Blas Jiménez

• Name — Blas R. Jiménez • Born — August 2, 1949 • Birthplace — Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic • Died — November 13, 2009 • Occupation — * Poet • activist • scholar • professor • essayist • diplomat • Birth Name — Blas R. Jiménez

Blas married Dulce María Guzmán in the late seventies with whom he had three children: Iván, Isis and Alan. He was survived also by his brothers, Rafael and Jose, his sisters Eulalia, Dulce, and Nancy, and his father Blas Rafael Jiménez Sr.

Blas Jiménez was dedicated to increasing the value of historic, cultural, and ecological tourism in the Dominican Republic and is considered an Afro-Dominican cultural icon in his nation. He dedicated his life to promoting the value of African Heritage in Dominican culture, and published multiple poetry compilations including "Versos del Negro Blas". He spent a number of years in the United States and was once involved in a dispute with a passport official at customs and immigrations in Santo Domingo who told him to write "Dark Indian" as his race and Blas refused and insisted that he was black. Jiménez struck a major blow against invisibility by asking questions about black and national identity. He did not hesitate to proclaim his own Black identity, and took as his mission the task of forcing others to do the same. He was probably one of the first writers to utilize his lyrical literary voice to proclaim and African identity and to expose the polemics of ethnic classification in the Dominican Republic.

From 2000 to 2003 Professor Jiménez served as Secretary General of the Dominican Commission for the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).