The La progressive society

Ran the year 1878. The country was immersed in political turbulence characterized by an interminable fratricidal war. A collective doldrums caused by the ruins, despair, misery and the continuous and without sense bloodshed, grimly hung over a country where political caudillismo imposed its macabre designs through the rifle and the blood. It was a time of brutal ignominy. So and before that State of affairs, the day September 1 of that same year, a group of renowned vegan, decides to not remain indifferent to the State of things, forming the "the progressive society", proposing to facilitate the dissemination of cultural, artistic, charitable, and humanistic, making that knowledge constituted a common good for all Dominicans. Its founders were: Pedro a. Bobea Castro, President; Lorenzo r. Gómez, Treasurer; Ramón e. Espínola, censor; and Philip a. Cartagena, Secretary.

The! u000avegans had decided to change the rifle by pen and ink in the blood! Just ten days of being founded the society opened the first night school in La Vega. The Faculty consisted of its members, who served as alternate and free of charge. They understood that it was through education and culture as it could be forming a new society.

Their contributions were so prolific, that before the end of the century had provided the community with a public library, a music Academy, a music band, a school for workers and another for women, by donating the clock for the parish church, and as a way to determine the situation of the city and to plan future actions, sponsored, in 1898, together with the local Council, a census population.

Through the active cultural work of "The progressive", La Vega - that time was, as the censocon just 3,406 u000ainhabitants-possessed: fourteen schools (6 for men and 8 for girls); an Academy of music; five printing presses which were published four newspapers and two quincenarios; eight societies of different tendencies, being four instructional, literary and philanthropic nature. Its inhabitants included trein - ticuatro artists (musicians, painters, creyonistas, etc.).

La Vega entered the new century in a culturally and economically auspicious atmosphere, thanks to the vision of the founders of "The progressive".

20Th century
at the beginning of the 1900s, society not faint in their purposes, and in August 1910 inaugurates the "Teatro La progressive", first in his class in the Dominican Republic. It was designed and built by engineer Zoilo Hermógenes García. Its configuration responded to the "comedy theater" or "La Opera girl Paris". The backdrop of mouth was donated and brought from France by Mr Silvestre u000aGuzmán (father of former President Antonio Guzmán vegan). The master builder of masonry was don José Bosch Subirats (father of former President Juan Bosch vegan). The decorative aspects were carried out by Professor Manuel Puello and carpentry was commissioned to maestro José Mella.

Opened with the regia presentation of the company Spanish kings Soler with the exhibition of drama "La death Civil" and "La Viejecita" zarzuela. La Vega became the cultural center of the Cibao. However, it is appropriate to mention that already in the 1881 "The progressive" had enabled as provisional Theatre the old barracks of militia which was located on the site now occupied by the Town Hall of La Vega, where they had staged the works "El Puñal de Goth" and "Love and Atonement" of Francisco Gregorio Billini, among others.

Crowd attending these presentations was what prompted the society to endow La Vega in a u000atrue theatre. While the theatre continued with the presentations of the works "The laugh", "Low land", "La Mancha que clean", "the stigma of a rose,"La Tosca","Feudal Lord"and zarzuelas"El Rey que Rabió","La Gatita Blanca","The rascals"and"Puñao de Rosas", among other things, the library offered their services continuously, and in it they enriched, studying and culturizaban students and the intelligentsia vegan"as well as the writer Federico García Godoy, the poet Fabio Fiallo and Juan Bosch.

In the 1915 and later in 1924, "The progressive" co-hosted, along with the Central Casino, the holding of the first and second JOCs florals, resulting winners of the Flor Natural (in the first) the poet Ramón Emilio Jiménez and the second the also poet j. Furcy Pichardo

In the pageant received a special award the then young Joaquin Balaguer by u000ahis work "Federico García Godoy: the writer, novelist, writer, his nationalism and his soul".

Poetry and film
in 1920, writer and poet Spanish Francisco Villaespesa, invited by "the progressive" and by the Central Casino, offered to vegans a unforgettable recital.

To continue with its intense cultural and literary activity in 1925 "the progressive" held the successful "evening of the poets" with the participation of the most prominent authors of hanging national.

Similarly, the Mexican intellectual José Vasconcelos in their rooms a magisterial lecture given on June 13, 1926.

All that deployment of cultural activities caló in order in the Dominican intelligentsia, La Vega made lending the nickname of "City cult".

Another innovative facet was sponsored by the society in 1911, when the cinematographic aspect presented in his theater system u000aPathe, presenting also talking film in 1929, which added to the theater the role of cinema.

From the 1930, the country was affected by the dictatorship of Trujillo; however, both the library and the theatre continued its educational work and cultural agents, leading to the creation of a Chamber Orchestra, theatre and classical ballet groups.

( )
A new society for the VEGAN
remodeling
with over the years, physical structures, both Theatre as the library suffered a progressive deterioration, which together with changes in the socio-cultural demands and the indifference of the new generations, prompted a decline of society, which eventually took her to lease the theatre as a way of keeping the Library open, so in 2004, a group of young intellectuals vegans decides to take charge of the centuries-old institution to facilitate its rescue and putting in u000aoperation.

Product of these efforts and with the decisive collaboration of the Council for the administration of the miners funds of the province of La Vega, the President of the Republic, the people's Bank and other friendly institutions, enabled the physical share of the library, showing today properly equipped facilities and a refurbished Hall, to be used not only as a library but as acts and theatre room. It remains now to rescue his emblematic "Teatro La progressive".

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