Culture in the South festival opens in Azua to showcase regional heritage

Azua.- The Minister of Culture, Roberto Ángel Salcedo, inaugurated the Culture in the South festival, which runs from November 13 to 15 at the Autonomous University of Santo Domingo (UASD) campus in Azua.

The festival brings together artists, cultural representatives, institutions and authorities from San Cristóbal, Peravia, Azua, San José de Ocoa, San Juan and Elías Piña to showcase the region’s artistic expressions, traditions and cultural heritage.

Salcedo said the event supports the Ministry of Culture’s policy of decentralizing cultural activities and strengthening the connection between culture and the country’s different territories.

This year’s festival is dedicated to Dominican painter Dionisio Blanco, born in San Cristóbal in 1953. A graduate of the National School of Fine Arts, where he was influenced by master Jaime Colson, Blanco has developed a career as an artist and educator, exhibiting his work in the Dominican Republic and abroad. In 2026, he received the National Visual Arts Award from the Ministry of Culture.

The opening ceremony featured a performance by the Ramón Madora Folkloric Ballet of Azua and marked the start of a program aimed at promoting the cultural identity and traditions of the participating provinces.