'A pain that doesn't subside' at funerals for Dominican nightclub disaster victims
Two at a time, coffins were carried onto the court and placed on tables lined with white cloth.
The caskets were topped with photos and personal belongings of the victims, and flanked by loved ones who listened attentively to successive, short ceremonies -- two victims at a time.
Many of the bereaved broke down, inconsolable two days after the tragedy that claimed more than 200 lives.
The unlucky ones did not manage to escape when the roof of the Jet Set club -- a 50-year-old institution in Santo Domingo -- collapsed while popular merengue singer Rubby Perez sang to an adoring crowd in the early hours of Tuesday.
Perez, 69, and retired Major League Baseball player Tony Blanco -- both of whom hailed from Haina -- were among the dead.
Blanco was among the victims memorialized at Thursday's ceremony in Haina, which was attended by hundreds.
Perez was given a sendoff in a private ceremony at the National Theater in the capitol Santo Domingo earlier in the day that was attended by President Luis Abinader.
- 'Immense pain' -
At the entrance to the basketball court hung a large banner with the names and photographs of the deceased. A nearby placard with an image of a peace dove read: "With immense pain, Haina bids farewell to her beloved children."
Rows of mourners filled plastic chairs to share in the community's grief.
Among the mourners was Santo Jose German, who lost four relatives.
"A pain that doesn't subside," is how he described his emotional state.
"I didn't want to believe it was real, but it is. Life is lost in a second," he said.
During the service, blessings were pronounced by priests waving incense, for two coffins at a time, accompanied by the trumpet sounds of music teacher Felix Silvestre.
He had to stop playing several times to cry.
"You have to find strength where there is none because people died there, people I grew up with since childhood, many people," he told AFP.
With several interruptions, he performed the tune "Cuando un amigo se va" (When a friend leaves), in honor of his late friends.
"It's hard, but it must be done."
The director of the local school, 59-year-old Fernando Nina, attended the ceremony to bid farewell to acquaintances.
"Describing it as a hard blow would be an understatement; this disaster really touched sensitive fibers of our municipality," he said.
"It's incredible how three, four and even five members of a single family died. There is an atmosphere of sadness and a lot of sorrow" in the community, said Nina.
str-ba/jt/mlr/sla/acb
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
3 hours ago
- Yahoo
Could Nashville be home to a new MLB franchise?
Yahoo Sports' Jason Fitz and Caroline Fenton discuss the possibility of Nashville getting a new MLB franchise. View more Video Transcript Nashville's getting the baseball team, right? No, if you are familiar with the movie Holes, there is a scene where there's a little girl who's digging up holes and she says, I'm tired of this, Grandpa. And that's how I feel about the MLB to Nashville conversation. I'm tired of it because we have it every single summer. I did sports talk radio in Nashville for 4 years, and for 4 summers, all 4 summers that I was there, this was a topic of conversation. And it sounds great, right? Like I, I love the idea and I would die to have a Major League baseball team in Nashville. There's so many baseball fans in the city of Nashville, but uh, let's talk about the specifics here, OK, I lived in downtown Nashville. There's no room. It's full. It's at max capacity, OK? There's no room for a stadium, much less an entertainment district that goes along with the stadium. I don't know if you guys have ever heard of Broadway, but that's quite the entertainment. District in and of itself, but the idea is that the stadium has its own entertainment district, kind of like the battery in Atlanta or Ballpark Village in Saint Louis. There's no room for that. I, I promise you, there's no space at all for a stadium. The second thing is, the expansion fee for a Major League Baseball expansion team is valued around $2 billion with a B, $2 billion. The Titans' new stadium costs about $2.5 billion. So I would say that's about how much it would cost to build a Major League Baseball stadium as well, along with the cost for entertainment districts. So let's just round up and say $3 billion. Is that fair? So the expansion fee combined with what it would cost to build a new stadium, you're looking at $5 billion probably at minimum. I don't know of anybody who fits, has ties to the city of Nashville or anybody that would feel inclined enough to spend $5 billion. On a Nashville baseball team. Look, Tim McGraw's got money. He ain't got that money. Luke Combs, Kasey Musgraves, all of our favorite country music stars, they've got money. They don't have MLB expansion fee money. So it sounds fun. I love Nashville. I consider it my home. I love that city with all of my heart. I love baseball. I'm a diehard baseball fan. I would love this. It doesn't make any sense, and I don't see it happening. This is a very, very expensive initiative. I think Major League Baseball, though, is going to work hard to put the ownership groups together that they believe can actually sustain. I do not believe current ownership at all that's trying in Nashville will get a team. I think Major League Baseball wants a team there because of that, they'll find a group of billionaires and collectives that can come up with the cash and there will be a Nashville baseball team. It's just gonna take some time. Close
New York Post
2 days ago
- New York Post
Ozzy Osbourne's family pushed to delay BBC doc hours before it was set to air
The BBC has revealed that Ozzy Osbourne's loved ones asked the public service broadcaster to delay a documentary about the late Black Sabbath legend just hours before it was scheduled to air this week. 'Ozzy Osbourne: Coming Home,' which was initially set to premiere on BBC One on Monday, Aug. 18, was abruptly removed from the schedule earlier in the day. 10 Ozzy Osbourne at the Hydro in Glasgow, Scotland, on November 9, 2014. Getty Images for MTV 10 Ozzy Osbourne during a press conference in Los Angeles on February 6, 2007. AFP FILES/AFP via Getty Images Although the network confirmed that the doc had been 'moved in the schedules,' it did not explain why the doc was moved until a statement on Tuesday. 'Our sympathies are with the Osbourne family at this difficult time,' the BBC said. 'We are respecting the family's wishes to wait a bit longer before airing this very special film.' 'The new date will be confirmed shortly,' the statement added. 10 Ozzy and Sharon Osbourne during the 62nd annual Grammy Awards in Los Angeles, California, on January 26, 2020. Getty Images for The Recording Academy 10 Kelly, Ozzy and Sharon Osbourne at a pre-Grammy gala in Beverly Hills, California, on January 25, 2020. Getty Images for The Recording Academy 'Coming Home,' which initially began as a 10-part series, covers the 'Crazy Train' singer's return to the UK, his final farewell concert on July 5, and his shocking death on July 22. The series was ultimately converted to a single, hour-long film depicting the last three years of Ozzy's life in the wake of his sudden passing last month at the age of 76. The heavy metal icon's loved ones confirmed Ozzy's death in an emotional statement to The Post on the day of his passing. 10 Ozzy Osbourne at the iHeartRadio Theater in Burbank, California, on February 24, 2020. Getty Images for iHeartMedia 10 Ozzy and Sharon Osbourne with their three children, Aimee, Kelly and Jack, in 1987. Getty Images 'It is with more sadness than mere words can convey that we have to report that our beloved Ozzy Osbourne has passed away this morning,' they said. 'He was with his family and surrounded by love,' his loved ones added. 'We ask everyone to respect our family's privacy at this time. Sharon, Jack, Kelly, Aimee and Louis.' Following an emotional funeral procession through the streets of his Birmingham, England, hometown on July 30, the 'Shot in the Dark' singer's friends and family laid Ozzy to rest near the lake of his Buckinghamshire home 10 Jack, Sharon and Kelly Osbourne view tributes to the late Ozzy Osbourne from fans as his funeral cortege travels through his home city of Birmingham on July 30, 2025. Getty Images 10 Louis, Aimee, Jack, Sharon and Kelly Osbourne during a funeral procession for Ozzy Osbourne in Birmingham, England, on July 30, 2025. AFP via Getty Images The late rocker's official cause of death was confirmed to be cardiac arrest, acute myocardial infarction, coronary artery disease and Parkinson's disease on August 5. Ozzy and Sharon's oldest daughter, Aimee, 41, listed her late father's profession as 'songwriter, performer and rock legend' when she submitted the death certificate document to a registry in London. 10 Sharon and Ozzy Osbourne in Los Angeles, California, on February 21, 2015. Getty Images for Chopard On July 5, during Ozzy's final concert and just days before his death, the 'Mama, I'm Coming Home' singer expressed his appreciation to his fans ahead of his last-ever song. 'I just want to say to you on behalf of the guys in Black Sabbath and myself, your support over the years has made it all possible for us to live the lifestyle that we do,' Ozzy said. 'Thank you from the bottom of my heart,' he concluded. 'I love you. We love you.' 10 Ozzy Osbourne during the 2024 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony at Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse in Cleveland, Ohio, on October 19, The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame A biopic chronicling Ozzy and Sharon's decades-long romance, meanwhile, is still reportedly in the works at Sony Pictures despite the 'Miracle Man' singer's death last month. Polygram Entertainment partnered with Osbourne Media, the family's media company, in 2021 to announce plans for a film about the couple's legendary relationship. A rep for Polygram Entertainment then confirmed to Variety on Aug. 6 that 'they're currently in negotiations with a director, which could be confirmed very soon.'
New York Post
2 days ago
- New York Post
Jack Draper, Jessica Pegula share funny post-match exchange at US Open: ‘Old married couple'
While Jack Draper and Jessica Pegula may have said all of four words to each other before teaming up for this week's U.S. Open mixed doubles tournament, the two already sound like an 'old married couple,' one reporter joked during a hilarious back-and-forth on Tuesday. Pegula and Draper were speaking with reporters after they had defeated Emma Raducanu and Carlos Alcaraz and Daniil Medvedev and Mirra Andreeva to advance to the semifinals. Draper was asked about his seriousness on the court during the matches and what it would mean to win, he replied that 'it would mean a lot' and that 'obviously it is like a bit of an exhibition format. It's nice to play with someone.' Advertisement Jessica Pegula of the US and Jack Draper of Britain confer during their first round mixed doubles match against Britain's Emma Raducanu and Carlos Alcaraz of Spain at the US Open on August 19, 2025. AFP via Getty Images That kicked off a funny exchange as Pegula jokingly admonished Draper for calling it an 'exhibition.' 'You shouldn't be saying that, but that's OK,' she said to him. The No. 5-ranked men's tennis player in the world was a bit confused at first, thinking that his comment about winning was what Pegula had first been referring to. Advertisement 'Yeah. It's not an exhibition. I know what you're saying,' she added. 'I'm hearing that a lot, it's a bit of an exhibition, a bit of fun, why am I so locked in,' Draper continued. 'It's a good opportunity to play, do well, get a lot of points in before next week, yeah. Like, I'm enjoying being locked in. I don't know why it's a crime to be locked in.' The moment amused Pegula as she jumped back in laughing as she said, 'No, it's fine. I'm just laughing at the 'exhibition' part.' Advertisement Jessica Pegula of United States and Jack Draper of Great Britain play Carlos Alcaraz of Spain and Emma Raducanu of Great Britain during the mixed doubles first round at USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center on August 19, 2025. Getty Images It led the reporter to chime in about the two sounding like they had known each other for quite some time. 'No, it was a great answer,' Pegula added with a smile. The pair certainly played like they've known each other for a long time as Pegula and Draper dispatched their first round opponents, 4-2, 4-2 and then sent their quarterfinal opponents home in quick order, 4-1,4-1. Advertisement Pegula and Draper will face the No. 3 seed Iga Swiatek and Casper Rudd in the semifinals on Wednesday.
