May 3, 2022
The weekend was a rainy washout for the XXIV Feria Internacional del Libro in Santo Domingo, but clear skies on Monday left the calles of the Zona Colonial flooded…with people. It was the final day (and night) of the week-long Book Fair and everyone, it seemed, took advantage of one last chance to score a special book, have a drink at a sidewalk café, or just enjoy some great music performed on the festival’s main stage beside the Fortaleza Ozama.
This year’s event was a first class happening from start to finish, or perhaps we should say from “Once upon a time” to “happily ever after” in keeping with the the event’s motif. There were thousands of books to browse or buy, of course, and far too many talented performers to list them all. If poetry slams are your thing they had those. Antique books? Merengue? Rock and Roll? Yes, yes, and yes. There was even a stage built to resemble a gigantic open libro.
Countless students visited the Feria throughout the week-long event, accompanied by their watchful maestros, and it felt like every last one of them was there again last night. The streets and alleys were filled with them! There were also plenty of tourists from all over the World, naturally. But it felt like most of the attendees were Capitalenos taking in some high quality (and free!) entertainment and a simply gorgeous evening downtown in the Zona.
Rockstar Pablo Cavallo and his band pumped the volume up to eleven or so and could be clearly heard even several blocks away from the stage. The audience was absolutely ecstatic over these guys, dancing and singing along with every tune and cheering wildly after each number, while an elaborate light show and billowing smoke enveloped the stage.
As closing time drew near, booksellers on La Calle Las Damas were seen breaking down their stalls and packing up unsold wares as fair goers scooped up last minute bargains. The Feria was over, but it won’t soon be forgotten. Kudos to the Festival organizers for a job well done!
