Five Dominican Teens Attempt Guinness Reading Record

Five 18-year-old Dominicans have taken on a 20-day relay to reclaim the Guinness World Record for team reading aloud, a title currently held by Nigeria. Maikol Yafrani Arias Sánchez, Mayury A. Vélez Sánchez, Abril Sharmin del Rosario Jiménez, Franchesca Alí Minier Suárez and Ismael Alejandro Durán de la Rosa, who come from different provinces of the Dominican Republic, are taking part in the initiative called Juventud en Voz Alta, led by the Ministry of Youth.

The attempt began on August 31 at 6:00 p.m. and is scheduled to run for 20 days. The five participants take turns so that the reading continues without interruption as they work toward the mark needed to bring the record back to the country.

Mirla Lara de Bonnelly, who heads International Cooperation at the Ministry of Youth and serves as the compliance officer for the Guinness attempt, said the goal goes beyond reaching a number. She said it is about showing other young people that they are capable of taking on big challenges and turning them into achievements.

Lara de Bonnelly said this is about making history, about telling young people that they can do it, that there are no limits, that they can do great things and reach a world record. She said youth is the voice, and that they are echoing that voice with a record that is coming back home.

The effort has a Dominican precedent. In 2011, another group of five young people set a world record for reading aloud that they later extended past 365 hours. Fifteen years on, a new generation is trying to win the recognition back.

How the five readers were chosen

The five participants were selected through a process involving educational institutions and the Ministry of Education, based on their academic performance, discipline, leadership and connection to reading. Mayury, who represents the province of María Trinidad Sánchez, had stood out for her participation in the PLERD reading program, in debate competitions and in a Model United Nations.

José Miguel Esteban, a district technician with Educational District 14-06, said initiatives of this kind can open new opportunities for students.

Esteban said the challenge opens doors and offers each young person a new opportunity, because reading is more than turning the page of a book, it is a chance for a young person to open up through reading. He said that today it is Mayury and Ismael and this team of young people, but tomorrow it could be someone else.

Lara de Bonnelly added that with God's help, everyone can move forward and achieve what they set out to do in life, and that these young people are proof of believing in oneself.

Dominican authors dominate the reading list

The selected reading list is made up of 51 works totalling nearly 14,000 pages, with 65 percent of the titles written by Dominican authors. The marathon opened with "Hay un país en el mundo" by Pedro Mir, alongside a reading of the Dominican Constitution and the country's General Youth Law 49-00.

The current record is expected to be broken during a reading of "Cuando amaban las tierras comuneras," and the attempt is set to close with "Al filo de la dominicanidad" by Andrés L. Mateo. Lara de Bonnelly said this is the moment to elevate what Dominicans do and to give that recognition to the country's local writers.

Round-the-clock monitoring in a purpose-built booth

The attempt is taking place in a specially equipped booth set up in front of the Ministry of Youth and is being broadcast live 24 hours a day. Participants rotate in relays that follow Guinness World Records guidelines for this category, while a support team documents the process and monitors compliance with the rules.

The booth is climate-controlled, lit and fitted with ergonomic chairs. The young readers receive constant hydration and food, with organizers saying they are working to protect both their physical and emotional health.

Lara de Bonnelly said they are always looking after the wellbeing of these young people, their physical health and their emotional health, because they are the heroes of this story. She said steps have also been taken to reduce outside noise and help the readers concentrate, and that she believes the public has responded to the call.

She said she believes the whole country has understood and supported the effort, and that people have contributed in their own way to make it a success.

For now, Maikol, Mayury, Abril, Franchesca and Ismael continue taking turns in front of the books, with each page read and each relay bringing the team closer to the record the Dominican Republic is trying to win back.