Banco Popular's commitment to help safeguard the nation's heritage treasures.
“Our country stands on multiple foundations stemming from the encounter of cultures that originated in this land and spread throughout the Americas. In many ways, the Dominican Republic is the cradle of the globalization process of the modern world. A vast array of tangible, intangible, and natural heritage forms the heart of this fertile and vibrant land. As Dominicans, we have a moral obligation to preserve it,” the executive said.
Meanwhile, on behalf of the authors, historian Frank Moya Pons congratulated Popular on the initiative and indicated that "each chapter of this book is a suggestive synthesis, written and illustrated, that puts before the eyes of the readers a vivid portrait of the heritage wealth of the Dominican Republic.".
The presentation event for this new publishing and multimedia proposal from Banco Popular took place before more than 200 guests from the Dominican art and culture world, as well as media executives and opinion makers.
