The applause was standing. So warm, enthusiastic, was the welcome that the audience gave this Sunday to the new members of the Dominican Sports Hall of Fame.
Nurys Arias (volleyball), the third member of the nucleus of “The Queens of the Caribbean” to be immortalized; Katty Acevedo (karate), Eleucadia Vargas (judo), Kellvin de León (handball), three fierce ladies of sports, as well as Efraín Valdez-Francisco Cordero (ball players), Francisco García (basketball), Fernando Teruel-Héctor J. Cruz (propellants) and Modesto Castillo (athletics) entered the sacred temple through the main door.
No one dreamed that they would touch the sky with their hands or the glory up close. Unthinkable that they would be part of the Olympus of Dominican sport.
“With the permission of the priests and with the permission of the shepherds… the closest shortcut to God is sport,” said coach Fernando Teruel, who resisted having a written speech, as was established and looked like in his court, leaving a collector’s item.
The family, the coaches, the importance of sport, the people who reached out to him in his beginnings and the small homeland were in each one’s speech.
Héctor J. Cruz also used the time tunnel to highlight that in 1973, Dr. Luis Ramón Cordero, Vice President of Publicaciones Now, gave him the opportunity to write for the evening newspaper El Nacional to see if the rookie he wanted to be journalist had something on the ball.
“And it seems so, that the young sports lover had serious intentions of being a sports reporter, because shortly after I was appointed as a reporter for the prestigious El Nacional,” said the Sports Editor of LISTÍN DIARIO, whose twenty books and documentaries on the The most important feats of Dominican sport paved the way for him to reach the Hall of Fame in the arms of his beloved wife, Margarita Demorizi, his aide-de-camp.
Francisco García, with ten years in the NBA, where he held the rank of captain of the Sacramento King, stressed that his greatest pride has been wearing the uniform of the national basketball team, with which he was a leading actor in the most important medal obtained by the same, the silver in the Pan American Games of Santo Domingo 2003.
His voice broke when he thanked the support received from Pedro Pablo Pérez. An example of this is that he chose her as his aide-de-camp at the peak of his life.
Pérez, a former point guard who has been recruiting talent in the United States for about three decades, especially in New York, where he lives, told him that it would be in the NBA and indeed it was after having a fruitful stop with the University of Louisville.
“But that was not the best thing that happened in my career. The best thing that happened in my career was when I put on the uniform of the Dominican Republic”, emphasized the former 6’7 tall striker, causing a round of applause. “Playing at the Palacio de los Deportes (Professor Virgilio Travieso Soto) and being a national team were my dreams.”
The applause was standing.
So warm, enthusiastic, was the welcome that the audience gave this Sunday to the new members of the Dominican Sports Hall of Fame.
Nurys Arias (volleyball), Katty Acevedo (karate), Eleucadia Vargas (judo), Kellvin de León (handball), Efraín Valdez-Francisco Cordero (ball players), Francisco García (basketball), Fernando Teruel-Héctor J. Cruz (propulsors) and Modesto Castillo (athletics).
No one dreamed that they would touch the sky with their hands or the glory up close. Unthinkable that they would be part of the Olympus of Dominican sports.
“With the permission of the priests and with the permission of the shepherds… the closest shortcut to God is sport,” said coach Fernando Teruel, who gave up writing a speech, as was established, and looked like in his field by leaving a collection oratory piece.
The family, the coaches, the importance of sport, the people who reached out to him in his beginnings and the small homeland were in each one’s speech.
Héctor J. Cruz also used the time tunnel to highlight that in 1973, Dr. Luis Ramón Cordero, Vice President of Publicaciones Now, gave him the opportunity to write for the evening newspaper El Nacional to see if the rookie he wanted to be journalist had something on the ball.
“And it seems so, that the young sports lover had serious intentions of being a sports reporter, because shortly after I was appointed as a reporter for the prestigious El Nacional,” said the Sports Editor of LISTÍN DIARIO, whose twenty books and documentaries on the The most important feats of Dominican sport paved the way for him to reach the Hall of Fame in the arms of his beloved wife, Margarita Demorizi, his aide-de-camp.
Francisco García, with ten years in the NBA, where he held the rank of captain of the Sacramento King, stressed that his greatest pride has been wearing the uniform of the national basketball team, with which he was a leading actor in the most important medal obtained by the same, the silver in the Pan American Games of Santo Domingo 2003.
His voice broke when he thanked the support received from Pedro Pablo Pérez. An example of this is that he chose her as his aide-de-camp at the peak of his life.
Pérez, a former point guard who has been recruiting talent in the United States for about three decades, especially in New York, where he lives, told him that it would be in the NBA and indeed it was after having a fruitful stop with the University of Louisville.
“But that was not the best thing that happened in my career. The best thing that happened in my career was when I put on the uniform of the Dominican Republic”, emphasized the former 6’7 tall striker, causing a round of applause. “Playing at the Palacio de los Deportes (Professor Virgilio Travieso Soto) and being a national team were my dreams.”
The act was presided over, as Honorary President of the Ceremonial, by Reynaldo (Pappy), Dionisio Guzman and Rafael Damirón, respective president and secretary of the Permanent Committee of the Hall of Fame.
The ceremony began at 11:15 in the morning with the call of the directors of the Permanent Committee, Guzman, Damirón, Luis Ramón Cordero, Atilio de Frías, Rubén Andújar Scheker, José Antonio Rodríguez Conde, José Pío Santana, Marcos Jiménez, Magnolia Concepción, Niurca Herrera, Héctor Lizardo Jorge, Anselmo Bello and William Duke, by Yancen Pujols and Jose Antonio Mena, host and moderator of the activity.
Then the National and Pavilion hymns were sung by the Orfeón de Santiago, under the direction of Reverend Father César Hilario. Immediately afterwards, the blessing of the ceremonial took place, in charge of Monsignor Lorenzo Vargas.
Afterwards, plaques were handed out to members of the U20 soccer team, accompanied by the president of the federation, Ruben García, and the members of the mixed athletics relay, Marileidy Paulino, Fiordaliza Cofil, Lidio Feliz and Alexander Orgando. Herrera, Rodríguez Conde and Lizardo Jorge presented the awards.
Atilio de Frías ordered the entrance of the flag bearers Paulino and Ogando, who paraded with the National and Pavilion banners; and of the insignia, covers Cofil (the Laurel) and Happy (the Machete).
Once the Honorary President, Julio Mon Nadal, who is president of the Veterans Committee of the Pavilion, was installed, he welcomed the new immortals and Dionisio Guzmán pronounced the main words, to give way to the official call and exaltation of the athletes in alphabetical order. , starting with Acevedo and continuing with Castillo, Teruel, Cordero, Valdez, Cruz, Vargas, De Leon, Arias and García.
Efraín was the only one absent because he could not make the trip from the United States. He was represented by his son Bradley and had Jose Aníbal García as aide-de-camp.
The other hostesses were Daniela Acevedo (Katy’s daughter), Leyda Castro (Castillo), Rubén de Lara (Teruel), Cristóbal Marte (Nurys), while Carlos Cordero, Leonny De León and Domingo García were the hostesses of their brothers Francisco, Kelvin and Eleucadia.
Businessman and athlete Frank Micheli was sworn in as Honorary President of the 57th edition of the ceremony.
