The Chronicles of Duran Duran in Casa de Campo!

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Duran Duran arrived into Casa de Campo on Thursday the 28th of May and during their time here, they stirred up quiet a frenzy of adoration, which culminating in his impressive partying during and after their concert ‘All You Need Is Now’ on the Saturday evening. Here I bring you the inside story of Duran Duran in Casa de Campo (with great photos of the celebrations……) Our first sighting of Duran Duran came just a few hours after their arrival. The group arrived into Casa de Campo in the early hours of Thursday morning and went off to their accommodations for a few hours rest, before making their first public appearance in Altos de Chavón. In Altos de Chavón they took a short stroll through the artist village’s beautiful cobbled streets and enjoyed a folkloric dance show before they met the Dominican Republic’s press for a round of questions, an impromptu photo shoot and a dancing lesson! Click here to read about and see photos of their press conference. On their second day in Casa de Campo, Duran Duran rented a boat and set sail for local beauty spot and natural swimming pool (sand bar), Palmilla, where they spent the day enjoying the sun, the cool crystal blue waters and no doubt a few drinks. Later that same day I spotted them on their way back to their accommodation in Altos de Chavón travelling in a convoy of Jaguars (good British automobiles), when they nearly caused a golf-cart collision as a group of girls (on said golf cart) what a little crazy at seeing them. Being big boat lovers (and why not), Duran Duran then showed up at ‘The Francine’, a 151 foot yacht for a tour – which would have been wonderful except that we were expecting them for a sunset cocktail at around 7pm and they didn’t turn up until nearly 1am. The result was that we waited around and enjoyed sunset cocktails on our own (and rather romantic it was too), before we gave up hope on Duran Duran and went home to bed. So what happened at 1am? At 1am all the boat crew were also in bed and so Duran Duran were turned away! Opps! The following day was concert day, Saturday the 30th of April and although I’m sure the group were out and about having a good time in Casa de Campo, I haven’t heard of any sightings, so other than a few last minute sound checks at the amphitheater, I have no tales to tell of their day. But oh what a night! And what a spectacular concert! The concert began with a performance from our favorite Dominican band NINECIRCUS, who warmed the crowd up nicely and certainly got us all in the party mood, after which Duran Duran took to the stage and the concert/party continued until past midnight! To read more about the actual concert (photos and set list), click here. Here are a few other previously un-published photos of the concert (taken by my wonderful assistant):

Down in the ‘Special Guest’ section, right in front of the stage, the concert turned into a rocking party – with the aid of Hard Rock Cafe Guitar shaped cocktails, which were not only fun to drink, but made for great photos and were dangerously strong. It was a great feeling to be bouncing around up front with my friends, just steps away from Simon Le Bon – it felt a lot like we were singing along with him! Here are my photos of the party or ‘bonche’ during the concert, as you can see it was pretty wild! [nggallery id=825]

Paparazzi in the Marina Casa de Campo!

From the concert we made our way to the Marina Casa de Campo, where we were hoping to find Duran Duran later on – and to our surprise we found they were already there in Pepperoni about to start dinner. The managed to get there remarkably quickly (or we were remarkably slow), either way in true stalker-ish paparazzi style we sat right outside Pepperoni and waited for them to come out and then we (and everyone else in the Marina) pounced and got a few photos of Simon Le Bon before he ran away! Sadly at this point I picked up my boyfriend Philip’s camera, which refused to take any decent pictures – because it was in some funky setting, which Philip uses to take ‘arty’ photos but was utterly useless for paparazzi-ing! Here are a few of the better photos I managed to take which prove that either I was (slightly) inebriated or that the camera sucked (you may decide which!) [nggallery id=827] Once Duran Duran and their entourage had made their escape the party in the Marina Casa de Campo didn’t stop! With the whole Marina full with Casa de Campo villa owners, residents, tourists and die-hard Duran Duran fans excited from a fantastic concert and a close encounter with the gorgeous Simon Le Bon the party continued to the early hours. Here are a few more photos I took of the ensuing party (with my camera) – enjoy the photos of NINECIRCUS band members Eliseo Alba (singer), Anton Casanovas (guitarist) enjoying dinner with band manager Benny Abad. We love NINECIRCUS, to read an interview with Eliseo, click here. [nggallery id=826]

This article was written by Rebecca Hughes, editor of Casa de Campo Living and Casa de Campo’s entertainment specialist! Rebecca Hughes, Editorial and Events Marketing rhughes@casadecampoliving.com TEL: 809-523-2045   CEL: 809-949-8906 (evenings and weekends) BBM: 230DA5D1 Altos de Chavón, Casa de Campo This article was produced exclusively for www.casadecampoliving.com