The wealth and diversity of heritage

The richness and diversity of the cultural heritage of the Dominican Republic is a
product of the interaction of indigenous, African and European cultures embodied
throughout the national territory through tangible manifestations of high value.

Among the real estate assets of the national heritage, the Dominican Republic has the
privilege of having the first civil, military and religious buildings erected by Europeans
in the New World.

Converted into the capital of the Spanish empire, in the 16th century it is the seat of the
first institutions moved by the Spanish conqueror to the American continent, being the
starting point for a large part of the exploration, conquest and colonization companies.

From its capital, Santo Domingo, the most important expeditions led by the conquerors
of America arrive and depart:

The Colonial City of Santo Domingo, declared by UNESCO in 1990.

Within its intangible manifestations the Congos of Villa Mella have been declared by
UNESCO in 2001 as an oral and intangible heritage of humanity.

According to Article 101 of the Constitution of the Dominican Republic, all artistic and
historical wealth, whoever it may be, will be part of the Cultural Heritage of the Nation
and will be under the safeguard of the State, establishing the Law as appropriate for its
conservation. and defense.

Likewise, the Magna Carta attributes to the National Congress to arrange everything
concerning the conservation of monuments and ancient objects and the acquisition of
the latter.

Law Number 318 of June 14, 1968 on the Cultural Heritage of the Nation subdivides it
into:

a) Monumental heritage

b) Artistic heritage

c) Documentary heritage and

d) Folk heritage.

Law Number 41-00 created by the Secretary of State for Culture in its Article 1,
paragraph 2, establishes that the Cultural Heritage of the Nation includes all tangible
and intangible cultural assets, values and symbols that are expressions of the Dominican
Nation, such as traditions, customs and habits.
As well as the set of goods, including those submerged in water, materials and
immaterials, furniture and real estate, which have a special historical, artistic, aesthetic,
plastic, architectural, urban, archaeological, environmental, ecological, linguistic,
sound, musical interest , audiovisual, filmic, scientific, technological, testimonial,
documentary, literary, bibliographic, museum, anthropological and manifestations,
products and representations of popular culture.

One of the fundamental principles of this Law establishes that it constitutes a primary
obligation of the State and of the people to value, protect, rescue and disseminate the
cultural heritage of the Nation, assigning to the Secretary of State for Culture the
fundamental objective of preserving the cultural heritage of the Nation as a fundamental
element of national identity.

The State, through the Secretary of State for Culture, promotes the protection,
conservation, rehabilitation and dissemination of the cultural heritage of the Nation, so
that it serves as a testimony of the national cultural identity, both in the Present as for
future generations.

It also protects the cultural heritage of the Nation, taking all the necessary provisions to
carry out assessments of its situation, creating the appropriate mechanisms to prevent its
dispersion, establishing a loan and recovery policy for the assets already provided.

For this, leaving the country of any movable property considered as a member of the
cultural heritage of the Nation, requires prior permission from the Secretary of State for
Culture.

In the case of illegal export or subtraction, the asset is confiscated and delivered to it,
making all the efforts to repatriate the goods of cultural interest that have been illegally
extracted from the Dominican territory.

The Secretary of State for Culture evaluates the existing regulations on the protection of
heritage, taking the provisions of place. For this, it identifies technically and
scientifically the sites where there may be archaeological assets or that are contiguous to
archaeological areas, making the respective declarations and developing a special
protection plan in collaboration with the other national authorities and agencies.

Undersecretary of Cultural Heritage

For the fulfillment of its functions, the Secretary of State for Culture protects the
Cultural Heritage of the Nation through its fundamental area of technical management:

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