The ceremony, lasting more than 90 minutes, covered the hundred-year history of the competition and paid tribute to Dominican culture, with the participation of more than 900 dancers from the National Folkloric Ballet, the National Contemporary Dance Company and academies from different provinces.
The presentation also brought together the National Symphony Orchestra and the Dominican National Choir, directed by maestro José Antonio Molina, while the Ilegales group performed the official theme Party Heart.
The production included more than 30 thousand LED devices distributed among the attendees, a laser light system and the aerial display with drones.
Thousands of people attended the inauguration at the Juan Pablo Duarte Olympic Center, where the parade of the delegations and the lighting of the cauldron also took place, events that marked the official start of the Games.
The Santo Domingo edition will bring together some 6,200 athletes from the region, who will compete in 40 sports and 53 disciplines per 3 thousand 244 medalsthe largest amount awarded in the history of the contest. The results will also serve as classification for different competitions in the Olympic cycle with an eye on Los Angeles 2028.
The organization reported that the preparation of the Games required an investment of 9 billion Dominican pesos (US$154.2 million), destined mainly to the construction and remodeling of sports facilities and the preparation of the host delegation, made up of 720 athletes.
Among the main figures registered for the competition are the Dominican sprinter Marileidy Paulino, the Cuban boxer Julio César La Cruz and the Mexican diver Osmar Olvera.
Although the ceremony marked the official start of the Games, several disciplines began their activity on July 20 and this weekend the first medals will be awarded.