The president of the Lion’s Club, a high school teacher, a trucking company owner, and half of the board of directors of a seniors club all died. Tony Blanco, a local son and former big league baseball player, perished in the tragedy.
Rubby Pérez, a merengue singer whose performance attracted over 400 people, many of whom were from his village, was also.
The Dominican Republic is inconsolable following the collapse of a nightclub roof that claimed hundreds of lives. Perhaps nowhere is that sorrow more evident than in Haina, an industrial city outside the capital that lost almost two dozen residents, including cultural icons and community leaders.
A grimy community that was formerly known as “the Dominican Chernobyl” due to its thriving ports and lead contamination heritage now has another unfavorable label. The little community suffered a severe blow early Tuesday morning when the ceiling of the Jet Set disco collapsed, killing 226 people.
Among those who perished were twenty-five residents.
The former Red Sox star David Ortiz, often known as Big Papi, stated on Sunday that God has a way of speaking to us, and that sometimes it is hard to grasp. Mr. Ortiz visited Haina, where he had resided, to assist in burying its deceased.
Dozens of locals gathered in a hot gym to bid farewell, joined by President Luis Abinader. Clinging to white flowers, they cried as they attempted to comprehend how so many people could be lost in one town. Some people openly questioned how they would ever be able to sing and laugh again.
Two enormous screens displayed a slide presentation of the victims’ photos while a Catholic priest and an evangelical pastor spoke comfortingly.
Two of Mr. Pérez’s merengue tunes, “Looking For Your Kisses” and “I Will Return,” were given moving ballad performances by vocalist Joselito Trinidad. The “highest voice in merengue,” Mr. Pérez, was renowned for his high-pitched singing.
Before beginning to sing, he remarked, “We are a people who have known how to unite through thick and thin, and this is no exception.” In order for us to remember that voice that took flight and flew to a better place, I raise my voice as a native Hainero.
Many of the bleachers in the gym were vacant since people were busy going to funerals all across town.
One lady sobbed and demanded responsibility as she went after the president’s entourage after the service.
“Oh, my lovely friend, she is no longer like anyone else!” Kirsis Bautista sobbed; her friend Juana Vásquez perished in the tragedy. “Justice, Mr. President! Let me say, “Justice!” when I see Luis Abinader.
