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.