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The Dominican Republic has produced and is home to numerous notable people and not all of them are professional baseball players. Authors, actors, beauty queens, artists, revolutionaries and musicians have all grown from the country. Let’s take a look at a few of them.

Julia Alvarez was born in New York but spent the first ten years of her life with her Dominican parents in their home country. Storytelling is a huge part of the Dominican culture and Alvarez had a flair for the talent. As a girl, she was often called upon to entertain guests with her stories. Alvarez’s father was involved in a failed attempt to overthrow the tyrannical Trujillo dictatorship and thus the family had to flee to the US when Julia was just ten years old. After earning her Master’s Degree in literature, she began focusing her writing on novels instead of poetry. Alvarez has written ten novels, one children’s book, one collection of essays, five poetry books and one non-fiction book. Her works are usually regarded as books for women when, in fact she is discussing the real lives of the Dominican people.

Oscar de la Renta was born as Oscar Aristides Renta Fiallo in Santo Domingo. He left the Dominican at the age of 18 to study art. He soon became interested in the fashion industry and found himself designing ready-to-wear for Elizabeth Arden. In 2000, he received the Council of Fashion Designers’ Designer of the Year Award, but before that, in 1990, Oscar was awarded the CFDA Lifetime Achievement Award for his contributions to the fashion industry. Although he was forced to give up his Dominican citizenship in order to work in the US, he still vacations there regularly. In fact, if a traveler happens to be at the Gran Bahia Principe Punta Cana, Oscar de la Renta may be in residence at his home not far down the beach.

Amelia Vega was born in Santiago do los Caballeros and became the first Dominican woman to be named Miss Universe in 2003. She has appeared on the cover of many magazines worldwide, both pre and post crowning. Her singing debut occurred alongside her uncle, Juan Luis Guerra in Madison Square Garden. In 2010, Vega released her first single. ‘Pasa un Segundito’ became a top Latin song in only two days. Vega’s current work consists of several television hosting positions, judging on reality shows and a part in the 2005 film, The Lost City.

Dania Ramirez was born in Santo Domingo and has since had a successful career as an actress. Her most recent role is that of Alex in the television series Entourage. She has also held major roles in Heroes, The Sopranos and X-Men: The Last Stand. Before gaining work in film, Ramirez took roles in music videos with artists, such as Jay-Z, LL Cool J, Carlos Santana and Wisin y Yandel.

Possibly the most famous person of Dominican descent is actually responsible for the creation of the Dominican Republic: Juan Pablo Duarte. He was born in 1813 in Santo Domingo and is considered to be one of the founding fathers of the Dominican, the architect of the Republic and its independence from Haitian rule. The highest mountain in the Caribbean is named after Duarte in his honor, as is Juan Pablo Duarte Square in New York City.

Victor A. Carreno was born in Santo Domingo and is now a NASA Aerospace Engineer and Technologist. He holds the patent for the Single Frequency Multi-transmitter Telemetry System. While working on the F-106 lightning research aircraft, Carreno designed and carried out experiments for the real time evaluation for the Viper single board computer. Throughout the 1980′s and 1990′s, he received many awards and recognitions for his work in the field of electrical engineering.

These are just a few of the thousands of talented people who call the Dominican Republic their birthplace. Hundreds of sports figures have been produced in the country, as well as talented meringue and salsa singers. Most returning to their roots during off-work periods and visitors, who decide to take a walk along the Catalonia Bavaro beach or visit the Dreams Palm Beach Punta Cana, will probably encounter a Dominican celebrity and not even know it.

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