Hispaniola (Spanish: La Española) is a major island in the Caribbean, containing the two sovereign states of the Dominican Republic and Haiti. The island is located between the islands of Cuba to the west and Puerto Rico to the east, within the hurricane belt.

Hispaniola is the site of the first European colonies in the New World, which were founded by Christopher Columbus on his voyages in 1492 and 1493. It is the ninth-most-populous island in the world, and the most populous in the Americas. It is the second largest island in the Caribbean (after Cuba) and the 22nd-largest island in the world.

The island bears various names originated by its native people, the Taíno Amerindians. When Columbus took possession of the island in 1492 he named it Hispana in Latin and La Isla Española, meaning "The Spanish Island", in Spanish.Bartolomé de las Casas shortened the name to "Española", and when Pietro Martyr d'Anghiera detailed his account of the island in Latin, he translated the name as Hispaniola. Because Anghiera's literary work was translated into English and French in a short period of time, the name "Hispaniola" is the most frequently used term in English-speaking countries for the island in scientific and cartographic works.

Jan de Haan (born July 29, 1951 in Warns, Friesland) is a contemporary Dutch composer, conductor and musician.

Jan de Haan was born in the Frisian village of Warns, in the Netherlands, in 1951. His first inspiration came from his father, who was a great lover of wind music. At an early age, Jan de Haan was attracted to conducting. By the age of seventeen, he was already the conductor of several wind bands. From 1969 until 1973 he studied music education and trombone at the Pedagogical Academy of Music in Leeuwarden, and in 1976 he was awarded his conductor’s certificate with Henk van Lijnschooten at the Conservatory in Utrecht. Until 1994, Jan de Haan was the conductor of the well-known Dutch brass band Soli Brass. As a guest conductor, he also worked with a number of professional and amateur wind bands and ensembles. In this capacity Jan has travelled extensively throughout Western Europe, and to the USA, Iran, and Japan. Famous bands like the Tokyo Kosei Wind Orchestra, the Desford Colliery Brass Band, the Brighouse and Rastrick Brass Band, all four Dutch military concert bands, the Frysk orkest (Frisian band), the Radio Blazersensemble (Radio Wind Ensemble) and the Dutch National Youth Fanfare Band have all been conducted by him. From 1978 until 1989, Jan de Haan also was conductor, composer and arranger for Dutch radio and television. As a programme maker he produced about 140 television music programmes. He also worked as a teacher at the Pedagogical Academy of Music in Leeuwarden for a number of years. Alongside his activities as a guest conductor, composer and international jury member, Jan de Haan was active at De Haske Publications. He founded this music publishing house in 1983, but sold his shares in the company 25 years later, in 2008, to be able to dedicate his time to composing, arranging and conducting.== Works ==

Fernando Villalona, the first artist named "El Mayimbe" (born in Montecristi, Montecristi Province on May 7, 1955, Ramón Fernando Villalona Évora), is a Dominican merengue singer whose popularity started to grow in the late 70s and has not declined ever since. Fernando began singing at a very early age and became popular after participating in "El Festival de la Voz", an amateur TV talent show. After that, merengue icon Wilfrido Vargas hired him to be part of his group Los Hijos del Rey but Fernando and the group would soon be separated after his popularity became larger than the group itself. He would then go into a period of drugs and isolation but never stopped singing, recording some of his best music during that period.

Songs such as "Tabaco y ron", "Celos,", "Te Amo Demasiado,","La Hamaquita", "Dominicano Soy," "Sonámbulo," and "Carnaval" among others became popular in the 1980s. "Quisqueya," "No Podrás," "Música Latina," "Retorno," and "Me he Enamorado" were some of his biggest hits in the 1990s. In recent years he has had some health problems making performing a difficult task. But besides the fact that he has not been able to perform frequently, he probably still is the most important merengue singer in Dominican history. He was married to a Puerto-Rican woman named Evelyn Jorge and they have a daughter named Paloma.