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Caracas.- The President of Venezuela, Nicolás Maduro, granted Venezuelan nationality post mortem to the Dominican merengue singer Rubby Pérez, who died after an accident in a Santo Domingo nightclub where he was performing last April, reported this Sunday the state channel Venezolana de Televisión (VTV).
VTV detailed that Maduro received the singer's daughter, Zulinka Pérez, and other family members, to whom he delivered the nationalization decree and a Venezuelan identity card. In addition, the president also awarded the merengue singer the Order José Antonio Abreu, who was "the greatest musician" and the "builder" of the system of symphony orchestras in Venezuela, as Maduro explained. For her part, Zulinka Pérez stated that her father "longed for this" and thanked Maduro for the recognition on behalf of her siblings. Rubby Pérez, 69 years old, debuted with his group in 1986, after leaving the orchestra of maestro Wilfrido Vargas, with whom he popularized songs like 'El africano' or 'Cuando estés con él'. As a soloist, he became known for songs like 'Volveré', 'Sobreviviré', 'Fui buscando tus besos' or 'De color de rosa', the song he was singing when the accident happened, according to videos posted on social media. This Saturday, the Dominican Public Ministry requested preventive detention against businessman Antonio Espaillat, owner of the Jet Set nightclub, whose roof collapsed on April 8, causing the death of 236 people and injuries to more than 180. In the request for coercive measures filed in the Court of Attention of the National District, in the center of the capital, the Prosecutor's Office also requested house arrest for the businessman's sister, Maribel Espaillat, also an executive of the nightclub and who, like Antonio, has been detained since last Thursday. The hearing to learn about the preventive measures against both was set for this Sunday, but it was postponed to next Wednesday, June 18th. In a statement released after the filing of the documentation, the prosecution body indicated that according to the investigation, for which it hired three experts, "for years the Jet Set Club operated with systematic and serious negligence in the maintenance and structural adaptation of its facilities, putting the lives of its clients and employees at risk". The Espaillat brothers "allowed and managed the carrying out of important renovations, adaptations and expansions in the structure of the establishment without obtaining the required permits or carrying out the necessary structural evaluations by the Ministry of Public Works and Communications (MOPC) or the Mayor's Office of the National District", the note indicated.You can read: Venezuela resumes flights with the Dominican Republic after almost 11 months suspended
In addition, "they overloaded the roof of the nightclub excessively and progressively, with multiple heavy elements, such as technical booths, ducts, large-volume air conditioning units (including six air conditioners of 15 and 20 tons each) and water tanks", he said.
