October 14th, 15th and 16th 2005 sees Santo Domingo, the Dominican Republic's capital, host the 6th International Latin Music Festival, the "Festival Presidente de Musica Latina" sponsored by Presidente beer. From 6 o'clock each evening the Felix Sanchez Olympic Stadium at the Juan Pablo Duarte Olympic Centre in Santo Domingo will be bursting with rhythm and energy. Over the 3 nights festival goers can enjoy some of the best current Latin music, including merengue, salsa, balada, pop, Latin rock, bachata and regaetton. It is estimated some 150,000 spectators will enjoy the event. Confirmed for this year's festival are Chayanne and David Bisbal. Other likely performers include Marc Anthony, Franco de Vita, Diego Torres and Julieta Venegas, as reported in the Listin Diario.

Music and dance is at the heart of Dominican culture. The most popular form is Merengue, the hot, spicy, Latin music that flows through the veins of every Dominican and which will be heard, full volume, almost anywhere you go in the country. A tad more pastoral is Bachata, Dominican country music, with plenty of songs about heartbreak and loss. Salsa probably makes the third favourite musical type in Dom Rep's holy trinity, though you'll find plenty of jazz, rock, hip-hop and just about anything else that'll keep your feet moving. Other dates to note:

Jazz Festival, 20th -23rd October 2005. Runs at various towns along the North coast. A mix of venues from theatres, to parks, to beaches. Performers include Gonzalo Rubalcaba and Chucho Valdez. Santo Domingo Merengue Festival, 23rd - 30th July 2006: Hotel ballrooms, terraces, grass patches and makeshift bars under the stars are all used for the world's top merengue bands to play for the world's best merengue dancers. Puerto Plata Merengue Festival: Last week September first week of October The entire length of Puerto Plata's malecon is closed to traffic. Food stalls are set up. Includes arts and crafts and traditional dishes are prepared using just-harvested crops. Note for editors: For more information on the Dominican Republic contact: Deidre Keegan at Face 2 PR 020 7317 7437 or visit www.caribbean.co.uk/dominicanrepublic