ARLINGTON -- The Faro a Colon was opened in 1992 in celebration of the 500th anniversary of Christopher Columbus' first voyage to America. The $70 million, 688-foot tall lighthouse is so powerful that its beams can be seen across the Caribbean in Puerto Rico, and the story is the remains of the famous explorer are buried on site.
The lighthouse is near the waterfront of Santo Domingo, not far from Base Naval 27 de Febrero, where Nomar Mazara's father is a high-ranking member of the Dominican Republic Navy.
Mazara grew up in the middle-class neighborhood, and while his father was tending to his naval duties, the son was at home with his mother Yanira.