On the 26th of January, a special moment is celebrated, the natal day of Juan Pablo Duarte y Díez. He was a Dominican military leader, writer, teacher, activist, and nationalist politician who was the foremost of the founding fathers of the Dominican Republic. His birthday is commemorated still to this day after being born two-hundred and eight years ago.
Duarte is an important figure in the Dominican Republic’s history because his bravery led us to be a free country. He is an inspiration to kids everywhere and to people of all ages that aspire to one day be partially as great as he was. His actions have impacted our country and the entire world, the reason why there is even a statue of him in New York and properties named after him in places one wouldn’t even think about.
Nowadays, we remember his glorious actions in school every year. For example, this year an 8th grader called Álvaro Logroño recited the Trinitarian Oath during a big ceremony celebrating Duarte. The event was in an open space to make sure the guests felt comfortable, it followed the covid guidelines, and it turned out to be a unique situation doing justice to the man that was Juan Pablo Duarte y Díez.
Every year Lux Mundi honors his memory by passing onto the students his great feats and making sure his legacy and lifelong studies don’t go to waste. As a teacher, Duarte was very keen on the education received by the students; he thought it was one of the most essential pieces of information that shaped humankind. This year the school wasn’t able to present an activity because of the pandemic, but surely in 2022, it’ll be all back to normal.
One can only hope that when the time comes, many young people will take on his ideals and spread the teachings of Juan Pablo Duarte everywhere. This day won’t fail to be remembered and cherished by all the Dominicans throughout time.
By Lucia Tellado Ramos & Maria Isabel Ramos Rojas
