Portal:Dominican Republic

Merengue is a type of music and dance originating in present-day Dominican Republic which has become a very popular genre throughout Latin America, and also in several major cities in the United States with Latino communities. Merengue was inscribed on November 30, 2016, in the representative list of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity of UNESCO.

Merengue was developed in the middle of the 1800s, originally played with European stringed instruments (bandurria and guitar). Years later, the stringed instruments were replaced by the accordion, thus conforming, together with the güira and the tambora, the instrumental structure of the typical merengue ensemble. This set, with its three instruments, represents the synthesis of the three cultures that made up the idiosyncrasy of Dominican culture. The European influence is represented by the accordion, the African by the Tambora, which is a two-head drum, and the Taino or aboriginal by the güira. (Full article...)

José Alberto Pujols Alcántara (Spanish pronunciation: [puˈxols], Catalan pronunciation: [puˈʒɔls]; born January 16, 1980) is a Dominican professional baseball manager and former first baseman and designated hitter who is the manager of the Leones del Escogido of the Dominican Professional Baseball League. He played 22 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the St. Louis Cardinals, Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim / Los Angeles Angels, and Los Angeles Dodgers. Nicknamed "the Machine" (Spanish: La Máquina), Pujols is considered to be one of the greatest baseball players of all time.

Pujols was a highly regarded hitter who possessed a "combination of contact hitting ability, patience and raw power." He was the National League (NL) Most Valuable Player (MVP) in 2005, 2008, and 2009 and is an 11-time All-Star (2001, 2003–2010, 2015, 2022). He was a six-time Silver Slugger and won two Gold Glove awards at first base in his career. Pujols twice led the NL in home runs and once each in batting average, doubles, and runs batted in (RBIs). Pujols surpassed 3,000 career hits, becoming the 32nd MLB player to reach that milestone. During his final season, Pujols moved into second place all-time for career RBIs and total bases and became the fourth player with 700 career home runs. (Full article...)