bachata and meren-gue. Because it’s not a cliché, all Dominicans really do dance. They say that El Sartén, in Calle Hostos, is one of the best dance venues, where the party starts indoors and ends up on the pavements. Jazz and Caribbean music The centre of San-to Domingo is full of small cultural venues, offering art, music and crafts, like that belon-ging to Manuel Bolos, which brings the fla-vour of the villages and nature to the city. His furniture is made from recycled wood that he recovers from the roads: mahogany, pine… as Manuel says, ”anything goes”. He also collects works by other artists: “In the city itself, there are craftsmen who make very fine things”. A few steps away, on Calle Arzobispo Meriño, is Casa de Teatro, one of the most active cultural venues in the city. The owner, Fre-ddy Ginebra, opened it in the 1970’s as a meeting place for artists and is still running the venue 48 years later. “I discovered Juan Luis Guerra. He came here to sing and made a name for him-self”. Music is in the country’s DNA, “musicians here are born in the grass, in the fields,” says Ginebra. In the evening, Casa de Tea-tro is hosting a Dominican jazz concert that promises an explo-sive fusion. Freddy Ginebra is dedicated to promoting local cul- Freddy Ginebra, gestor cultural. ENG // Freddy Ginebra, cultural manager.