The history of our country is full of illustrious names that painted their time in this land with glory. We study their life and work at school since they were children, and we turn them into references of how a good citizen should be. However, in this current history that continues to be written day by day, there is another class of men and women who, although they do not need to defend the Homeland with weapons in hand, as they did then, do represent an example of work, improvement, dignity and honesty.

The city of Moca, cradle of great Dominicans forever, is the small homeland of Hugo Pérez Ovalles, an enterprising man who has waged his own battles with effort to become what he is today. The brain and name behind “Therrestra”, a construction company at the service of tourism, residential and commercial investments, dedicated to the design, construction and supervision of projects both in the Dominican Republic and in the Caribbean.

They currently have a presence in Jamaica and the Dominican Republic, generating 2,000 jobs. They are also registered as a company in Aruba, Saint Martin, Saint Lucia, Jamaica, Cuba and the United States.

Through Footprints, today we learn a little more about the life ideology of someone who started from scratch, but who has no intention of stopping.

1- Have you ever dreamed of being a great construction entrepreneur?

As a child he dreamed of being a cabinetmaker or a baker. There was a bakery in front of the house.

Dream to be an Engineer? Never

Big businessman? Never

After graduation, and as a typical engineer, he dreamed of owning a dump truck (3M³ ), a spinning top, a compactor and building two little houses per year.

2- Moving between two worlds such as construction and business, would you say that they are your vocation? How did you discover it?

Professionally speaking, it doesn't matter what you do for a living, because you can't separate it from the word business. They remain in collusion. Developing a good construction is doing a good business for the present and future.

I think that my vocation, although I'm not good at selling myself, I'm a bit crude in that aspect, is that I don't get tired, I have no limits. I fight responsibly for what I think is right.

3- You have been at the forefront of important projects, managing to stand out in a very competitive area. What has been the key?

In what you do, there should always be something that differentiates you from others. Our secret is: good price, good execution, management, completion, responsibility and delivery before the required time. In conclusion, the key is to take care of all the details, all of them.

4- What things do you still need to achieve with your company?

Human nature is not to be conformist. We always want more. We want to continue working to become a benchmark and example throughout the Caribbean of what we Dominicans can do. We have the talents, the techniques and the ability.

5- What would you like to achieve that can be considered your greatest contribution to society?

The day he died, to cite an example, Freddy Beras Goico, each citizen, the government, all unanimously, regret his departure. I think that if at the end of our time, the country, your province, your town or your neighborhood, name a street, a park, make a bust or whatever with your name, then your time on Earth will not have been in vain. We want to be work ambassadors of the Dominican Republic.