Faceless dolls of Puerto Plata

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En la mitología taina, de acuerdo con las memorias de Fray Ramón Pané, el hombre le pidió a Yaya una compañera y este le envío un capullo sin forma, el hombre al encontrar eso y no saber que hacer le solicito al pájaro carpintero que le ayudara y este con su pico lo esculpió y le dio la forma que hoy tiene la mujer.

No corresponde a la mitología taína el desarrollo de nuestra propuesta de muñeca sin rostro de Puerto Plata, pero si corresponde al trabajo del equipo Luzcace quienes desde los albores del taller hemos buscado definir una pieza que identifique la provincia porque aquí se concibe y se produce.

Pasamos de lo monocromático, con colores obtenidos en el horno y quemas al serrín a los colores planos sin volúmenes ni mezclas. … Leer más

Concientes que esta ausencia de color no expresaba la calidez y el esplendor del sentir dominicano en general y del puerto plateño en particular y gracias al valioso aporte de una excelente artesana, lucita, quien nos visitó en el taller definimos el manejo del color e hicimos aprehensión de la técnica.

Los cursos de artesano en barro dictados en el taller nos dieron la oportunidad de explorar en la creatividad de los participantes y fue así como el valioso aporte de Margare, una maestra en las artes del tejido y quien incursiono con el barro, definió el sombrero.

El vestido, haciendo alusión a la época victoriana, es definido con la técnica de craquelado con cáscara de huevo la que le da volumen al cono de barro elaborado en el torno y cuyas formas femeninas son definidas a mano, una por una, para formar los cuerpos y sus contornos.

El rostro de nuestras muñecas, al igual que de nuestras mujeres, está definido por el color de sus pieles las cuales van desde el blanco europeo hasta el negro africano pasando por toda la amalgama de esa deliciosa mezcla de razas y de etnias que somos.

August edition of Costambar News

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Yoga Classes in Costambar

Now there are Yoga classes available in Costambar, Amparo loves it.

Faceless Dolls by Amparo-Luzcace

These are some of Amparo’s faceless dolls, it was a special order from a shop in Bavaro

POP Report, a must for visitors to Puerto Plata

 http://popreport.com/edition/

Visitors at Luzcace

Some guys from New Jersey and New York visited the pottery last week

Una huella impresionante

Visit at the pottery – Part 2

Last week we had some visitors from Ecuador, and boy had they fun. After exploring all the different processes of clay making, which is the base for Amparos decorative pieces.

After that they experienced the turn table, which is a replica used thousands of years ago by Chinese, introduced by the Spaniards and then the used by the inhabitants of the island.

Also they enjoyed  the kiln, a replica made by an Dominican expert,  used to burn the different items. Next it was time for those you wanted to leave their permanent hand prints on the wall ( see picture) They also left their personal e-mail addresses in our visitors book so we can keep in touch. After purchasing some of the arts sold in the store it was time again to continue the city tour, everybody left with a happy face and some new knowledge about the magic world of ceramic and terra cotta.

International Art Fair in the Dominican Republic

The Palace of Fine Arts will host the first International Art Fair in the Dominican Republic, with the participation of artists and art galleries from Europe, North, South and Central America, the Caribbean and the Dominican Republic.

More than 35 galleries will  attend FIART Santo Domingo 2009, to be held 20-24 May. The first edition, which will be dedicated to Dominican artist Ivan Tovar, includes the attendance of outstanding international guests such as Colombian Fernando Botero and Cuban Pedro Pablo Oliva.

May edition of Costambar News

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Dominican Republic receives flights bound for Mexico

The vice president of the hoteliers and restaurateurs grouped in Asonahores Friday said more than 50 flights with tourists who were headed to Mexico will arrive in the country this week, after the H1N1 virus that affects that nation prompted a change of destination. Arturo Villanueva said those flights are being received via an agreement with Mexican hoteliers, as a show of solidarity. He said all the necessary preventive measures have been taken across the country’s ports and airports and all necessary equipment have been acquired to gauge body temperatures. The hotelier also lauded president Leonel Fernandez’s decision to allocate 50 million pesos to purchase antiviral medicine. Villanueva said in addition to the measures the authorities have taken in hospitals and hotel zones, any person with an abnormal body temperature is subjected to an examination.

Dominican hoteliers join forces to boost tourism in Puerto Plata

Puerto Plata.– Puerto Plata, the most important city in Dominican Republic’s north coast owns countless tourist attractions and sites of great historic and cultural value that should be taken better advantage of and put to better use. For this purpose, the Associations of Hotels, Restaurants and Tourism Business of Puerto Plata (Ashonorte), the Playa Dorada Hotel, Condominium and Commercial Establishment Owners Association (AHPD) and the Association of Hotels and Restaurants of Sosua and Cabarete (Ashoresoca) have joined forces and signed a strategic alliance. According to the document, the alliance will set in motion a plan to promote Puerto Plata as a tourist destination and will stimulate the creation of new businesses and complementary offers and will cooperate with the city´s Historic Center Office in its tasks of remodeling, beautifying and revitalizing this cultural and commercial area.

Visitors at the Pottery – Part 1

1. Here you can see some visitors from Canada, they really enjoyed it and had fun.

New designs at Luzcace

These are some of Amparos new creations, and it looks like they are a big hit. Puerto Plata City Tours are stopping at the shop at the Urbanizacion Atlantica, just behind the Brugal rum factory, people from all over the world are having fun , watching the girls making the necklaces, the guy at the pottery wheel and other staff painting and molding. Amparos faceless dolls are also a big seller, everyone is unique, everyone with a little difference in colour and shape.

Venezuelan group Los Guaraguaos to perform in Dominican Republic

The legendary Venezuelan group Los Guaraguaos is scheduled to perform at the auditorium of the Autonomous University of Santo Domingo (UASD) on 26 and 27 February . The group was part of the 1974 unforgettable “Seven Days with the People” festival, the most important artistic event held in the Dominican Republic in the seventies which included the presentation of such important voices as Silvio Rodriguez, Noel Nicola, Victor Manuel, Ana Belen, Pi de la Serra, Sonia Silvestre and Luis Diaz, among others.