Culture is> development. Network of Spanish cooperation cultural centres by AECID PUBLICACIONES

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Network of Spanish Cooperation Cultural Centres

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culture IS> development

Network of Spanish Cooperation Cultural Centres

General Catalogue of Official Publications https://publicacionesoficiales.boe.es This publication was supported by the Spanish Agency for International Development Cooperation (AECID). The content does not necessarily reflect the opinion of the AECID.

Coordination: Directorate of Cultural and Scientific Relations General Coordination: Paloma Castellanos Translation: I See Culture: Jo-Anne Cardinal, Adán M. Rodríguez and Daniel Migueláñez Text revision and proofreading: Glenn Harding Original design: Mikel Garay Layout: Rubén Espada

© of this edition: Spanish Agency for International Development Cooperation Avenida de los Reyes Católicos, 4 28040 Madrid, Spain Tel. +34 91 583 81 00 www.aecid.es © of the texts: the authors © of the images: their owners NIPO: 109-20-030-3 NIPO on line: 109-20-031-9 D.L.: M-14173-2020 Non-commercial edition

Contents

For Spanish Cooperation, culture IS development Directorate of Cultural and Scientific Relations

Network of Cultural Centres, Spanish Cooperation. Culture as a necessary framework for sustainable development 9 Network of Cultural Centres, Spanish Cooperation

Featured projects La Casa Tomada (CCS El Salvador). Laboratorio de Ciudadanía Digital (CCS Mexico)

188 198

Other perspectives Network of Cultural Centres, Spanish Cooperation

Network of Cultural Centres, a home for literature Sergio Ramírez

209

Overseas Cooperation Units

Abok (Dance) Luz Arcas

213

Shared campfires Alberto Conejero

217

CCS Buenos Aires CCS Montevideo CCS Santiago de Chile CCS Juan de Salazar, Asunción CCS La Paz CCS Lima CCS Santo Domingo CCS San José CCS Tegucigalpa CCS San Salvador CCS Ciudad de México CCS Bata CCS Malabo

24 32 42 50 60 70 84 92 100 108 118 128 136

Centres Associated with Spanish Cooperation

CCPE Rosario CCS Córdoba CCS Panamá CCS Managua CCS Guatemala

148 156 162 170 178

Twinned countries Mercedes Ferrer 221 Where other dialogues cannot reach Isabel Muñoz 225 Fruitful relationships Eugenio Ampudia 227 Opening windows Icíar Bollaín

231

With older eyes Cristina Andreu

235

For Spanish Cooperation, culture IS development Directorate of Cultural and Scientific Relations

Like human beings, institutions develop their own, unique personalities, evolving from what they once were, from what they aspired to become, to what reality finally allowed. Such is the case of the cultural centres established by the Spanish Agency for International Development Cooperation (AECID), an evolution which has endowed each of these centres with a characteristic identity. Time has left them with tell-tale wrinkles; and now, like young people grown to adulthood, the centres may step back, look at themselves in the mirror and see just who they are and how they have changed. A different model. Over time, the AECID network of cultural centres has brought about a new model of centre, each of which has distinctive features. The centres not only promote Spanish culture but also help creators and the cultural industry at a local level, forming part of the fabric of society and becoming a hub for development in the country. The centres are also dedicated to promoting cultural cooperation among the countries in which they are present, bringing cultures and creators closer together. The creation of the network is merely the seed of the centresâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; subsequent evolution. Among its management bodies, the AECID has a Directorate for Cultural and Scientific Relations, of which the network of cultural centres forms a part, thus making Spain one of the first countries to acknowledge culture as a key element of development. In the design and application of this strategy for culture and development, the cultural centres are of primary importance, facilitating the implementation of the programmes created. The centres, moreover, provide channels for other policies, not strictly related to cultural development, broadening their objectives and activities by addressing areas such as gender issues, the environment, the LGBTI community and indigenous peoples, often extending the boundaries of what is generally understood as a cultural centre. This perspective on culture has proven useful in the implementation of the core policies of Spanish Cooperation, approaching questions from another angle, with a fresh outlook. The network is true to its description, coordinating and communicating all the centres, connecting the cultural sectors of the countries in which they are present, and over the years weaving a dense fabric of contacts among Spanish personnel and the host society.

This publication presents the model created and describes how it evolved to become a paradigm for cultural initiatives. The English-language version, furthermore, introduces us to international organisations and the institutions with which we work. In it, we first reflect on our points of departure and indicate some directions for future development. Then, each cultural centre is presented in turn, in the manner of a yearbook, with a description of what it is, where it is situated and what it does. Finally, rather than highlighting our own milestones, successes and failures, from a standpoint that would inevitably be subjective, we ask others to describe the centres and to give their opinions. Firstly, we hear from the users of the centres, together with local co-workers, who have endowed the physical spaces with content and observed their evolution at first hand. We also seek the views of leading figures from Spanish culture who have visited the centres, taking their art and their knowledge overseas, not only teaching but also learning from the experience. The reality of the cultural centres is illustrated with two concrete examples that have emerged from two well-established experimental laboratories, institutions with a life and spirit of their own: La Casa Tomada in El Salvador and the Laboratorio de CiudadanĂa Digital in Mexico. Finally, we thank all those who have contributed, over the years, to the creation of this model and its unique personality; the AECID staff at the headquarters in Spain, the personnel, both Spanish and local, working at each of the centres, and above all, the users, the people who have brought these facilities to life, showing us the way forward and ensuring that the centres achieve their full potential. This, let us not forget, was the original goal, the reason for their existence. Without this local involvement by those most directly affected, the centres would literally have no purpose. May the network continue to evolve and prosper. Hopefully, it will preserve what has always been one of its defining aspects, an indispensable element of the model â&#x20AC;&#x201C; something that is intangible, hard to describe, but nevertheless contagious â&#x20AC;&#x201C; whoever works with the centres or merely comes into contact is rapidly entranced. To paraphrase Lope de Vega, we can safely say that whoever has tried it, knows. Anyone who has interacted with one of these centres during their professional career will agree, its work is not defined merely by the task at hand, but is almost always based on commitment and enthusiasm. May this never falter.

Network of Cultural Centres of Spanish Cooperation. Culture as a crucial element of the framework for sustainable development Network of Cultural Centres, Spanish Cooperation

The Spanish Agency for International Development Cooperation (AECID) is an offshoot of the Institute of Hispanic Culture, which was created in 1946 to foster relations between Spain and its former colonies in Latin America. AECID forms part of the Ministry for Foreign Affairs, the European Union and Cooperation, and is responsible for carrying out Spanish policies for international development cooperation. It was created in 1988 to combat poverty by promoting, managing and implementing public policies aimed at achieving sustainable human development in developing countries, particularly those included in the Master Plan for Spanish Cooperation. To carry out its projects and activities, AECID has established a wide-ranging structure of Technical Cooperation Offices (TCOs), Training Centres (TCs) and Cultural Centres (CCs) in the countries in which it operates. The Network of Spanish Overseas Cultural Centres is one of the main instruments of Spanish Cooperation to implement cultural cooperation policies for development. The Agency is currently present in fifteen countries, with eighteen cultural centres (sixteen in Latin America and two in Equatorial Guinea). The geographic distribution of the network demonstrates the strength of the historic, cultural and linguistic ties between Spain and these areas. AECID views culture as a key factor in achieving sustainable human development, in eradicating poverty, in actively pursuing peace building and in fostering the full and universal exercise of global citizenship. Within this framework, the network of cultural centres, as part of the Directorate of Cultural and Scientific Relations, works to strengthen the potential of culture in assuring a sustainable world for us all. I. The Network of Cultural Centres in the framework of the 2030 Agenda The implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development (UN General Assembly, 2015), as a frame of reference for the Government of Spain â&#x20AC;&#x201C; and, especially, for Spanish Cooperation â&#x20AC;&#x201C; invites us to reflect on the role played by the Network of Cultural Centres (NCC) in the context of the policies implemented by the Agency.

Sustainable Development Goals of the 2030 Agenda

For over 30 years, Spanish Cooperation has argued that culture is an element of crucial importance in the international agenda. This view was expressed forcefully in the Culture and Development Strategy Paper, published in 2007, which set out our conviction that culture is fundamental to the construction of global citizenship and to universal, comprehensive development. While culture is not explicitly mentioned in the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), this vision is present in the 2030 Agenda, where the concept of culture is implicit in many of its objectives and in the introductory statement. In 2018, once the mandate was issued to implement the 2030 Agenda, the Spanish Government submitted its Action Plan for a Sustainable Development Strategy, thus reinforcing Spainâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s commitment to the global agenda. Of the ten transformative measures proposed, two are of special relevance to Spanish Cooperation; the First Measure defines the 2030 Agenda as a fundamental pillar of Spanish foreign action, while the Fifth states that cultural action should be employed as a key element in the transformation, dissemination and application of the Agenda. Broadly speaking, this is the context of the NCC. In the years to come, its actions will be focused on converting the above mandate into concrete actions in line with the Agenda, in which culture will be addressed from a broad perspective, as an exercise in solidarity, seeking to achieve greater equality on the global stage. This undertaking must be approached with respect for and encouragement of cultural diversity, which we consider to be part of the great heritage of humanity. Supporting participation in cultural life should be seen as a good practice favouring sustainable human development. Moreover, the NCC should contribute to producing a comprehensive discourse, with an open-door policy to other approaches, such as inclusion, gender diversity, the environment and a culture of peace and innovation both for society at large and for the constituent members and goals of Spanish Cooperation.

II. The Network of Cultural Centres, acting within local ecosystems The recent proliferation of cultural facilities in Spain is paralleled by that of AECID cultural centres abroad. In each sphere, the aim of these initiatives is to highlight dynamic, innovative and creative aspects of our society. Regional and local administrations have spearheaded this institutional and social commitment, working to promote culture in multiple ways. The cultural centres opened by Spanish Cooperation are intended to provide areas of citizenship, participation and exchange, where citizens’ groups can organise, thus creating important spaces of democratic legitimacy. Many centres work closely with international artists and institutions, facilitating the entry and acceptance of innovative ideas. Within this context, the operative model of the Spanish cultural centres has taken shape through an inverse process. Institutions that had originally focused on international promotion and cooperation gradually evolved into spaces that became better known for their locally-oriented cultural policies. Whether due to their own nature or to the lack of equivalent alternatives in the proximity, the centres formed close relations with local society, providing instruments and resources and promoting local creative experiences. In consequence, the NCC constitutes the main platform within many countries – apart from major cultural infrastructures such as museums and libraries – for developing and applying policies of cultural cooperation and promotion. The NCC has progressively advanced towards a model in which culture is viewed as a component of development, and thus a necessary aspect of AECID policies. Spanish Cooperation has supported this approach, which is now shared by most of the parties involved. In this respect, the main focus of cultural policies implemented overseas has shifted away from strategies basically intended to disclose, publicise and internationalise our own cultural productions, towards new and enriching perspectives. Therefore, the NCC currently seeks to foster cultural and scientific cooperation as a means of supporting development. The cultural centres are expected to operate and expand within this broad field of action, in the belief that the cultural dimension both accompanies and drives economic and social development, in all countries, and contributes to social cohesion and sustainable development. Most of the countries in which the NCC is present share certain features that impact on the development of their societies. The cultural centres work to eradicate poverty and inequality, to promote and defend human rights and cultural diversity, to protect and safeguard the cultural heritage, to combat climate change, to support gender equality and to achieve a peaceful and inclusive society in which all may exercise their full global citizenship rights – via the medium of culture. One of the elements that significantly characterises the work of the cultural centres is their interaction with society, in most cases, playing a very significant role within the local cultural fabric. In general, the more central the position of the cultural centre within the local ecosystem, the more pronounced its role. Of course, individual situations vary, but basically there is an inverse correlation between the cultural power of the territory and the role played by the cultural centre in question. In other words, in more dynamic cultural ecosystems, the cultural centre tends to play a secondary role, and vice versa. According to their centrality within the local ecosystem, the AECID cultural centres can be grouped into different types. Some play a significant role in cultural promotion but are less effective as agents for

cooperation. Others, perhaps in a national capital where the cultural scene is highly concentrated, may be located in a less prominent space in the local environment. Finally, some are equipped to take significant action in cultural promotion and also have the potential to promote culturally-related development in the local context. In summary, the AECID cultural centres seek to work in harmony with local actors, to promote Spanish culture and to present a favourable image of the country. In addition to the high-quality cultural programming offered, these centres have become well established as open, inclusive and unifying spaces for public participation, facilitating access to culture, strengthening the Ibero-American cultural space and helping create networks where cultural interests may be fostered and exchanged. III. Areas of action The cultural centres provide spaces for public participation, in coordination with local counterparts (institutions and civil society organisations). In this, they employ a multi-part strategy, in which scheduled events are related to development, cooperation and cultural promotion. This action spans three broad areas: 1. Culture and development: promotion of culture as a tool for development Taking the Culture and Development Strategy Paper (published by Spanish Cooperation in 2007) as a reference, the cultural centres address the following strategic areas: training human capital for cultural management through the ACERCA Programme; the political and economic dimensions of culture in its contribution to development; the relationship and complementarity between education and culture; the sustainable management of the cultural heritage for development; the relationship between communication and culture with respect to development; and the promotion of processes for the recognition of cultural rights. 2. Cultural cooperation: fostering culture among equals The cultural centres promote bilateral and multilateral relations with countries, institutions and cultural actors, via exchanges among creative, intellectual and scientific communities and the implementation of joint projects. In addition, relations and exchanges between Spanish cultural institutions and similar institutions in partner countries are encouraged. Multilateral cultural cooperation is promoted, mainly in the context of the European Union and UNESCO. Finally, the centres contribute to strengthening the Ibero-American Cultural Space and foster the creation of new networks, while supporting the consolidation of those already in existence, in all areas of culture. 3. Cultural promotion: encouraging culture as an element of external projection To promote Spanish culture, in its diverse forms and languages, the cultural centres favour internationalisation, advocating the inclusion of artistic and creative communities and of cultural activities in general within international networks. The centres, thus, facilitate the presence of the cultural sector in international events, promoting the Hispanic cultural heritage and encouraging the use of the Spanish language and of the co-official languages of Spain.

Book fair, supported by the Honduras Cultural Centre, at Redondel de los Artesanos in Tegucigalpa (Honduras)

In the latter respect, inter-institutional coordination is especially important, in order to harmonise the interests and activities of the various organisations in Spain with mandates related to cultural action abroad. The cultural centres, therefore, follow the guidelines set out by the AECID Directorate of Cultural and Scientific Relations â&#x20AC;&#x201C; following the principle of unity of actions overseas â&#x20AC;&#x201C; in order to ensure appropriate coordination with Spanish institutions active in this field (such as Instituto Cervantes, the Ministry of Culture, Spanish Cultural Action (AC/E) and the Spanish Institute for Foreign Trade (ICEX), as well as with the Autonomous Communities (regions) and local agencies. The boundaries of the above-mentioned areas of action are often blurred. Thus, a promotion-oriented activity may have a positive impact on cultural development both in the initiating country and in the territory where the activity takes place; furthermore, there may also be components of cooperation and dialogue. The outcome is like a room full of mirrors, in which the role of the beneficiary is constantly changing. For example, in the exhibition The Prado Museum in the Streets, organised by the cultural centre of Bata-Malabo (Equatorial Guinea), in collaboration with El Prado, we might inquire, who is the real beneficiary: the people of Equatorial Guinea who visited the exhibition? The students of the National University of Equatorial Guinea who attended the workshop prior to the exhibition and who later guided the school visits? The Spanish people and the museum, for the dissemination of their heritage? Probably, the only answer possible is that the initiative produces benefits for a variety of subjects. This apparent paradox is one of the most interesting aspects of the cultural cooperation activities organised by the network of cultural centres.

Students visiting the exhibition El Museo del Prado, on the waterfront at Bata (Equatorial Guinea), 2016

MulĂŻer, A show by the Spanish company Maduixa, presented in the historic city centre of San Salvador.

IV. The Cultural Centres as agents of cooperation Spainâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s cultural centres have established themselves as dynamic and diverse agents of cooperation for development. Apart from their defence and promotion of cultural diversity, these centres have made a special impact in areas such as fostering public participation, the recovery of public spaces, preventing violence, advancing regional integration and strengthening public and private cultural institutions. The cultural centres are recognised by their counterparts as active, flexible and innovative partners which, in addressing ever-changing priorities, act in accordance with the strategic paper published by Spanish Cooperation and at the same time with the 2030 Agenda, whilst taking the local context very much into account. The centres also represent important communicative spaces for development, and provide valuable meeting points for cooperation agencies, beneficiaries and the general public. In addition to highlighting the projects undertaken by Spanish Cooperation, they raise the profile of work done by NGOs and supranational entities, by presenting initiatives, launching campaigns or simply informing society about the cooperation work performed. Finally, let us draw attention to two essential qualities of the network of cultural centres of Spanish Cooperation: on the one hand, their multifaceted role as hybrid agents of cooperation, which enables them to establish good relationships with a wide range of actors, thanks to their long experience and profound knowledge of local contexts. On the other hand, the centres enjoy a multi-sectoral capacity of involvement, which allows them to reach out to other sectors through programmatic actions, both locally and regionally. Cultural centres as hybrid agents of cooperation One of the advantages offered by Spanish Cooperation, with respect to other benefactors â&#x20AC;&#x201C; and one that is internationally acknowledged â&#x20AC;&#x201C; is the existence of different types of cooperation units within the countries involved: thus, according to local circumstances, there may be technical cooperation offices, training centres and/or cultural centres. Thanks to this variety of options, which are now well established, especially in the case of the cultural centres, Spanish Cooperation is able to create networks with different types of structures, as needed, and to generate a range of relationships with a broad spectrum of actors in the partner countries. As the cultural centres are identified as agents of AECID and therefore are recognised by local institutions as areas of governmental cooperation, they are able to undertake major projects with the corresponding ministries. On the other hand, they are also perceived as agents with a non-institutional profile, often operating in a way comparable with the work carried out in the private sector. One of the characteristics of the NCC, with respect to day-to-day work with associations, creative groups and other social entities, is that the cultural centres play a role similar to that of an NGO, involving proximity to civil society in the partner country in question. As a result of this characteristic, the cultural centres often become mediators in cooperation activities and may offer direct support to local organisations.

This confluence of stakeholders in the activities performed by the cultural centres means that in many countries the spaces thus created and employed have facilitated the legitimisation of civil society, presenting a supportive commitment to development and providing a forum for debate, without fear of confrontation, and for critical thought. In many cases, moreover, the cultural centres exert a degree of political influence, via their support and accompaniment of civil entities. These characteristics, together with the centresâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; proximity to civil society, have not gone unnoticed by other international organisations of cooperation. With their direct, visible actions, the cultural centres are frequent partners of multilateral organisations, other agencies of cooperation, embassies and NGOs (the latter, in particular, often view the cultural centres as entities they can work with or to which they can present their actions). This hybrid functionality may have arisen from the advantages offered by the vocation of cultural cooperation and of exchanges between equals, which establish ties of complicity with public institutions and with civil society. Lastly, as the cultural space thus provided is permanent, open to all and with access for public participation, the centres are uniquely transparent about what they do and why, not only to Spanish society but also to our partner countries. The cultural centres as multi-sectoral agents of cooperation The cultural centres are an acknowledged force for good in the area of culture and development, and have a record of achievements in fields such as cultural heritage and diversity, gender mainstreaming, human rights and the environment. In addition to questions of culture per se, in recent years their work has extended to include collaboration with other sectors (including education, gender issues, governance and the environment), an expansion that has heightened the integration between these centres and other agents of cooperation in local contexts. Through their cultural programmes and projects, the centres have contributed to programmes aimed at preventing violence and at supporting the development of the economic fabric, among other areas. These collaborations, with different degrees of synergy, have taken place most intensively over the last decade. Through this development, the cultural centres have matured and acquired experience as agents of cooperation, entering into alliances with many other actors â&#x20AC;&#x201C; institutional, private, from other areas of Spanish Cooperation, local and multilateral â&#x20AC;&#x201C; to carry out specific plans or programmes, thus enhancing local ownership and alignment with partner countries. Finally, the current Master Plan for Spanish Cooperation (2018-2021), in its evolution and strategic orientation towards the SDGs of the 2030 Agenda, has helped focus efforts, enhancing dialogue with partner countries and facilitating a strategic framework in which the cultural centres may continue to function within a broader horizon. V. Culture is development Further examining the work of the cultural centres in terms of development, their activities can be grouped into the following main areas (each concerning a specific aspect of the Strategy for Culture and Development): culture and citizenship;

cultural and creative entrepreneurship; institutional strengthening and the defence and promotion of cultural diversity. Culture and citizenship

Poster for the Transtravesti reading group in the Juan de Salazar Cultural Centre in Asunción (Paraguay) Poster for a debate on girls and videogames, in the Juan de Salazar Cultural Centre in Asunción (Paraguay)

The cultural centres have been putting the ideals of Spanish Cooperation into practice for many years, consolidating democratic processes by promoting the participation and involvement of civil society. By implementing joint projects, training local actors, presenting and publicising their actions and, above all, by creating and applying a transparent model of institutional intervention, the cultural centres have helped strengthen the existence of an organised and participative citizenship, based on cultural and social agents playing an active role in transparently equitable processes, with ongoing dialogue and, in some cases, new forms of sustainable, replicable collective cultural management. In this area, the cultural centres have played an essential role in promoting the defence of vulnerable groups, with particular respect to cultural identity and individual rights, indigenous and African-descendant communities and social groups at risk of exclusion. Regarding the defence of women’s rights and the promotion of gender equality, the cultural centres have advocated the recognition of formal, real equality, organising campaigns on political, economic, social, cultural and sexual and reproductive rights. Initiatives have also been undertaken to collaborate with feminist and women’s organisations.

Laboratorio de Ciudadanía Digital, a project jointly sponsored by the Spanish Cultural Centre, Fundación Telefónica and Ateneo Español in Mexico.

Some of the countries where the cultural centres are located have suffered rising levels of public insecurity, a deterioration that has had a direct impact on development. In consequence, the cultural centres have reinforced their efforts in the field of violence prevention and have sought to foster education for a culture of peace. In this respect, the cultural centres support or take joint action with local associations and groups to implement strategies for the public good, actively seeking the recovery of public spaces, promoting the collective ownership of such spaces and generating areas for meeting and socialisation. Cultural and creative entrepreneurship After many years during which the cultural centres have supported artistic creation and dissemination by local communities – a task that continues to form an essential aspect of the centres’ activities – different forms of promoting cultural and creative initiatives are now being considered. Culture forms an intrinsic part of complex production chains and processes, due to technological advances and changes in the media and in public access to cultural products. In consequence, cultural content must address different levels of the market, and cultural and creative industries must devise new ways to create, produce and distribute their products. In this respect, the cultural centres have sponsored training programmes focused on cultural management and technical training in the sector. A good example of this is the “media labs”, which seek to enhance proficiencies in digital cultural creation. This new approach has led to the creation of laboratories

and start-up incubators, enhancing the creative economy and enabling ties to be established with fields such as technology, innovation and tourism, and highlighting the importance of creative services and content. The centres provide training according to the needs of the project, generate ideas for future business, and study their formulation, implementation and feasibility. In short, the cultural centres accompany artistic and cultural initiatives from their birth to the final implementation. On occasion, the cultural centresâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; work in the field of entrepreneurship parallels business and public-sector initiatives related to corporate social responsibility (CSR), as the cultural sector is an area with great potential for the development and application of CSR practices, thus generating a solid framework for the negotiation of economic and social matters. Institutional strengthening Since its inception, Spanish Cooperation has sought to develop the skills of publicservice personnel within partner countries. In this context, the cultural centres have contributed significantly to the establishment and implementation of training programmes, working in close collaboration with the corresponding institutions. In addition to specifically cultural affairs, the centres also provide resources to other areas in which its policies may foster social inclusion, such as gender equality and the protection/inclusion of especially vulnerable groups. Thus, some centres have participated in the provision and implementation of policies targeting cultural fields, while in other cases they have worked to promote public participation, especially at the local level, i.e. in individual municipalities, where such action may still be only incipient, thus contributing to processes of decentralisation. Finally, in most of the countries in which Spanish Cooperation is active, work has been done to help strengthen civil society. In this context, the cultural centres play a very significant role in the functioning of regional networks, both public and private, across the entire cultural spectrum. Cultural diversity Respect for cultural freedom and the promotion of diversity are fundamental principles of Spanish Cooperation, and these values have been incorporated in the successive Master Plans that have guided its work. In this respect, too, the introduction to the 2030 Agenda Declaration emphasises the importance of granting recognition and respect to cultural diversity, and highlights the potential contribution of all cultures and civilisations to sustainable development. The promotion and defence of cultural expressions is probably the most widely-recognised work performed by the cultural centres. Their actions in this field are coordinated with other agencies within Spanish Cooperation and with international institutions (including UNESCO, the Organisation of Ibero-American States, and SICA, the Central American Integration System), reflecting the fact that the work performed involves strategic actions that in many cases must be addressed beyond national frontiers. Spanish Cooperation outlines the path to be followed by the cultural centres in promoting access to culture, heritage and cultural diversity, which we consider

to be a global public good and a basic element of sustainable human development. In addition, the centres normally support and apply the proposals set out in international framework documents on cultural questions, taking the view that in order to address and overcome the challenges presented in the global agenda, it is essential to create culturally inclusive and diverse societies. The cultural centres are closely integrated into their respective environments and have a profound understanding of local and national contexts. Thus, they are perfectly equipped to promote respect for cultural diversity, intercultural dialogue and freedom of expression and creation, and to foster the effective participation of citizens in cultural life. VI. Spanish Cooperation Cultural Centres: looking towards the future The main strength of the Spanish Cooperation Cultural Centres is the singularity and flexibility of the model they embody, by which diverse types of action can be undertaken, in accordance with the needs of different contexts, ranging from more conventional content to innovative, cross-cutting projects. This multi-faceted nature enables the centres to implement projects of international importance whilst at the same time maintaining basic cultural services. In many cases they have become reference-level institutions, without renouncing the freedom to be unconventional. By the very nature of its governance, the Network of Cultural Centres has a fluid, changing character, but each centre remains closely connected with the environment in which it is located. As agents of Spanish Cooperation, having become consolidated as a very significant influence in their local contexts, the cultural centres must continue to

Patio of the Cultural Centre of Spain in Malabo

play an active part in safeguarding the intrinsic relationship between sustainable development and cultural concerns. The main way in which this can be achieved is by putting into practice culture’s instrumental role towards the environment, by implementing the great potential offered by the creative community for generating dialogue on climate change, and by inspiring the will to take action. The cultural centres need to be more ambitious in seeking the full incorporation within society of the groups addressed in the inclusive spaces of their facilities and activities. Beyond promoting gender equality and the participation and recognition of the LGBTIQ community, as well as facilitating unrestricted access for persons with different capacities, these groups should also take part in the corresponding planning and programming. In the coming years, cultural models will continue to evolve significantly, in their forms of creation and dissemination, in types of access and participation and in how they relate to other sectors. In order to react appropriately and adapt to new situations, the cultural centres must accentuate the characteristics that have enabled them to become an essential part of diverse communities and environments, with varying levels of development and social complexity. The challenge to be addressed in creating a model for the future is – without renouncing the diversity of the centres’ actions, representatives and approaches – to identify the exact balance required in each context and, within the framework of the new global agenda, to maintain their commitment to sustainability, inclusion and the potential of networking. Cultural models will inevitably evolve in important ways, in terms of creation and dissemination, of accessibility and participation, and of relations with other sectors. If the cultural centres are to react and adapt accordingly, they must take careful stock of exactly what has made them such successful agents, namely their capacity to form part of such variegated communities and environments, where social situations present multiple levels of development and complexity. Therein lies the challenge of the model. Without renouncing the diversity of our scope of action and of the persons responsible for putting our plans into practice, we must achieve an appropriate balance in each context, within the framework of the new global agenda, in order to maintain our commitment to sustainability, inclusion and the benefits available from an interconnected existence as a network of agents.

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Network Red de Centros of Cultural Culturales Centres, de la Cooperación Spanish Cooperation Española Unidades Cooperation Overseas de Cooperación Units en el Exterior

Centros Associated Centres asociados awith la Cooperación Spanish Cooperation Española

1. Cultural CCE Buenos Centre Aires of Spain in Buenos Aires 2. Cultural CCE Montevideo Centre of Spain in Montevideo 3. Cultural CCE Santiago Centrede ofChile Spain in Santiago de Chile 4. Cultural CCE Asunción Centre of Spain in Asunción 5. Cultural CCE La Paz Centre of Spain in La Paz 6. Cultural CCE Lima Centre of Spain in Lima 7. Cultural CCE Santo Centre Domingo of Spain in Santo Domingo 8. Cultural CCE SanCentre José of Spain in San José 9. Cultural CCE Tegucigalpa Centre of Spain in Tegucigalpa 10. Cultural CCE SanCentre Salvador of Spain in San Salvador 11. Cultural CCE Ciudad Centre de of México Spain in Ciudad de México 12. Cultural CCE Bata Centre of Spain in Bata 13. Cultural CCE Malabo Centre of Spain in Malabo

14. Cultural CCE Rosario Centre of Spain in Rosario 15. Cultural CCE Córdoba Centre of Spain in Córdoba 16. Cultural CCE Panamá Centre of Spain in Panamá 17. Cultural CCE Managua Centre of Spain in Managua 18. Cultural CCE Guatemala Centre of Spain in Guatemala

ARGENTINA Cultural Centre of Spain in Buenos Aires Address Paranรก 1159, CP 1018, Buenos Aires Opened 1988 Web http://www.cceba.org.ar/

Spanish Cooperation Cultural Centres

Cultural Centre of Spain in Buenos Aires

Most people in Argentina, when they talk about Spain, are talking about their own country, or that of their parents, or of their grandparents. The average Argentine is familiar with the names of leading Spanish writers, actors, screenwriters and artistic creators, and it is not uncommon to overhear people talking about the latest cultural events in Spain. Immediately after its independence Argentina sought out political and cultural role models far removed from those of Spain, but by the late nineteenth century a network of cultural relations and dialogue had begun to appear among intellectuals of both countries, a trend that strengthened in the years following the Spanish civil war. And relations between Spain and Argentina inevitably extended beyond the economy and politics, to become a solid sharing of values, a historic relationship built upon a common culture and a common language. The paths of the two countries have intertwined, forging close ties among artists and intellectuals on both sides of the Atlantic. There has always been a cultural interaction between Spain and Argentina, featuring not only prominent names in contemporary creation, but the aftershocks of many generations of thinkers and artists. This cultural interaction has been reflected in the many books produced in Argentina for the Spanish market and in the cultural magazines on both continents which publish both Spanish and Argentinian authors. In the main Argentinian cities, but most particularly in Buenos Aires, Spanish immigrants have founded publishing houses and have held university chairs. A host of bookshops have been opened. García Lorca used to walk along Avenida de Mayo, in Buenos Aires, and Jorge Luis Borges strolled through the Puerta del Sol in Madrid. Spanish voices would sing alongside bandoneon players. Today, as always, the Spanish and Argentinian cultures are inseparable.

1985 was a year of great changes, both in Spain and in Argentina, where the Government of Raúl Alfonsín (1983-1989) initiated a cooperation policy aimed at consolidating institutions and at reinforcing the cultural and artistic nexus between Spain and Argentina. In 1988, the Institute for Ibero-American Cooperation (ICI), the future Cultural Centre of Spain in Buenos Aires (CCSBA), was created on the foundations of the Spanish Book Shop in Calle Florida in Buenos Aires. The building was completely renovated according to the designs of the architect and plastic artist Clorindo Testa, whose previous work included the National Library of Argentina. Testa’s appointment to the project was no coincidence, as he was prominent among the movement that arose from the Instituto Di Tella in the 1960s, including some of the most influential artistic creators in Buenos Aires. Initially known as the ICI, the Cultural Centre was a hotbed of activity, at the forefront of cultural creation in Argentina. During the period of its consolidation, between 1997 and 2007, leading intellectuals and artists from both Spain and Argentina came to the Calle Florida building, a unique scenario for the change of an era, as from a monochrome world to one of vibrant colour. Reflecting its generous budget allocation, the Centre contained a multi-purpose exhibition hall that housed displays up to 95 metres long, with the potential for use as a lecture hall, a theatre or video display centre, and with the capacity to accommodate 150 people seated and even more standing. It also had a spectacular reference library, also designed by Testa, with more than 12,000 books and magazines covering all fields, but specialised in contemporary literature, philosophy, essays, art and video. The different Spanish writers, intellectuals and managers who led the Centre over the years each left

Cultural Centre of Spain in Buenos Aires

1. Natural Science, exhibition of works by Juan Gatti. CCSBA, 2012 2. First presentation in Argentina of the group Fuel Fandango, among the events celebrating the 30th anniversary of CCSBA

their own mark, creating a dynamic and innovative cultural agenda. New cultural services were offered to researchers and users in general, with the conversion of the library and video library into a multimedia library, by incorporating two new resources: the new music library and the ultra-fast internet terminal. The space designated for the music library had two CD players, a cassette player, two sets of headphones and a computer with internet access. This terminal allowed the user to visit the ICI web page dedicated to the music library, where audio archives were periodically updated, and which also contained links to the web sites of artists, festivals and centres for the promotion of contemporary music in Argentina, Spain and elsewhere. The first live event organised had an on-line connection with Sónar, the most important electronic music and multimedia art festival in Europe. Seasons were devoted to contemporary Spanish cinema, in collaboration with the Cinemateca (San Martín General Theatre) and the Filmoteca (Cine Maxi) of Buenos Aires. The longstanding Buenos Aires Video Festival introduced the ICI Video Award, which was subsequently expanded to include the categories of Experimental Digital Art and Multimedia. A website was created to publish the entire artistic production of the ICI, to facilitate consultation and to provide links with other sources of cultural creation, in coordination with Spanish libraries, with the central agencies of Spanish Cooperation and, especially, with its Hispanic Library. Every Monday at the ICI was dedicated to the arts of tango and poetry. Barbaria, a magazine published by the Cultural Centre, announced and promoted its cultural events, and provided a venue for discussion and the introduction of new ideas. The AECID Forum organised roundtables and lectures as a framework for reflection on a wide range of subjects and current issues. The Cultural Centre of Spain has presented an enormous range of activities in its 30 years of cultural life, making an indelible impact on Argentinian society. Spanish culture, in all its variety, has interacted with an artistic community in Argentina that is lively, curious, generous and aware of the potential for cultural creation offered by this symbiosis.

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Today, as before, Spanish culture is promoted by the CCSBA and is omnipresent in Buenos Aires, with shows in Calle Corrientes, exhibitions in leading museums and concerts in a range of auditoriums. This is accompanied by a constantly-rising demand for Spanish speakers and cultural experts to teach courses and seminars in Argentinian universities and cultural institutions. In addition to the above, the activities of the Cultural Centre have been complemented with projects and programmes that, with AECID sponsorship, enrich the agendas of the National Museum of Fine Arts, the Enrique Larreta Spanish Museum and the Museum of Decorative Arts, among many other institutions. The performing arts are showcased at the Cervantes National Theatre, the emblematic Avenida Theatre and at the San MartĂn and Maipo theatres. Book promotions and reading cycles have been held, in collaboration with the Mariano Moreno National Library of Argentina. Spanish cinema is present in major festivals such as Mar del Plata and the Buenos Aires International

Independent Film Festival (BAFICI). Music cycles captivate the audiences at the Usina del Arte arts venue, and Spanish artists are prominent in design and video art biennials. The Buenos Aires Cultural Centre has provided the setting for outstanding creations of music, art, literature and theatre, from the realms of Spanish, Argentine and other Latin American cultures, among its many contributions to cultural cooperation. The Cultural Centre has also generated projects, stimulated ideas and channelled communications among painters, artists, writers, poets, musicians and video artists. The cultural life that used to flourish in the basement of the Calle Florida building remains as healthy as ever, in Calle ParanĂĄ, and its impact is apparent to all. The presence of Spanish architects, curators, historians and artists, teaching in Argentinian institutions, and of Spanish writers filling assembly halls at the Buenos Aires Book Fair, is always received with great enthusiasm. From the outset, the Cultural Centre of Spain in Buenos Aires has worked tirelessly in support

Cultural Centre of Spain in Buenos Aires

3. Meeting forming part of a CCSBA MediaLab Programme

4. Espanoramas, an annual highlight, presenting some of the best Spanish films

5. Photography workshop for children, given by the architect and artist Jorge Yeregui

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of the arts, providing an outstanding example for other cultural centres, both in Latin America and elsewhere. The fact that a cultural institution of these characteristics has fulfilled 30 years of creativity is, in itself, great news. The CCSBA, by vocation and by institutional mandate, has achieved this feat thanks to the support and cooperation of a large part of the cultural society of Buenos Aires. Publishers, art galleries, cultural institutions, universities, journals, artists, writers, actors, musicians, other intellectuals and, above all, the public, whose suggestions and encouragement have led this cultural centre to become what it is today. In 2018, the CCSBA celebrated three decades of participation in the cultural world of a city and a country where it is cherished and day after day is winning the hearts of a new public. In 2016, with the creation of a dedicated area for children and young people, new fields of action were opened up, particularly in science, with the invaluable collaboration of Spanish scientists resident in Argentina. The Spanish film festival Espanoramas has completed its fifth edition and is now well established as the closing event to the summer season in Buenos Aires. The Centre is a hub for cultural and scientific encounter and exchange, where creative minds meet and work together in the advancement of culture. The Cultural Centre provides an outstanding environment in which to foster and present new trends, especially in the performing and visual arts that characterise our globalised world. Spanish culture is visible throughout the local media, and interpersonal cultural relations are deeply rooted among large communities of artists and intellectuals, in both countries. The cultural cooperation promoted and implemented by the CCSBA has embraced change and presented innovative proposals, blazing the trail for other cultural manifestations. Looking back to trace the path we have taken allows us to assess what we have done, and to confront the next steps with greater conviction. Here at the Buenos Aires Cultural Centre, weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re happy to look back and acknowledge the hard work done by so many friends and the support given by so many institutions, foundations and companies that have made the Centre an essential showcase for Argentinian and Spanish cultures. In the words of the tango Mi Buenos Aires Querido, â&#x20AC;&#x153;Memories parade before us, leaving a sweet trail of emotionâ&#x20AC;?.

The past few years have been fruitful, but we will not fall prey to complacency. We aim both for continuity and for expansion into new areas. We also wish to incorporate new audiences and to reinforce ties with our already loyal public. On this, our thirtieth anniversary, all of us at the Cultural Centre of Spain in Buenos Aires thank the public for their generous support, which has encouraged and reinvigorated us; we also thank the writers, artists, teachers, intellectuals, scientists and friends who accompany us in our work, as well as the media who make us more widely known and the AECID personnel for their backing and enthusiasm, which inspire our reason for being.

Cultural Centre of Spain in Buenos Aires

A red carpet for culture Ezequiel Martínez Director of Culture of the National Library of Argentina

What does Rafael Alberti have in common with Marta Minujín; Ernesto Sabato with Pedro Almodóvar; Manuel Vázquez Montalbán with The Black Organization, or Adolfo Bioy Casares with Charly García? The answer is that all of them, in one way or another, left their mark at the birth of the Institute for Ibero-American Cooperation (ICI). In those early years of what is now known as the Cultural Centre of Spain in Buenos Aires (CCSBA), its activities took place in a large, modern basement beneath Calle Florida in Buenos Aires, purposedesigned by the architect Clorindo Testa. Within a very short period the initials ICI became a synonym for the most intense of all cultural movements in the Argentine capital.. The initials may have changed since then, but the essence and spirit remain intact. Not since the hustle and bustle generated by the Di Tella Institute in the mid-1960s has there been a phenomenon with the impact that the ICI produced in Buenos Aires. Opening up its legendary pocket programme of events, a folded handout in which dozens of monthly activities were crammed in together, was like unrolling a red carpet as a walkway for the protagonists of its raison d’être, a Hispanic world of creators, bringing together and contributing ideas, exchanges, debates and cultural proposals. Since day one, its formal inauguration 30 years ago, the ICI has shaken up the traditional arts, inviting creators and the public to embrace the avant-garde, in all disciplines of culture, including music, literature, dance, theatre, cinema, design, fashion and the plastic arts. Because this is the Centre’s fundamental aim: to liberate emerging creators, enabling them to undertake innovative, creative projects, in the same venue where Fernando Savater may have spoken the day before, or where the following day a jury of industry professionals would debate proposals for the ICI Buenos Aires Video Award; or where they could all intermingle, in the best sense of an exchange

between teachers and learners, between the classic and modern. Personally, I have fond memories of the ICI, which was the first institution to invite me to take part in a public debate. Under the banner “De tal palo, tal astilla” (The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree), the ICI brought together the sons and daughters of journalists, to sit around a table and talk about our inherited, shared vocation. And there I was, just twenty-something, feeling like an intruder in that place that had welcomed so many maestros. This space, since its beginnings and to the present day, has been generally acknowledged as mythical and unmissable.

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The need to dream Samuel Bossini Director of the Poetry Festival at the Buenos Aires Book Fair

For me, as for many other artists in Argentina, the Cultural Centre of Spain in Buenos Aires immediately brings to mind the initials ICI (Institute for IberoAmerican Cooperation) and a basement on Calle Florida, where under the leadership of the poet José Tono Martínez, members of the creative world started coming by, taking the opportunity to experiment and to see things from a fresh viewpoint. Thanks to the ICI, poetry had its own, splendid, home from home. I had the pleasure of inviting poets who have since become legendary, such as Gonzalo Rojas, Marosa di Giorgio, Eugenio Montejo, Antonio Cisneros, Antonio Gamoneda and Carlos Edmundo de Ory, to read their work and to talk to their public. Poets, thus, crowded into the basement, shoulder to shoulder with poetry lovers. But not only poetry; there was also tango, philosophy, the visual arts, book presentations, magazines… And for whatever conceivable event, that is where it all unfolded, before a loyal, eager audience. An audience that, once the meeting had concluded, went to El Navegante, an authentic Galician restaurant, to dine and to pass the evening discussing poetry and the issues of the day. Then came the move to Calle Paraná. But many of us mentally lock ourselves back into that basement, feeling no need to venture out. We cling to those times, those dreams distilled in their space, persisting and drifting through mist and through light. The poet José Tono Martínez, a former director of the ICI, was forced out by the intransigence of Catholic extremists, following an exhibition of work by the great artist León Ferrari, and he was succeeded by other directors, each leaving their own mark on the institution. Today, it is known as the Cultural Centre of Spain in Buenos Aires and continues to promote events before appreciative audiences and to provide ever-needed support to the world of culture. A culture that donates its voices, asking nothing in return.

A culture that is constantly unveiling, rebuilding and regaining its voice, raising its voice from the basement. The place where true culture grows and shows us the way. Basements are rarely mistaken.

URUGUAY Cultural Centre of Spain in Montevideo Address Rincรณn, 629. C.P. 11000 Montevideo Opened 2003 Web http://www.cce.org.uy/

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Cultural Centre of Spain in Montevideo

This year, the Cultural Centre of Spain in Montevideo celebrates its sixteenth anniversary and reaffirms its commitment to the culture of Uruguay, supporting local cultural initiatives and promoting a varied programme of free, open-access activities in all areas of thought and art, including exhibitions, seminars, training workshops, debates, conferences, concerts, film screenings, theatre seasons, artistic residencies and creative laboratories. The cultural centre in Montevideo is sited in the imposing headquarters of the historic Casa Mojana, a former commercial establishment dating back to 1921 and part of the nation’s cultural heritage. Spanish Cooperation saved this building from threatened destruction, with a rehabilitation project that highlighted its age and historical importance, while adapting it for cultural use today. From the beginning, this cultural centre has made avant-garde expression a hallmark of its identity, supporting experimentation, contemporary creation and new artistic languages, foregrounding the work of Spanish and IberoAmerican artists, both in the capital, Montevideo, and in the rest of the country. The Centre has a modern media library that houses a growing collection of books, magazines, films and disks, focusing particularly on Spanish and Latin American bibliographic content, within a space that has been adapted and organised for different age groups. The media library provides an open space for consultation, with the daily press and fitted with internet terminals. It currently has 20,553 items, in different formats and by May 2019 had 2,722 registered members. There have been 156,326 loans of material since the Centre was inaugurated in 2012. In 2018 alone, 15,572 items were lent out, either within the library or for home use. The media library organises its activities in line with the overall philosophy of the Centre, with programmes and projects to support archival and

library-science systems. In addition, a bibliographic resource for artistic workshops has been created. The media library plays an essential cultural, educational and social role. Among other aspects, it provides a specialised, professional service for social groups in situations of special vulnerability, for whom the library not only represents a space for cultural integration, but also supplies advice and accompaniment and fosters empowerment. The area for children and adolescents, which participates in all of the Centre’s cultural and artistic concerns, aims to strengthen the relationship between education and culture, and to expand knowledge of art, culture and science, particularly as concerns the environment, among younger children and teenagers, as well as their families and teachers. On request, this area offers guided tours for educational centres; it also organises weekly activities for young people, from pre-school to pre-university, and undertakes longterm projects such as seasons of children’s theatre with Spanish-language playwrights, performance residencies, a chess space and a reading club. This younger population is also the driving force behind the creation of the Centre’s urban organic garden, the first to be implemented within a cultural space in Montevideo, an initiative that offers a participatory platform for research, a versatile teaching resource and a learning space for a sustainable society. The Centre’s programme for the elderly also features a range of cultural activities, with particular attention to groups at risk of exclusion. This programme helps make culture available to all, regardless of age and condition, thus assuring cultural and social rights. The programme includes regular courses in fields such as literature, creative writing, memory and cognitive stimulation, handicrafts and chess; the courses are held all year round, to avoid situations of loneliness and isolation in critical periods such as holidays.

Cultural Centre of Spain in Montevideo

Throughout its existence, the Montevideo Cultural Centre has developed and consolidated its promotion of cultural cooperation, providing visibility and offering space to international networks and festivals – some initiated by the Centre itself – thus ensuring Spanish participation at the highest level, and creating dialogue with actors, agents and/or local figures. Platforms such as the International Festival of Contemporary Dance (FIDCU), the International Festival of Performing Arts (FIDAE), the World Poetry Encounter, Montevideo Comics, Doc Montevideo, International Film Festival and the Black Week, among others, have featured leading international personalities: Miguel del Arco, Isabel Ordaz, Carmen Machi, Aimar Pérez Galí, La Ribot, Pablo Esbert, Fernando Trueba, Ray Loriga, Miguelanxo Prado, Ángela Segovia, Marta Sanz and many more household names. Furthermore, the Centre has lent generous support to artistic creation, promoting competitions and designing programmes aimed at creating, staging and publicising avant-garde creation. In addition, it has fostered the appearance of new scenic languages, forms of production, contemporary aesthetics and artistic processes. In many cases, an appearance promoted by the Montevideo Cultural Centre is the first time that the artist has visited or been exhibited in the Southern Hemisphere, as was the case of the workshop offered by the versatile Eduardo Casanova or the first individual exhibition of work by Filip Custic. The Cultural Centre of Spain is a reference space for the plastic arts, with activities spanning not only the recent periods of art history in Spain, Uruguay and elsewhere in Latin America, but also the present, sometimes angry times. We scrutinise and research forgotten aspects of history, such as conceptualism during the Ibero-American dictatorships; we re-examine the important role played by women in the arts, many of whom had been sidelined or ignored by an essentially male chauvinist historiography; we reinstate essential figures in the evolution of Uruguayan art in the twentieth century; we provide a platform for marginalised artistic groups; and we promote an international Ibero-American dialogue in which the region’s problems are addressed from an artistic standpoint. By filling in these gaps in our history in a far-reaching, professional and multidisciplinary way,

the Montevideo Cultural Centre has won recognition as a bastion of artistic and academic research. Although its efforts are mainly dedicated to production, the Centre also hosts itinerant exhibitions, especially those which address issues prioritised by Spanish Cooperation in its Master Plan, such as displays presenting new outlooks on feminism, those denouncing discrimination according to sex, religion or ideas, those promoting integration and those which, via artistic expression, address the application of the Sustainable Development Goals. An ample spectrum of contemporary Spanish art has been shown at the Cultural Centre, with individual exhibitions by figures such as Antoni Muntadas, Alberto García Alix, Ouka Lele, José Manuel Broto, Isidoro Valcárcel Medina, Chema Madoz and Isabel Muñoz. The Centre has also provided an invaluable showcase for many Uruguayan artists, including Teresa Pupo, Magela Ferrero, Juan Lugo, Luis Camnitzer, Yamandú Canosa, Marco Maggi, Manuel Rodríguez and Yudi Yudoyoko. Collective exhibitions, too, have presented the work of top-flight Ibero-American contemporary artists. Complementary activities, in parallel to the exhibitions, are another potent aspect of the Centre’s programming, enriching the experience from different angles by extending the theoretical, cultural and social concepts presented. The Centre’s exhibitions, thus, set out content that generates debate, dialogue and, sometimes, positive confrontations. Another important element within the Centre’s activities is that of museology; thanks to the meticulous preparation of its exhibitions, the Centre is a driving force in new concepts of museum science, incorporating innovation, professionalism, the element of surprise, didactics and the application of environmental protocols in the use of materials and lighting. The Centre’s commitment to the professionalisation of the cultural industries has made it one of Uruguay’s most important settings – and benchmarks – for culture. It has provided outstanding opportunities in the field of performing arts through projects highlighting major new works of Spanish drama, experimental projects like Microescena (Microstage), long-term creative artistic residencies and related publications. For example, the Centre has presented work by Josep Maria Miró, Guillem Clua, Paco Bezerra, Laila Ripoll, José

Spanish Cooperation Cultural Centres

1. SAT Exhibition / Arte Trans Week, Montevideo Cultural Centre, 2019

Cultural Centre of Spain in Montevideo

2. Participant in a children’s activity at the Cervantes Festival of Montevideo, 2016

Padilla and Lluïsa Cunillé, to name just a few, in the Uruguayan art world. In addition, Uruguayan audiences have enjoyed various Spanish productions, such as Las Noches Bárbaras (Barbarian Nights, originally staged by Círculo de Bellas Artes in Madrid) and Días Nórdicos (Nordic Days, staged by Zona de Obras). These productions illustrate not only the range of content and programming now being offered in Uruguay, but the different approaches and production techniques being employed in award-winning projects from Spain, now given the opportunity to extend their audience via itinerant programmes in Latin America. Furthermore, the Montevideo Cultural Centre has transformed and enriched its content, adapting it to new times in line with governmental developments in Uruguay resulting in beneficial cultural policies, and working side-by-side with new, vigorous institutions in cultural and social affairs. This cooperation and coordination has enabled the Centre to found and manage annual events of great significance, including the National Bookshop Night, a complete novelty just three years ago, together with debates, roundtables and critical discussions of ideas on writers and the publishing industry. One such event is the Uruguayan branch of the FILBA International Literature Festival, attended by world-renowned authors such as Enrique Vila-Matas, Irvine Welsh, Catherine Millet, Pedro Juan Gutiérrez, José Luís Peixoto and Ida Vitale. The institution has also launched new artistic and curatorial spaces by opening up to the public its Rooftop terrace and the Organic Vegetable Garden, which provide settings for a wide range of proposals, organised in accordance with the Centre’s mission statement and prioritising concerns such as the environment, gender equality and the LGBTI+ movement. Another field of action lies outside the physical space of the Cultural Centre, involving actions taken by other Uruguayan cultural and artistic institutions (public or private) within the cultural network of Montevideo. Additionally, the Centre promotes activities outside the capital city, with travelling exhibitions and itinerant theatre or cinema productions, and also collaborates with initiatives taken by different institutions and municipal authorities nationwide, in order to decentralise cultural actions, among many initiatives taken to highlight the Spanish cultural scene in Uruguay.

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3. Second edition of the DĂas NĂłrdicos festival on the rooftop terrace of the Montevideo Cultural Centre, 2018 4. Intersticios exhibition in the main show room of the Montevideo Cultural Centre, 2019

Cultural Centre of Spain in Montevideo

5. Ephemeral Chronicles, performed on the rooftop terrace of the Montevideo Cultural Centre, 2019 6. Noches Bรกrbaras Festival in the Montevideo Cultural Centre

Among other aspects of its cooperation with local institutions, the Montevideo Cultural Centre provides the physical space and logistical support for training programmes and knowledge dissemination. In the city, the Centre is now a focal point for the implementation of these types of activities by cultural groups, NGOs, international organisations and local government departments. Extending this spirit of collaboration and opening up to other institutions, the Centre is also working with the Consulate General of Spain and the Labour Department of the Embassy of Spain to modernise and reform the regional centres offered to Spanish emigrant communities and their descendants in Uruguay. By means of workshops, training courses and advisory services in cultural administration, communication, and economic management, the Centre is helping to maintain and upgrade important areas of Spanish cultural infrastructure that are in real danger of disappearing. In order to avoid inconsistency and improvisation, cultural relations between Spain and Uruguay must have a consolidated frame of

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reference. In this regard, the Cultural Centre of Spain in Montevideo led the initiative to have the Uruguayan capital named the fourth Cervantine City, in honour of Miguel de Cervantes. This distinction was awarded unanimously in 2015 at the plenary session of the Ninth International Congress of the Association of Cervantists in SĂŁo Paulo. This nomination was followed by the creation of the Montevideo Cervantine City Commission, chaired by the Montevideo City Hall, and formed by the Ministries of Education and Culture, of Tourism and of Foreign Affairs, by the University of the Republic, the University of Montevideo and the Catholic University, by the National Academy of Language, the National Library and the Cervantes School, and by the neighbourhood committees of La Blanqueada and Jacinto Vera. In accepting this nomination, the Montevideo authorities pledged to implement an openended programme of cultural and academic activities related to Spanish culture. As part of this commitment, the Cultural Centre created

the Cervantine International Festival, with the participation of the Cervantine Commission, leading figures in Uruguayan institutions, both public and private, and city theatres, galleries and exhibition spaces, to highlight the life and work of Cervantes, his legacy to Spanish culture and his continuing relevance. Historical memory, the avant-garde, culture, inclusion, ecology, revolution, profundity, amusement, education, fairness, feminism, tolerance, solidarity, philosophy, community, research, solidarity, experimentation, dialogue, diversity, science, quality, alternatives, dissemination, management, technology, networks, cooperation, integration, training, governance, knowledge, debate, broadcasting... these concepts are all inherent to the fabric of the Cultural Centre of Spain in Montevideo.

Cultural Centre of Spain in Montevideo

Support and contribution to our urban heritage William Rey Ashfield Architect, Ph.D. in Art History and Management of Cultural Heritage. Former President of the National Cultural Heritage Commission.

As we all know, urban heritage is a complex body of components, among which outstanding architecture, cherished spaces and monuments contribute strongly to our sense of identity. However, these elements are just one part of heritage. In addition, there exists an extensive layer of histories and accounts, both written and oral, of music and sounds, of cultural productions and institutions; in short, a body of human experiences and organisation that forms an integral part of the city. Today, the Cultural Centre of Spain is of fundamental importance within our historic city centre and therefore is fundamental to Montevideo as a whole, given the significance and identity of this area. In recent years, the Centre has played a key role in raising awareness of our urban cultural heritage, and has been prominently involved in the renewal of the old city, promoting cultural activities (artistic, humanistic and technical-scientific), including exhibitions, performances, lectures, congresses and seminars of the highest social and academic value. Underlying and inspiring this insistent cultural activity is the dedicated work performed by its directors. In this regard, I would like to make special mention of Ricardo Ramón Jarne, for his support of all those working in cultural affairs, including public institutions, NGOs and individuals. Moreover, his introduction of an activity hub within the Centre’s headquarters greatly facilitated the incorporation of organisations working in defence of our cultural heritage, organisations that not so long ago lacked a space in which to conduct their research and publication work. Finally, let us not forget two essential contributions by the Cultural Centre to the urban heritage of Montevideo. Firstly, the splendid, permanently-established conservation and maintenance plan for its headquarters, an outstanding example of building rehabilitation among Uruguay’s

inventory of National Historic Monuments. And secondly, the renown achieved by Montevideo with its designation as Ciudad Cervantina (City of Cervantes), in recognition of its significant bibliographic heritage, and of the city’s profound acquaintance with Don Quixote and other texts by this author. This achievement owed much to the support of the Cultural Centre of Spain and has enabled the Uruguayan capital to form part of the select list of Ibero-American cities, headed by Alcalá de Henares, the birthplace of Miguel de Cervantes. The Montevideo Cultural Centre may seem to have come a very long way since its creation, but its impressive list of achievements has been earned in a relatively short time. Doubtless the future holds much more for this institution in our city, and its impact on the urban heritage and on the population will continue to be as important tomorrow as it is today. In Montevideo and throughout Uruguay, we are grateful for the excellent work done by the Centre, in the past, present and future.

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Intelligence and wisdom

Memory has a future

José Miguel Onaindia Cultural manager and lawyer specialised in cultural rights. Director of the Ph.D. programme in Art Law and Cultural Legislation at the University of Buenos Aires.

Marianella Morena Actress, playwright, stage director and teacher. In 2003 she was given the Molière Award by the Embassy of France in Uruguay.

The Cultural Centre of Spain in Montevideo is prominent in the intense artistic activity of the city. The splendid historical building chosen for its headquarters, equipped with all the technological and other resources needed for workers, visitors and cultural displays, is the ideal setting for the events that are regularly programmed there, with intelligence and wisdom. The Centre provides a space in Uruguay for the dissemination of Spanish and Ibero-American culture and for the external projection of Uruguayan creativity; an area for dialogue, exchange and debate among people of different nationalities and cultural backgrounds. The Centre’s policymakers and managers are firmly committed to the public, non-governmental institutions of Uruguay, and joint activities are regularly organised by the Centre and local agencies. Moreover, the Cultural Centre of Spain is a popular venue for festivals, fairs and meetings, thanks to its open relationship with the community and the leading role it plays in Uruguay’s cultural scene.

It was 2003; the Cultural Centre had just opened its doors in Montevideo. I went to a Marco Maggi installation that consisted of various stacks of white A4 paper, distributed around the exhibition space, at different heights. Music was playing and the public were invited to interact with the “stacked-up whiteness”. I went with my 5-year-old son Lautaro; he began to walk among the stacks, and then to run, and then the unwritten became a bird, became territory, became presentpastfuture; the paper was transformed, became words, became illustration – here and now or yet to come. That moment is engraved in my memory. Today my son is a musician, and he too plays previous creations and creations yet to be, with his notes and his performances. I write my fictions, and every one of us tells our own story. It is memory of the future. The arrival of the Montevideo Cultural Centre on the site of a former hardware emporium lent an air of the possible to a city that enjoyed a strong, independent artistic life, but which had scant institutional presence. The Centre conveys thought and practice, via synthesis and with an expansive view of the arts, incorporating a contemporary outlook and placing great emphasis on regional cultural manifestations. We welcomed it with joy and hope. Times quickly changed, and the National Directorate of Culture was created, as part of the Ministry of Education and Culture, continuing several of its former lines of action. A new way of thinking, feeling and creating culture, with care and sensitivity, appeared, in which a professional attitude was taken to the simultaneous application of resources, within different fields and disciplines. In these few lines, it is impossible to detail the projects undertaken, the artistic directors and their teams, and the original initiatives that create a sense of belonging, nourishing our conceptual, reflective landscape. But, when I set out to write, the prevailing image in my mind is that of my son “passing through the whiteness”, so that it can act upon us, and on others. From the heart, thank you.

CHILE Cultural Centre of Spain in Santiago Address Avenida Providencia 927 Providencia, Santiago Opened 1993 Web http://www.ccesantiago.cl

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Cultural Centre of Spain in Santiago

In April 2018, the Cultural Centre of Spain in Santiago de Chile (CCSantiago) celebrated its twenty-fifth anniversary, having accumulated thousands of experiences in the world of culture. CCSantiago was created in the (southern hemisphere) autumn of 1993 and has accompanied the people of Chile in their transition to democracy and the irrevocable opening up of their country to a globalised world. From its headquarters in Avenida Providencia, the Centre has witnessed a multitude of political, social and cultural changes, making Chile what it is today. The CCSantiago management team has been and remains committed to placing culture – an essential element of human development – at the centre of the debate, and to promoting artistic creation and production without restraint. Our aim is to become a meeting point where Spanish, Chilean, European and Ibero-American cultures may converge in harmony. This challenge can only be achieved through the day-to-day work of a team with extensive experience, and by continually reviewing the role we wish to play in the dynamic and constantly changing cultural scene in Chile. Our ties with the local context Among the strengths of CCSantiago are the alliances it has established with public and private agencies and the work carried out in conjunction with cultural and social institutions and the local community. These joint efforts have contributed to the development and cohesion of the sector, both in the Metropolitan Region and elsewhere in Chile, thus helping achieve the cultural decentralisation and democratisation needed in the country. Today, CCSantiago is respected and highly valued by all its counterparts, a situation that has enabled it to enter into cooperation agreements

with like-minded institutions throughout the country and in other parts of Latin America. This associative movement has proven to be one of the Centre’s most valuable resources in the current period of budget constraints, and international cooperation for development is increasingly viewed both as a proper basis for establishing inter-institutional relations and the most effective way of doing so. The physical space CCSantiago, a bi-national cultural institute, is one of the longest-standing institutions of its type in Chile, its direct predecessor, the Chilean Institute of Hispanic Culture, having been founded in 1948. The current refurbished headquarters, located in the Santiago neighbourhood of Providencia, occupy a space that is open to all and which plays a fundamental role in the development and promotion of art and culture and in artistic creation and knowledge transfer. The building has a usable space of 1,500 square metres, containing three exhibition spaces (Room 927, the Emilio Ellena Hall and The Curve) with well-defined curatorial criteria, together with a 150-seat theatre to present the performing arts, music and film, and where discussions, lectures and seminars are also held. In addition, there is a media library, a games library, a space for workshops and small-format meetings (The Cloud), a laboratory for interdisciplinary creation and exchange (MateSurLab) and an amphitheatre-shaped patio with landscaped gardens (Green Island), which is ideal for outdoor activities. The cultural schedule CCSantiago offers a wide-ranging cultural agenda in the visual arts, the performing arts, music, literature

Cultural Centre of Spain in Santiago

and thought, film and media education, with a scope extending beyond its physical boundaries. Year after year, our aim is to remain a reference-level organisation in the cultural world, a place where the latest trends can intermingle with more traditional formats, where dormant areas of creation can be brought to life, where controversies can be debated and where memory as part of our heritage is cherished. By fostering and generating our own content and by seeking out visionary proposals, our aim is to provide a high-quality diverse, plural, inclusive and freely-available range of cultural possibilities. To achieve these goals, we have devised a short-medium term management plan, which is comprehensive and coherent over time and in line with the strategic objectives that define our lines of action and cultural programming. Our impact

1. Workshop of Audiovisual Creation (ACERCA Programme) given by the Spanish director Rodrigo Sorogoyen. CCSantiago, April 2017 2. Children’s and youth orchestras

What kind of Spanish culture do we wish to export? What cultural image do we wish to project abroad? Although the cultural and social realities of each country – and therefore, of each Cultural Centre – are diverse, it is essential that we share the fundamental lines of action and make a unified response to these questions. As a Network of Cultural Centres, this is our goal, in accordance with the guidelines of the Central Services of the Spanish Agency for International Development Cooperation (AECID). Indeed, one of the greatest assets of Spain’s cultural action abroad is its Network of Cultural Centres. The coordination achieved via the Network makes each Centre a local partner, whose impact is felt throughout Latin America. Although the promotion of Spanish culture, cultural cooperation, and culture for development are the fundamental pillars of our work, the role of CCSantiago has changed in recent years. Formerly, the Centre was almost the only European point of reference in the Chilean cultural scene, but today it shares this space with a large number of actors and institutions, public and private, that have greatly enlivened the artistic and cultural landscape. In this dynamic scene, the constant need for adjustment requires us to dedicate regular periods for reflection, involving the whole team, in order to scrutinise the context of our activities and the

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3. Poetry and Music Festival, Living Sound and Tracalaxia, 2018

Cultural Centre of Spain inÂ Santiago

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relentless changes taking place, spurred also by the constantly-evolving requirements of artists and creators. This might be one of the most important challenges we face as a team: the need to be expectant, to respond to changing circumstances and demands with appropriate strategies, while remaining consistent with the goals set for our institution and our Network. New challenges

4. Cine a la Fresca (Outdoor Cinema), January 2018 5. Exhibition La Bestia (The Beast), photographs by Isabel MuĂąoz, May 2015 6. Collective exhibition, Donde se curva el horizonte (Where the horizon curves), 2016

The new universe that is beginning to take shape is forcing us out of our comfort zone, obliging us to take sides in the tensions between art and science; to promote creation and to connect with the community via artistic residencies; to emphasise the importance of research, in all its aspects (phases, formats and materials); and to keep at the forefront of our attention the 2030 Agenda Sustainable Development Goals, highlighting their importance and working towards these ends. And underlying and overarching all these endeavours are our fundamental, transversal values: inclusion, gender fairness, awareness raising, the environment, the defence and promotion of cultural rights, the defence of minority populations and the proper management of knowledge. We believe that knowledge transfer is always a two-way path. Our ultimate goal is to be acknowledged by the community as somewhere that is open to all, from where we can promote crossborder, cosmopolitan dialogue. Among the most valuable elements of CCSantiago are its people, who lend it its soul. The presence of committed and empowered human capital is of crucial importance, enabling us to effectively coordinate the opportunities and resources offered by the environment, and to weather the storms that buffet our progress. The resulting cultural project, thus, is consistent, in continual growth and attentive to new challenges as they arise.

Cultural Centre of Spain in Santiago

Spain, in the heart of the Mapocho Station Cultural Centre Arturo Navarro Executive Director, Mapocho Station Cultural Centre

A shared concern for culture has brought many paths together, from the ambassador’s office to the Directorate meeting room at the Mapocho Cultural Centre. The first symbol, when the Centre was merely a project, was the presence of Ambassador Pedro Bermejo among our founders. Shortly afterwards came the visit of the King and Queen of Spain, Juan Carlos and Sofia, who enjoined us to take good care of the two palm trees they had planted. A plaque commemorating the occasion was set beneath the leafy boughs. Not far from these palm trees was the old training workshop, where stonemasons, welders and gardeners learned their crafts in what was to become the Parque de los Reyes (Monarchs’ Park). The building, which had previously belonged to the stationmaster at Mapocho, is now the headquarters of the Chilean Foundation for Youth and Children’s Orchestras (FOJI). The most striking change to the Centre took place in 1993, with the inauguration of the Letters of Spain season, dedicated to Spanish literature. Thousands of books were displayed and the festival was attended by dozens of distinguished visitors, including Jordi Solé Tura, the former Minister of Culture of Spain, and the flamenco dancer Cristina Hoyos. With this festival, democratic Spain celebrated the return of democracy to Chile. Another landmark occasion took place in 2009, when the Queen herself presented us with the Reina Sofia Cultural Heritage Award. Since then, Mapocho has received innumerable visits, has witnessed annual readings of Don Quixote on National Book Day, and has appreciated the work of crime and mystery writers in the ‘Noir Fiction’ festival, among its many activities. Each of the successive directors at the Mapocho Cultural Centre arrived in Chile with us at

the top of their list. They were all warmly welcomed and together we put into practice many ideas, based on our mutual willingness to learn and to benefit from each other’s cultures. One such joint venture is the upcoming exhibition to mark the 80th anniversary of the arrival of the liner Winnipeg, bringing 2200 refugees from the Spanish Civil War. Now, together with many other institutions, we are once again preparing to disembark the passengers from the Winnipeg, who in their way were the first cultural embassy of Spain in our country.

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Fruitful collaboration Adriana ValdĂŠs Director of the Chilean Academy of Language and of the Institute of Chile

There is much to say about the Cultural Centre of Spain in Santiago de Chile. Many different times come to mind. Of course, its activity today is remarkable, but I also have warm memories of intellectual life in years gone by. Let me mention just two, which are both memorable and, at the same time, very personal. The first was at the height of the dictatorship, in 1981, when the Department of Humanistic Studies at the University of Chile was giving its summer courses. At the end of a conference on Juan Emar, someone I neither knew, nor had ever heard of, approached me to introduce himself and asked me to contribute some written words. This was the young artist Alfredo Jaar, who is nowadays world famous and a winner of the National Plastic Arts of Chile award. That was the beginning of a friendship and collaboration that has continued to the present day. The second was La Academia Imaginaria (The Academy of the Imagination), which has benevolently considered me one of the many founders of this group, and which held several lecture seasons at the Cultural Centre of Spain in Santiago and remained there until it outgrew the premises and needed a larger auditorium. Among the issues addressed was that of â&#x20AC;&#x153;Twentieth Century Sensibilitiesâ&#x20AC;?, which as late as 1995, was still not approached without discomfort in universities. Subsequently, there would be many similar cycles in less abstract areas, but the Cultural Centre helped us pioneer efforts to address these questions, bringing together leading intellectuals of the moment, to discuss their ideas within Mapocho Station. So much for personal considerations. On an institutional level, the Mapocho Cultural Centre has enjoyed a fruitful collaboration with the Chilean Academy of Language for a number of years. In 2016, we expressed our appreciation of these joint endeavours during the Alonso de Ercilla Award

ceremony, at which the Academy acknowledges the contributions of persons and institutions to the dissemination of our literary, artistic and cultural values. Thus, in presenting us with the Alonso de Ercilla Award, the Academy recognised the work carried out to commemorate the fourth centenary of the death of Cervantes. Mapocho, which is open to all, has formed alliances with the principal institutions and figures in our cultural world. The Centre is currently organising activities to recall the 80th anniversary of the arrival of the liner Winnipeg, bringing 2200 refugees from the Spanish Civil War, and also to commemorate the 500 years since the voyages of the explorer Hernando de Magallanes. These collaborations have been vital and dynamic, giving rise to magical conversations and a host of new ideas. With these words, let me appreciate and celebrate the work of the Cultural Centre of Spain, an institution that not only propagates cultural values, but also creates them. The Centre generates opportunities for knowledge, contacts in thought and unique experiences in our intellectual life.

PARAGUAY Cultural Centre of Spain Juan de Salazar, Asunciรณn Address Calle Luis Alberto de Herrera 834, casi Tacuary, CP 1506, Asunciรณn Opened 1976 Web http://www.juandesalazar.org.py/

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Juan de Salazar Cultural Centre of Spain, in Asunción

The Juan de Salazar Cultural Centre (JSCC), also known as “el Salazar” or “el Juande”, is the longestestablished of all the Centres among the Network created by the Spanish Agency for International Development Cooperation (AECID). Since its inauguration in 1976, as a transformation of the former Institute of Hispanic Culture, the JSCC has occupied an important place in the cultural life of Asunción. From its beginnings, the institution has been at the forefront of cultural concerns, providing instruction, promoting debate, dialogue and creative freedom, and supplying a platform for emerging groups and artists, as a space that is both receptive to new aesthetic movements and a driving force making them known throughout the country. The focus of the Centre’s activity is, naturally, culture, in all its manifestations, which is viewed as an essential component of human development: political, social and economic. History The JSCC, with over 40 years’ presence in Asunción, has been an exceptional witness to the recent history of Paraguay, since its original configuration as part of the Institute of Hispanic Culture, through the reestablishment of democracy, to the present day. According to Francisco Corral, its first director, this Cultural Centre was created almost as the personal endeavour of the then ambassador of Spain, Carlos Manuel Fernández-Shaw. About those beginnings, Corral observed: “Despite a severe lack of resources, the Centre fostered a continual level of cultural activity, thanks to the dynamic participation of Paraguayan intellectuals and artists. This aspect of the JSCC was never theorised or planned; we simply adapted to our particular situation of being [at that time] the only cultural centre created by the Spanish Ministry of Foreign Affairs in a Spanish-speaking

country. We simply acted in accordance with the dynamics of society and with the demands of cultural movements in Paraguay”. During those initial stages of the Centre’s activity, Spain had newly regained its democratic freedoms and Paraguay was still subject to the dictatorship of Alfredo Stroessner. During this era, the JSCC became a space of resistance and freedom, where artists and intellectuals could create and reflect, despite the censorship and persecution characteristic of the regime. The Centre played a key role in the custody and exhibition of the nation’s cultural heritage and in preserving its unique collections, such as the Julián de la Herrería and Josefina Plá collection and the libraries of Raúl Amaral and Miguel Chase-Sardi, which the fragile institutions of the State were unable to maintain. In the collective memory of Paraguayans, the work of the Centre and of its successive directors has left a profound impression. In the words of Nilo Fernández, in those difficult times Francisco Corral made the Centre “a beacon of resistance to the dictatorship and a refuge for those who were persecuted”. During those years, moreover, the Centre acquired certain characteristic traits that have persisted to the present day. The Centre has been and remains a haven for intellectuality and critical thinking, a flagbearer for human rights and a pathfinder for modernity. After the 1980s, with the recovery of democracy in Paraguay, the JSCC retained its inclusive cultural perspective, promoting diversity and cultural rights accessible to all sectors of society. Ticio Escobar made special mention of another JSCC Director, Nilo Fernández, who “bequeathed the renovation of the Centre’s infrastructure, which was continued by his successors. Under his direction, the building was daringly expanded, remodelled, restored and reformed. As a result, it acquired exhibition

Juan de Salazar Cultural Centre of Spain, in Asunción

rooms that were newly equipped and better suited to the demands of complex, numerous cultural activities. This contribution is especially noteworthy in Asunción, a city with limited facilities regarding rooms, halls or other spaces appropriate for drama, exhibitions, debates and workshops”. Day to day activity During its four decades of existence, the Centre has progressively consolidated its position at the heart of the Paraguayan cultural scene, playing a leading role in training cultural specialists and artists and in raising public awareness. The Centre has witnessed great changes in conceptions of development cooperation as a lever for change, and has supplied a modern perspective, contributing to major changes in how cultural institutions address training, promotion and management. The Centre has conducted innumerable activities over the years, some of which are detailed in Memories of 40 years of the Juan de Salazar Cultural Centre of Spain, published in 2016, from which the above testimonies are taken. Outstanding among recent activities is the Chaco Ra’anga cross-border project, headed by Eloisa Vaello, who during a field trip through the Chaco Basin, around the borders of Argentina, Bolivia and Paraguay, drew the world’s attention to the cultural and environmental wealth of the region, as well as the obstacles to be overcome in the construction of a global citizenship. This project gave rise to an exhibition and a symposium, held in the Cultural Centres of Spain in Paraguay, Bolivia and Argentina and in Casa de América in Madrid. For the JSCC, it is of capital importance that citizens should play an active role in cultural processes, not only accessing information but also acquiring cultural goods and services, and perhaps going beyond consumption to become involved in artistic creation and production. Contributing to these goals, the Centre supports groups and communities, independent cultural centres and artists’ organisations, in all aspects of culture, as called for in the 2030 Agenda. With these activities, the JSCC underpins society’s support for cultural industries, for the development and internationalisation of local creation and for assisting collective endeavours.

These concerns take concrete form in the Centre’s cultural action, via programmes highlighting artistic and cultural expressions in Spain and Paraguay, ranging from popular art to cutting-edge technology, in the performing arts, music, film and the visual arts, as well as providing a context for training and reflection. Projects and alliances

One of the major projects currently being addressed by the JSCC is the Invernadero (Greenhouse), which brings together art, politics and experimentation in a training space for artists and activists, where the aim is to develop projects considering art and politics and the spaces between them. Okápe (a Guaraní word meaning “outside” or “outwards”) is a platform aimed at strengthening and promoting emerging musical talents, which programmes monthly concerts of new local bands and provides training workshops. Another interesting venture is the Paraguayan-Hispanic Theatre Month, a cycle of locally and regionally-created stage shows and training programmes. The online radio station Onv Ayvu (a Guaraní word meaning “noise, racket”) is both a channel of expression and a training facility in techniques of radio production. The JSCC has entered into a partnership with TEDIC, a digital rights organisation, to develop Communities and Technologies, a programme of workshops, talks and meetings related to training in technological tools and digital security, and coordinating with groups working in these areas. In addition, the Centre plays a vital role in supporting international cultural events, such as the Asunción International Film Festival, the ‘Create in Freedom’ Contemporary Dance and Arts Meeting, the Asujazz International Festival, the Ciudad del Este International Jazz Festival, the LesBiGayTrans Film Festival (initiated by the JCSS), Ojo Salvaje (Wild Eye) Photography Month, the Asunción International Art Biennial, the Temporal Art Festival, Creating Circuits (a regional get-together of cultural programmers and managers), the National Theatre Week and the Curitiba Biennial. Finally, the Centre collaborates with and supports many cultural and social institutions and organisations, both national and international, including the National Secretariat of Culture,

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1. Ninho Casa(H)era, a show by Gisamara Moura presented in the framework of the International Encounter of Contemporary Dance and Arts, Crear en Libertad (Create in Freedom). JSCC, 2018

Juan de Salazar Cultural Centre of Spain, in Asunción

the Asunción Directorate of Culture, the Faculty of Architecture, Design and Art of the National University of Asunción, the Higher Institute of Fine Arts, the Cinemateca Foundation of Paraguay, the Museo del Barro (Clay Museum), El Cabildo Republic Cultural Centre, the European Union Delegation to Paraguay, the Paraguay Coordinator for Human Rights (CODEHUPY) and the Federation for the SelfDetermination of Indigenous Peoples (FAPI). The Building

2. Poster for the exhibition Josefina: al oído del tiempo (alert to the sounds of time), 2015 3. Patio and library of the Juan de Salazar Cultural Centre

The Juan de Salazar Cultural Centre is located in the historic centre of Asunción, in an Italian-style building combining two mansion houses set around an inner courtyard. The first of these houses was acquired in August 1975 by the Spanish Government and renovated by the Spanish artist and architect Francisco Torné Gavaldá; the purchase of the second, in the late 1990s, significantly extended the Centre’s main façade on Calle Herrera. The building was subsequently restructured to include the Manuel de Falla Auditorium, with features lending it greater versatility, such as opening up the stage towards the patio. These renovations, directed by the Paraguayan architect and artist Carlos Colombino, were complemented by a space that housed the Julián de la Herrería Museum. Further remodelling, in 2003, enhanced the Centre’s architectural personality, reorganising the exhibition halls and the Cervantes Library, together with the office space and a workshop. This intervention was directed by the architects Luis Alberto Boh and Javier Corvalán and has transformed the image of the Salazar, making it a space embodying both heritage and modernity, both traditional concerns and the avant-garde. The growth and evolution of the Centre’s facilities reflects not only the expansion of its artistic and historical heritage, but also the inclusion of new ways of thought and of how to communicate art and culture. Services and facilities Over the years, the Juan de Salazar Centre has evolved to become a venue offering a comprehensive range of cultural activities in Asunción. Its facilities include the Goya Halls, a magnificent space for the visual arts with almost 500 square metres of

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exhibition space, where countless displays and curatorial projects have been presented. Multiple activities have also taken place in fields such as history, anthropology, politics and the environment. These exhibitions have promoted and encouraged artistic creation, contributing to the dissemination of the authorsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; work and highlighting the variety and talent of Paraguayan, Spanish and IberoAmerican creators. The Centreâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s planners have sought to balance minority proposals with more popular exhibitions, alternating exhibitions by young artists with retrospectives of established figures, appealing to all tastes. In addition, guided tours of the exhibitions are organised, together with seminars and talks, raising awareness of the work of creators and of emerging trends, thus fostering new audiences. The Manuel de Falla Auditorium was inaugurated by Queen Sofia of Spain in 1996. Its 180 square metres provide space for 180 seats, the stage and the dressing rooms. The building is uniquely versatile, providing a space that allows

the public to be located not only in the auditorium but also in the patio. The auditorium is used for all kinds of activities: music, dance, theatre, film, literary presentations, round tables, debates, discussions, seminars, conferences, courses and workshops. The activity in the auditorium is constant, featuring artists of all styles, from Spanish music to local rock groups, from stars of classical ballet to contemporary dance companies. The building currently housing the Cervantes Library was constructed in 2003. It contains some 20,000 volumes, with works of reference, newspapers and magazines, literature and audiovisual materials. In addition to the traditional functions of reading, lending and research, open to the public, the library is also a multidisciplinary space where presentations, exhibitions, talks and lectures are regularly held. The Workshop, with space for 45 people and a useful area of 78 square metres, provides courses, workshops and seminars, with general and specialised training in diverse areas of arts

Juan de Salazar Cultural Centre of Spain, in Asunción

and culture, whether for projects originated within the centre or for external proposals in line with the institution’s policies. The formal name of the Salazar patio is Jardín Félix de Azara, in honour of the Spanish naturalist and geographer, who carried out important studies in the geography and natural history of Río de la Plata in particular and of Paraguay in general. This outdoor space is used for theatre activities, concerts, summer film screenings, performances and exhibitions. The Centre’s Ayvu Waves radio station, inaugurated in 2012, provides a digital platform for alternative and experimental communication of a cultural, artistic and social nature. In particular, it promotes local output and the use of technology as a means of disseminating critical thinking. Ayvu Waves is part of a network comprising all the radio stations created by the Cultural Centres of Spain, which seeks to forge ties and create spaces for these Centres to exchange experiences and programming. Ayvu Waves has a wide-ranging output, addressing artistic, cultural and social issues that do not normally form part of the commercial spectrum. The most recent addition to the Centre’s facilities is the Sala de las Vitrinas (Display Room), which was inaugurated in 2019 and provides a multipurpose space for smaller displays and exhibits by emerging artists. The collections The political situation during the Stroessner era led many local artists to donate their legacy to the Centre to safeguard and maintain their heritage. An example of this is the collection of work by Julián de la Herrería, which forms part of a permanent exhibition on the second floor of the JCSS. This collection was donated by Josefina Plá in 1989 to the Spanish Government, via the Cultural Centre of Spain. The collection includes small and medium-format twentieth century works by Latin American artists, mainly Paraguayans. However, the bulk of this collection consists of the creations of Julián de la Herrería and Josefina Plá, with paintings, drawings, ceramics and engravings. Another legacy to the JCSS is that of the anthropologist Miguel Chase-Sardi, who bequeathed his collections of books and magazines, together with personal annotations and research. The collection

consists of 4,500 titles and is an invaluable resource for anthropological and sociological research. Another important collection donated to the Cultural Centre is that of the anthropologist Raúl Amaral, which includes 3,464 documents, including books, commentaries and magazines. A future with room for all Predicting the future is always an uncertain business, but the first 40 years of the Juan de Salazar Cultural Centre have inspired in us the conviction that when we work to promote culture we are working in favour of humanity, to achieve the full recognition of people’s rights, forms of expression and multiple identities. In short, we are creating and shaping the future we wish to enjoy. The world we wish to see in the future is one with room for everyone, a world where development is both fair and sustainable, where the welfare of all men, women and children is the greatest priority. At the Juan de Salazar Cultural Centre we shall continue to work, in our chosen field of culture, towards these goals, making this, our home, open to artists, researchers and the public, offering them a diverse, inclusive and reflective programme.

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A living space Sebastian Peña Escobar Film producer and director

The Salazar Cultural Centre has provided an essential space, not only promoting the arts, research, production and critical thinking, but also providing a cultural refuge at crucial moments in our history. During the dictatorship, it was a meeting place for the cultural community, which found solace in a context where creative expressions opened up different ways of thinking, enabling artists to address issues that were censored elsewhere. Since the recovery of democratic freedoms, the Centre has expanded its functions as a space for cultural exchange and for addressing a wide range of content. Its continuing relevance and reinvention have made the Centre enormously influential in the cultural activities of Asunción. Perhaps the Centre’s main contribution is to have remained present and active in the field of cultural promotion. This, against the historical background of Paraguay, means a lot. Cultural facilities, free and open to all, were not at all common in this country. Indeed, even today Asunción does not enjoy the wide range of generally-accessible cultural activities that can be found elsewhere. Nevertheless, 40 years ago the Juan de Salazar Centre, together with partner institutions, began to nurture an urban cultural calendar open to all, and its efforts have greatly contributed to the transformation of our society. My first contacts with the Centre were in the 1990s, when I attended plays, exhibitions and film screenings with family and friends. During the early 2000s, this proximity intensified when I attended the seminars on cultural critique and theory conducted by Ticio Escobar. Every Thursday for many years, a group of like-minded people came together to reflect on philosophy and theory, to present our research findings and to debate the latest thinking, the arts and the historical-cultural process. At these seminars, I was able to meet writers, theoreticians and

contemporary philosophers from whom I learnt, and with whom I debated and sometimes disagreed. The members of these groups included thinkers from the artistic world such as José Luis Brea and Fernando Castro, theoreticians like Benjamín Arditi, creators such as Nury González and curators like Justo Pastor Mellado. An anecdote I vividly remember was the screening of Birdwatchers, a film about the struggles of the Guaraní and Kaiowa peoples in Brazil. Although it was sometimes hard to watch, in its depiction of the desperately hard lives of these indigenous groups, the film had the great virtue of telling simple stories within the overall setting of conflict; simple human stories, of love, sadness and different views of the world. When the screening ended, the main character appeared on the stage and, as in the film, he let out a fierce cry, a mixture of despair and vitality, which left us all with a lump in our throats.

Juan de Salazar Cultural Centre of Spain, in Asunción

A sounding board Esteban Bedoya Writer and Head of Cultural and Tourist Relations at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Paraguay

In the San Roque neighbourhood in Asunción, what landmark comes to mind? For many years it was the María Auxiliadora school, until one day an old mansion, on the other side of Calle Tacuary, began to suffer “growing pains” with the development of “a project by the Spanish”. This project gave rise to a centre whose stated mission was to defend cultural freedom and the right to diversity – daunting goals in those times of autocracy. This ambitious project later took physical shape with a careful renovation of the building, under architectural direction, to house the necessary facilities. In this rebuilding, the façade of the original building was left intact, helping preserve the urban landscape, while inside, museum-like spaces were created, suffused by air and light from its garden, ventilating and invigorating the building complex. For the local population, since the Centre’s urban and social intervention began, the name Juan de Salazar has been synonymous with culture; for many years, whoever entered the building perceived not only art, in whatever shape or form, but also a comforting sense of “relief”, reflecting the freedom of expression cultivated over many years at the Centre. The people of Paraguay have reasons to value this institution, which has always provided a forum for ideas to be debated, both in the harsh years of censorship and in the present day, facilitating the human right of access to art, in its multiple expressions. Changing social, political and cultural circumstances have made the Salazar Centre a sounding board for new artistic tendencies, and a major protagonist in promoting the cultural vanguard in Paraguay, hand-in-hand with great artists, intellectuals and thinkers, in the worlds of theatre, cinema, literature, dance and music, each of whom have left their mark and contributed to growth and

understanding. As the Centre’s bulletin puts it, “… with mutual knowledge, cooperation and exchange, friendships are woven, projects are dreamt, and nations and their citizens come together”. Today we are privileged to have a first-class cultural centre in Asunción, thanks to the careful planning of the Spanish Government, which has created a fundamental instrument for cultural cooperation with Paraguay. The Centre is staffed by an excellent team of highly-skilled professionals and is equipped with the necessary infrastructure to satisfy its needs. Reflecting the belief that culture has no limits, the Juan de Salazar Cultural Centre continues to grow, and was recently expanded with the inauguration of its exhibition hall, beside the access to the auditorium, where the brickwork from the building’s original construction more than a century ago has now been exposed, beneath limpid panels that will embellish art works on these walls. In short, this ambitious undertaking has amply fulfilled its goal of enabling the populace to interact with national institutions through culture, putting into practice its credo that culture is an essential component of human, political and social development. How the Centre will continue remains to be seen.

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A channel for the truth and beauty of indigenous peoples Bartomeu Meliá Jesuit priest, linguist and anthropologist

I first encountered this Centre shortly after its 1989 renovation, when I returned to Paraguay after an exile lasting 13 years. Those were times of transition, but the fear had not, indeed has not, yet been banished. The Cultural Centre of Spain is a place for communication, where words can be freely expressed. I met friends, I made friends. The aesthetic dimension of its exhibitions makes this a place where something new is always happening, leaving no-one untouched. It is a space where I feel I can say whatever I believe to be true, raising my critical voice if I wish. What truth is not critical? The Centre has allowed me to contribute but also to learn. The spirit of youth is ever present here, with lessons for us all. One of the most important aspects of the Centre’s work is its commitment to the cause of the indigenous peoples, opening up channels for their truth and beauty to be known. The Centre has taught us to see in a different way, to appreciate other colours, other flavours. And we have grown to love them. It’s an experience that will never fade or die; Spain is still in need of this presence in Paraguay. If it didn’t exist, it would have to be created. Without it, much would be lost. Extract from ‘Memories of 40 years of the Juan de Salazar Cultural Centre’, published in Asunción, 2016.

BOLIVIA Cultural Centre of Spain in La Paz Address Avenida Camacho 1484, entre Loayza y Bueno, LaÂ Paz Opened 2012 Web http://www.ccelp.bo/

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Cultural Centre of Spain in La Paz

History and introduction The Cultural Centre of Spain in La Paz (CCSLP) opened its doors on 11 May 2012, and was officially inaugurated by Queen Sofía of Spain on 24 October of the same year. This is one of the youngest centres of the entire Network of Cultural Centres of the Spanish Agency for International Development Cooperation (AECID). In common with the other centres in the Network, before its existence Spain’s involvement in cultural activity in Bolivia was coordinated by the Cultural Affairs Office of the Embassy of Spain. The Centre occupies the ground floor, basement and patio of Casa de España, a building that is outwardly neoclassical, but decorated in a distinctly modernist style, much appreciated by its users. To date, the Cultural Centre has had three directors: Clara Cabrera, María Pérez and Jerónimo Fuentes. Although each has left their individual mark as head of the institution, all three have helped establish a line of continuity in which culture is viewed as an instrument that promotes the development of the country. Since its beginnings, the space within the Centre has been used as a gallery for artists and cultural managers; in addition, it has provided an environment for artists, from Spain and other Ibero-American countries, to share their concerns and understanding. On numerous occasions, the Centre’s seminars, meetings and workshops have constituted a space for dialogue. The life and activity of the Centre has also been affected by the political context in Bolivia. In 2005, the Government of Evo Morales launched its “process of change”, encouraging new actors such as indigenous peoples and social movements to play an active role in the sociocultural environment. The Government also introduced its “national reorientation” programme, based on an ideological

principle of decolonisation, seeking to open up every sector of society, including education, culture and public management, to the indigenous population, which had traditionally been subject to social exclusion. The cultural world was considered to be one of the fundamental pillars of this democratic transformation and was urged to play a significant role in the process. In consequence, one of the Centre’s core beliefs is that culture should constitute a tool for development, and many of its activities promote the empowerment of indigenous peoples. For example, in 2019 various activities were promoted to commemorate the International Year of Indigenous Languages. The Centre opened its doors during a period of economic crisis, when budgets for culture were severely constrained. To overcome these limitations, the Centre has entered into participative relationships with local partners, which have played an increasingly significant role in the joint projects undertaken. These circumstances were taken into account in the assessment of the Centre’s first five years of existence, conducted in 2017, which included talks and meetings with the local representatives habitually involved. This evaluation concluded that the institution was doing a good job and was committed to its environment, as a neutral space, with a programme that was flexible and open to discussion and debate. The challenge now facing the Centre is to make the institution even more dynamic, and not just a space for artists and cultural managers. The goal is now for the CCSLP to become a Centre for all. Significant achievements of the Centre and main activities The CCSLP acts in accordance with the guidelines set out in its Management Plan, and in harmony

Cultural Centre of Spain in La Paz

with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of the 2030 Agenda. The 2019 Plan prioritises the following strategic areas: culture as an element of external expression, cultural cooperation and culture as a promotor of development. In the first of these respects, the Centre seeks to raise awareness of Spanish culture, supporting the presence of contemporary Spanish creators at major festivals in Bolivia, such as the Chiquitanía Baroque Music Festival and the International Theatre Festival in Santa Cruz de la Sierra. Another area of interest is the film industry, which is very popular in Bolivia. Thus, screenings of Spanish cinema have been held every Tuesday, throughout Bolivia, for over 30 years. Moreover, Spain was the guest of honour at the Bolivia Lab festival in 2019, the most important film creation laboratory in the country. Reflecting the focus on gender equality in the Centre’s programmes, the CCSLP has recently invited young directors such as Meritxel Colell and Mercedes Gaspar to present their work. The Centre has also supported alternative approaches such as the Radical Cinema Festival, which provides a showcase for cinema research and production laboratories. In the book world, the Centre always has a stand at the Annual Book Fair in La Paz, where it regularly promotes Spanish writers. Thus, Belén Gopegui, Aroa Moreno, Alejandro Palomas, Mar Benegas and Lara Moreno are among those who have been invited, to great critical and public acclaim. The second focus of the Centre’s activities is that of cultural cooperation, one of its traditional priorities, an area in which it seeks to encourage and assist local cultural actors, identify synergies and foster innovation. As part of this concern, the CCSLP organises workshops on a wide range of topics, including museology, narrative, cultural management and exhibition curating. It also recognises and promotes local culture, with exhibitions of local artists and concerts in the patio, aimed at making Bolivian artists more widely known in their own country. As an example of this cooperative activity, the Centre, in conjunction with the National Art Museum of Bolivia, has organised a programme to support young artists. In another participative project with local institutions, the Centre’s media lab provides training and instruction to raise digital awareness among the population.

This second section would be incomplete if we failed to address and counter the idea that culture corresponds only to a minority, composed of cultural managers and artists. The belief that every citizen should have the right to access culture is one of the cornerstones of the SDGs. And this belief, in turn, leads us to the third area of the Centre’s cultural action, namely that in addition to other concerns culture should be an instrument for development. This question was addressed at the CCSLP’s five-year assessment meeting, which highlighted the need for the Centre to open itself up even more, encouraging the public to take part in activities and giving them a sense of ownership. The assessment meeting also concluded that the Centre should reach out to sectors that are often disadvantaged in their access to culture. In this respect, special mention is due to the Co-Working Space, a user-friendly environment, open to all, where creators, audiences and users are encouraged to share their understandings of cultural projects. The media lab, too, has adopted this hallmark, and its workshops tackle subjects such as women’s access to science. Furthermore, literacy campaigns have targeted children and adolescents, and discussions have been held on issues such as social media security. On a different note, but in line with the Centre’s credo of opening up to society, the second annual “Encounters on the fringes of art” was held recently; at this open-ended event, students of fine arts and related fields came together to discuss and debate questions in this field. The consideration of culture as an instrument for promoting development also brings the Centre, its directors and its users closer to sectors of society that are vulnerable and often ignored by cultural forces. For instance, cultural activities have been organised with the Bolivian Institute for the Blind, with workshops in techniques of aural art and radio production that have encouraged visuallyimpaired persons to become new users of the Centre. Another very important activity is that of cultural mediation, a project born of the necessity to create a plural community that views the CCSLP as part of its heritage and which plays an active role in the Centre’s programmes and activities. This project, which is an innovative aspect of the institution’s identity, has rapidly come to form part

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1. Presentation of Cabeza by Daniel Abreu, in the framework of DanzĂŠnica, Seventh International Dance Festival, 2018

Cultural Centre of Spain in La Paz

of its strategic lines of action. Taking into account the research into new teaching methods that is currently being conducted in Spain, the Centre has created a new style of listening, via shared spaces, which allows users to recount their experiences and knowledge and thus form a plural, solid and critical community within the CCSLP. Specifically, the Centre has organised participative workshops for users and their children, and work is under way to create an urban community garden. Finally, CCSLP strategists are working on Experimenta Distrito, an ambitious pilot project in urban planning to harmonise the Centre with its surroundings. CCSLP as a force for culture and cooperation. Strategic plans and medium-term proposals. The Cultural Centre of Spain in La Paz has a characteristic identity and a noteworthy institutional presence, both in the city and, increasingly,

throughout Bolivia. Practically every afternoon and evening, visitors attend the library, the media lab, the exhibition halls, the workshops and the patio. In 2018, the Centreâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s cultural activities (exhibitions, film screenings, workshops and concerts) welcomed 21,193 visitors, while another 4,338 people made use of its services, including the library, the co-working space and the media lab. Of these visitors (25,531 in total), 8.9% were children. These data highlight the large numbers of people currently making use of the Centre, reflecting the popularity and dynamic nature of its cultural programmes. Nevertheless, further efforts should be made to increase visitor numbers, particularly as regards attracting the attention and interest of children and young people. The application of culture as a tool for development continues to be one of the Centreâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s main priority. These cultural mediation activities have achieved very positive results since 2018, and further

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success is expected, both in fields already considered and in new ventures, such as extending the Centre’s activities towards educational establishments. Lastly, the Centre aims to consolidate itself as an institution that is fully engaged with the cultural development of Bolivia. It is not only an institution for raising cultural awareness; the CCSLP also encourages critical thinking, while remaining true to its essential understanding that culture should be an instrument for development, in line with the SDGs.

2. Co-working space: the nonstop reading of Don Quixote. 3. Work by Andrés Bedoya, one of the artists in the programme to support young artists. 4. Members of MUSIca ALcheMIca together with the San José de Chiquitos Orchestra in the 12th HispanoAmerican Baroque and Renaissance Music Festival, Misiones de Chiquitos, 2018.

Cultural Centre of Spain in La Paz

A shared outlook Elizabeth Torres Director of the Simón I. Patiño Educational and Cultural Centre, Cochabamba

What is the role of culture in our society? Where are the public, and how do we view them in our cultural proposals? What is the impact of our cultural strategies? What are we achieving for the public with our management policies? Guided more by questions than by possible answers, the Simón I. Patiño educational and cultural centre in Cochabamba (CpcSIP) has collaborated and empathised with the CCSLP almost since its creation, jointly creating a space for ideas to bounce off each other. These two cultural centres are actors on the same stage, that of Bolivian culture, with a mutual concern for the artistic sector in general and for its audience in particular. On more than one occasion, these two agencies have joined forces to strengthen the links between culture and education. In the CCSLP, we have an associate, or rather a partner, in our projects and programmes, resolutely working as equals and addressing other cultural centres and society as a whole in Bolivia. This spirit of teamwork and cooperation has often brought us together to decide upon future actions and to reflect on our obligations in constructing the cultural occurrences of our country. For many of our own activities, the CCSLP has been the gateway to art, and its cultural management with other sectors of society has complemented our participation in joint programmes, for example in the support offered to contemporary Bolivian art with activities such as the ExpresArte art competition for young people. The spirit of understanding between our two centres has been bolstered with the invitations we have extended to Spanish authors, such as José Ovejero in 2014 and Antonio Orejudo in 2016 in the seventh and eight editions, respectively, of the Congress of Ibero-American Writers; other notable collaborations include our invitation to speak at the first and second editions of the Bolivian Cinema Seminar in 2017 and 2019; and the co-production of

the Work in Progress documentary film, presented at the Second Latin-American Festival of Documentary Cinema (under the title A Cielo Abierto, Open Skies), in 2014, with the presence of the film’s director Marta Andrew. In the same year, we worked together to mainstream gender issues in the world of culture, a project that gave rise to the documentary Beatriz junto al pueblo, made by the CpcSIP about Beatriz Palacios, the cinema producer and member of the Umakau Group Foundation (this film was screened at the First CCSLP Season of Political Cinema Directed by Women). In 2018, we collaborated with the CCSLP in preparing the exhibition for the Ibero-American Design Biennial at the National Art Museum. Among a series of training programmes in the artistic and cultural sectors, the CpcSIP has benefited from the valuable observations and analyses made in the 2011 and 2012 Cultural Diagnosis sessions, from the 2017 meetings to celebrate the first five years of the CCSLP and from the workshop entitled “Cultural Mediation: stepping out of the audience and participating”, led by Javier Laporta in 2018. All of these activities were organised by the CCSLP, which kindly invited us to take part. Finally, in addition to working together in the above activities, our two organisations are united by the conviction that we cannot hope to raise the profile of culture if we are isolated from society and from each other. Culture cannot be transmitted if each of us lives and works in a world apart. In our view the CCSLP has always been a solid, open and plural institution that has enabled us to advance towards achieving a society that is free and outspoken, and based on solidarity.

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The CCSLP, a cultural embassy Mabel Franco Cultural correspondent. Head of the Municipal Drama Space Unit, La Paz

The activities of an embassy often go unnoticed by the man in the street, perhaps because the responsibilities of a diplomatic mission are almost inevitably biased towards political, economic and military affairs. Cultural issues, even when the Embassy has a department with specific responsibilities in this area, may be viewed as simply decorative and not an essential factor bringing people together and fostering mutual understanding, and thus justifying the existence of an embassy. The fact that cultural concerns need to be addressed in an exceptional, specific way, to address human needs in terms of sensitivity and understanding, in the hope that at least some of the barriers may be brought down, is something that Spain seems to comprehend, and has demonstrated day by day in the work of the Cultural Centre of Spain in La Paz. The CCSLP, more than a space – which will always seem undersized if the work to be done is judged only by the physical dimensions available – is in fact a world-changing opportunity. An opportunity that arises because it represents a place and a time in which we can share and discuss our ideas, as an essential part of our quest to build a better society. Workshops, talks, seminars, exhibitions, concerts, the library. All of these elements are part of the big picture, as I see now, writing these lines, and I recall how many times I have walked through the doors of the house on Avenida Camacho, and met someone who is like-minded, or someone who thinks differently, persuading, provoking or affecting me. The seminar on cultural criticism by the journalist José Andrés Rojo, the exhibition of photographs by Isabel Muñoz on the train known as The Beast, running from Guatemala to Mexico, the drawings by the migrant Martín Elfman and his meeting with school students, the cartoons of the great Carlos Giménez, the meetings with the

Bookseller of the Month, the talks on sexual diversity, the mugs of coffee... My mind whirls with these thoughts, flying from the CCSLP springboard. And I

find these thoughts have left me concepts, images or attitudes that I often draw upon in my journalism, in my appreciation of a work of art or when I view myself in relation to others.

Cultural Centre of Spain in La Paz

The imagination of a city Juan Fabbri Anthropologist, curator and artist

As artists, what would we do without imagination? As cultural managers and researchers, we commonly chase after ideas that lie deep in our dreams; wishes are no more than fantasies until they are given material shape as song, dance, writing or speech, or some other form of expression with which to share our ideas, feelings and thoughts, our subjective world. In this space between the intangible and the tangible, I believe the Cultural Centre of Spain in La Paz, in its short life, has created a powerful force, impacting on our dreams and bringing them to life, turning the city’s imagination into a reality for those who live here, incessantly in search of each other. To illustrate this, let me describe three projects that marked my experience with the CCSLP. In each case, I was directly involved and so I can give an insider’s view on the situation; although this may put my objectivity in doubt, I ask the reader to accept this testimony of someone who was there, albeit not part of the CCSLP team. The first project concerns Spanish artists, curators and intellectuals, who have brought us closer to contemporary Spanish thought, but in so doing, demystified it. Considerations of the historical reality between Spain and Bolivia, as a fundamental part of the colonial scene, of Spain as an agent of colonial power over these territories, might have been cause for rejecting the CCSLP. On the contrary, however, the Centre became a space for discussion and for the generation of new forms of seeing. In this sense, people like Rogelio López Cuenca, Julia Morandeira, Diego del Pozo and Juan Naranjo, among many others, have shown us that Spain’s historical role as a colonising force is being rethought from a contemporary perspective, and that there exists an evident intention to generate another type of relation between Spain and Latin America, at least as concerns the arts. This scenario was perhaps one of the most interesting proposals, one in which the

institution became a space where we can reflect not only on the arts and on culture, but also on colonialism and neo-colonialism, catalysing the construction of another scenario and rethinking relations between our countries, studying and debating the colonial situation and collaborating in the construction of a new mindset, one less marked by machismo, sexism and racism. The second project is one I experienced at first hand, namely ExpresArte, the training programme (formerly a competition) for young Bolivian artists. I believe this programme provides resources, asks the proper questions and fosters the imagination, in a scenario of artistic education that is currently absent from the world of contemporary art. The ExpresArte programme empowers young artists who are dissident or dissatisfied with the traditional schools of art in La Paz. It enables these young creators to take their own path, to think in their own way and to start a professional career beyond the limitations and restrictions of the classical art that is taught in the schools of Fine Art. ExpresArte is a space where people with other creative orientations, wishing to experiment, investigate and make art in a different way, are encouraged to do so. For many people, ExpresArte is an initial experience that allows them to understand art as a space in which they can materialise their imagination in a professional manner. Hopefully, this facility will long continue to be offered. The third of these projects is one I took a personal interest in, to encourage local cultural management initiatives not only by ensuring they can take place, but also helping them broaden their scope. With this stimulus, the artistic imagination is rapidly transformed and made tangible. Such was the case of the CCSLP’s support for the international seminar “Emerging Utopias: dialogues within art, anthropology and curatorship”, which was held as part of the 10th Art Biennial SIART in 2018. This project, devised by

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Spaces of belonging Cergio Prudencio President of the Cultural Foundation of the Central Bank of Bolivia

Gabriela Zamorano and myself, later joined by Denisse Aguilar, brought together artists, cultural managers, anthropologists and others seeking to widen the debate in La Paz on the questions addressed. Clearly, this support for the project was based on an interinstitutional framework. Had it not been for the input of a large number of participants, many of whom travelled from the interior of the country or from abroad to be present, it would not have been feasible, and this large-scale representation, in turn, was made possible by the CCSLP. This space for interdisciplinary discussion was a novel occurrence in Bolivia and promoted the creation of new types of imagination and creation. To conclude this brief description of some of the initiatives taken by the CCSLP and of its conceptual perspective, I wish the Centre a long and fruitful existence and reiterate my support for the continuance of its projects, which greatly enrich local dynamics and cultural exchanges between two countries with a shared history.

Since its creation, the Cultural Centre of Spain in La Paz has been a reference point for the culture sector. The CCSLP has made a notable contribution to the art world in Bolivia and to young Bolivians. As an institution officially representing the Kingdom of Spain, its work does not focus on promoting the culture of its own country, but on creating programmes, services, activities and exhibitions aimed at the development of local contemporary expression in a variety of artistic languages, enabling young people to find their own spaces of belonging and exchange. One result of these efforts is the consolidation of ExpresArte, providing young artists with a valuable platform. Furthermore, the CCSLP has always acted openly and positively in its relations with Bolivian institutions, both public and private, enabling it to become part of the cultural framework, especially in La Paz. The Centreâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s premises in La Paz, in the heart of the Chuquiago Marka valley, is a factor of no less importance. Its spaces are perfectly suited for the performance of a range of artistic activities, as well as for providing services such as the library and film screenings, where the public are always warmly welcomed. We celebrate the existence of the CCSLP and wish it a long life.

PERร Cultural Centre of Spain in Lima Address Natalio Sรกnchez 181, Santa Beatriz, Cercado de Lima Opened 1991 Web http://www.ccelima.org/

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Cultural Centre of Spain in Lima

History In 1991, the Peruvian and Spanish Governments agreed to create a cultural centre, similar to others already established in Ibero-America, which would “foster the development of new activities of cultural exchange”, as reflected in the report of the Fifth Meeting of the Standing Committee on HispanicPeruvian Cooperation. This was how the new Cultural Centre of Spain in Lima (CCSL) came to be, even though at the time no site for the Centre had been determined. Nevertheless, in a very short time the Centre inspired a clear purpose of cultural cooperation among artists, agents and institutions. Five years later, on 22 January 1996, the new headquarters were inaugurated in the distinctive 1920s mansion that for many years had accommodated the Spanish Centre of Peru. This institution, which had been a place for the Spanish community in Lima to meet and socialise, was transformed into a new, inclusive public space dedicated to strengthening and expanding the cultural heritage of the two countries, under the framework of the Spanish Agency for International Development Cooperation (then, the AECI). In its neo-colonial building, facing a historic park and very close to the old city centre of Lima, the Cultural Centre was situated in a traditional neighbourhood, one of the first residential areas of the city, and readily accessible from all areas, including the newly-emerging periphery. This ideal location made the Centre an important focus of integration among various cultural circuits, which until then had had no nexus of communication. In addition to the advantages of its location, the building is of great architectural interest. It dates from 1927 and was declared a National Heritage Site in 2006. The original construction was designed by Ryszard Jaxa Małachowski (1887-1972), an architect

of Polish origin whose work in Peru is considered emblematic of the early twentieth century. Among other notable buildings, he designed the Government Palace and the Archbishop’s Palace, in the Plaza de Armas in Lima. The main part of the historic mansion, which was remodelled by the Lima Training CollegeWorkshop between 1993 and 1996, has been inhabited and used by the artistic community in Peru for over twenty years and has welcomed many Spanish creators. With only a multi-purpose auditorium with a capacity for 172 people, a library, two exhibition halls and a patio, the Centre has hosted numerous activities expressed in a wide range of artistic languages, managing to overcome the limitations of space, similar to those experienced in a family home, to create an inclusive meeting place, close to the community, always seeking to attract new audiences. The building adjacent to the mansion, with which it originally formed a single unit, is currently under renovation. When this process is complete, it will conclude a global intervention on both buildings which, on the one hand, will overcome the present cramped and transitory status of the Cultural Centre, and on the other, will enhance the historic and artistic value of this unique aspect of Lima’s heritage, restoring part of its historical architecture and creating a versatile environment for the challenges to be addressed in the coming years. Main lines of action The main lines of action undertaken by the CCSL are determined in accordance with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the Master Plan for Spanish Cooperation 2018-2021, which defines the Centre as a place for meeting, for participation and for the management of cultural projects that impact

Cultural Centre of Spain in Lima

1. Espacio tiempo (Space time), by the collective Boa Mistura, mural on the Lima Cultural Centre, 2016

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on development. Taking into account the policies being applied and the needs of the Peruvian cultural sector, the CCSL carries out programmes, projects and activities that, in a contemporary language, address issues such as gender equality, cultural diversity, heritage, the defence of human rights and support for vulnerable populations. In addition to the obvious historical ties, Peru has always enjoyed excellent bilateral relations with Spain, contributing to the dynamic cultural cooperation between the two countries, thus reinforcing and spurring the CCSL. The Centre’s first main line of action concerns the policies and targets set out in the Culture and Development Strategy Paper of Spanish Cooperation (2007). These actions, together with the components of the bilateral and multilateral programmes supported by the Technical Cooperation Office,

have contributed significantly to making Spanish Cooperation a key partner for Peru in its response to the challenges arising in cultural affairs. The CCSL has close ties with other agencies and institutions in Peru, and frequently liaises with international partners working on approaches to development. Its cultural agenda provides a channel for raising awareness of issues that affect the reality of both countries, such as violence against women and gender inequality. In addition to the above, the Centre is characterised by its commitment to training in cultural management. Thus, its ACERCA Programme supports a wide range of courses, workshops and seminars. Moreover, the CCSL has aligned itself with public agencies in policy implementation, for example in its contribution to the foundation established by the Ministry of Culture in July 2010, through a grant for specialised technical assistance; by the creation of the Fab Lab at the National University of Engineering, of EscueLAB; and subsequently of the international network of Fab Labs, with Lima as the main hub, which has driven the expansion of cultural industries related to new technologies. The second line of action, which comprises a large part of the Centre’s day-to-day work, is to facilitate cultural and scientific exchanges between the two countries, involving a wide range of artistic disciplines and areas of cultural management, with the participation of cultural institutions and agents, thus putting joint programmes into practice. The Centre’s agenda reflects the concerns of both countries, incorporating cultural references from Europe and from other Ibero-American nations, nurturing social dialogue and mutual growth. This exchange activity also targets many other cultural institutions and organisations in Peru, seeking to produce a fertile ecosystem for creation and cultural consumption on both sides of the Atlantic. The CCSL’s work is complemented by other contributions by the Spanish Government, such as the scholarship programme offered by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation, the Carolina Foundation and the Mobility Aids offered by Spanish Cultural Action. Finally, the Centre is working to internationalise Spanish culture, promoting the distribution of artists, creators and cultural industries at major international events in Peru and in the CCSL’s own programming

Cultural Centre of Spain in Lima

(such as the International Book Fair, the Lima International Film Festival, the Performing Arts Festival and the Lima Independent Film Festival). At the same time, of course, the CCSL manages its ties with local cultural networks and coordinates these activities with its other two lines of action. Positioning

The Centre, in becoming part of the Peruvian cultural universe, whilst implementing a strategy based on the idea that culture is an essential factor in improving the quality of life and should be employed to achieve direct, close interaction between artist and audience, and attracting new audiences. These stagings include testimonial performances such as Desde afuera, AntígonaS and programmes focused on the creative process such as A Solas Danza. The auditorium has also organised and nurtured film festivals that now form an essential part of cultural activity in Lima, such as OutfestPerú, International Trans Lesbian Gay Film Festival; Transcinema, International Film Festival; Cine Foro, Indigenous Audiovisual Territory and Self-Government. The CCSL has also fostered dialogue, debate and the exchange of knowledge among intellectuals, authors and editors from Spain, Peru and Ibero-America in general (including figures such as Fernando Savater, Mario Vargas Llosa, Rosa Montero, Laura Freixas, Vicente Molina Foix, Sergio del Molino, María Rostorowski, Blanca Varela, Carmen Ollé, Giovanna Pollarolo and Oswaldo Reynoso), as well as book presentations and seminars. In the context of music, it has presented numerous emerging music groups. These, and many more activities, have taken place within a large, regularly-changing programme of events, open to all.

2. Dance by the D1 group, featuring the dancer and choreographer Vania Masias, 2016

3. The cajoneada is the core activity of the International Festival of the Peruvian Box-drum, where many boxdrummers congregate.

4. Enrique Vila-Matas in the Week of the Author, a literary exchange event for Spanish and Peruvian writers.

5. Migratory States. Cultures of Mobility from the ARCO Collection, an exhibition of works by Spanish and Peruvian artists on migration, 2018

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The Centreâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s maturing and growth, its constant search for artistic excellence, daring, innovation and reflection, and its challenges to the status quo, have led it to undertake a broad spectrum of cultural promotion projects, making it widely recognised as an attractive, reliable venue for artists and cultural managers, who in turn attract a large and diverse audience. Reflection as an agent of culture and cooperation From the beginning, the CCSLhas been a success, paralleling the development of other Spanish Cultural Centres in Ibero-America. Nevertheless, the institution has not been without difficulties. The budgetary restrictions imposed following the financial crisis of 2008 spiralled into a huge challenge: the substantial reduction in the funds assigned to Spanish Cooperation obliged the CCSL to change the ways in which it addressed cultural action, whilst seeking to maintain the level and quality of its programming.

On the other hand, these financial troubles coincided with one of the most prosperous economic periods in Peruâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s history, which began in 2001 and has continued to the present day. With the emergence of a new, young middle class in search of culture, the city has diversified its offer in this field, and new public and private institutions have appeared, maintaining the good health of the cultural sector and enabling the CCSL to weather the storm, to expand its networks of alliances and to open up new lines of collaboration. Thus, Spanish Cooperation has always maintained a very significant presence in Peru, thanks to the range of supportive instruments deployed and the important historical, cultural and language ties that unite us. The CCSL must now advance further in its commitment and support to the cultural sector, sharing the responsibility for addressing global problems. The institution must be clear sighted and form effective alliances if it is to achieve favourable results. In this sense, the maturity and experience

Cultural Centre of Spain in Lima

acquired will enable it to successfully address the fresh challenges set out in the 2030 Agenda. Medium-term strategic approaches 2021 will be a key year in the Centreâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s history, for several reasons: the Bicentennial of the Independence of Peru (1821-2021), the 25th anniversary of the CCSL and the inauguration of the newly-renovated adjacent building. Furthermore, the Centre will form part of a project to strengthen cultural and creative industries, in accordance with the SDGs and the Country Partnership Framework recently signed between Peru and Spain. With its expansion into the new building, the CCSL will acquire new, open, flexible spaces for co-working and cultural production, enabling it to promote a collaborative ecosystem for creators, fostering the development of ideas and projects

in the context of a social and creative economy, contributing to the generation of youth employment in Peru and forging ties with the Spanish cultural industry. Furthermore, the landmark mansion house in the Santa Beatriz neighbourhood may yet undertake further projects related to social innovation, citizen involvement and the use of new technologies. The two parts of its complex will be used concurrently, in different but complementary ways: the existing building will host exhibitions and facilitate the consumption of cultural products, while the new building will be oriented towards production, process and experimentation. Moreover, the renovated facilities will enable more general access to the building, provide generous open spaces for workshops and training courses, and overcome the limitations of the current auditorium, converting it into an experimental

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space for drama and music. Finally, the complete integration of the mansion house buildings will provide a modernised library and resource centre and a coffee shop, and the rooftop terrace will be used for cultural events. All of these resources will benefit the users of this cultural space.

6. Wall mural by the Peruvian artist Ale Torres in Emancipadas y Emancipadoras (Liberated and Liberating), a 2019 exhibition about women who played an active role in the Peruvian independence movement. 7. As part of the exhibition Antes, despuĂŠs, ahora (Before, after, now), the artist Sixe Paredes decorated the Centreâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s side wall and exterior gallery in 2017.

Cultural Centre of Spain in Lima

In the nostalgic neighbourhood of Santa Beatriz Sergio Llusera Theatre director, actor and cultural manager. Head of the Cultural Centre at Universidad del Pacífico

Since its foundation in the 1990s, the Cultural Centre of Spain in Lima, located in a beautifully restored neo-colonial mansion in the historic neighbourhood of Santa Beatriz, has been a reference space for critical and creative thinking in the fields of arts and culture in our city. The Centre has attracted a host of interesting and provocative curators, thinkers and creators, in a variety of disciplines, with a renowned track record; many first presented their work here. The breadth of the Centre’s scope, together with its plurality, challenging spirit, ability to detect and present emerging talents and, of course, its commitment to artistic excellence, have led to its consolidation as a universally acknowledged platform in creation and exhibition, attracting a large and enthusiastic public. My first contact with the Centre was as a member of the artistic community when I was setting out in my career. Having previously trained in general administration, it was a natural next step for me to become a cultural manager, an activity I hoped to pursue in parallel to my work in the theatre, my chosen creative field. In the scantly-populated cultural panorama of Lima at that time, the arrival of a new space of this type was both an achievement and a challenge. Unlike existing spaces and others slowly beginning to emerge, the Cultural Centre of Spain in Lima offered a wide range of programmes, rarely seen in Peru. Not only was it a multidisciplinary exhibition space (which in itself was a refreshing outlook, in comparison with how cultural management was usually viewed at the time), but it also offered continuing reflection and debate about social, political and economic events from a trans-disciplinary, aesthetic and cultural perspective. I had been accustomed to performing curatorial tasks in artistic environments that were compartmentalised and free of ‘contamination’, where new disciplines or thoughts alien to preconceived notions of art were unable to gain entry. At first, I was unsure of the identity that

was proposed. Was it to be an exhibition centre for the arts, a space for presenting Spanish work, a place for academic dialogue? Neither did I properly understand whether the focal point of the conversation would be what was taking place then and there, in Peru and further afield, or whether it was more concerned with the historical view. The multiplicity of forms and backgrounds being offered was both fascinating and slightly disconcerting; I felt challenged to investigate, to be less passive in my reaction to the Centre’s proposals, to discover artists and authors who in many cases were landmarks in other contexts, but much less so in Lima, which was somewhat isolated from the artistic mainstream, at that time when the internet was still in its infancy. I gradually became captivated by this new way of constructing meaning, of understanding the work of programming and management as a discourse in itself, as an artistic work whose stage directions were shaped over time, in an ongoing cycle of introspection and intentional, positive deconstruction, deliberately unfinished and continuous, in constant dialectic engagement. The numerous, wide-ranging elements of the annual programme – then and now – are just part of a larger worldview, one that is quite coherent in its apparent “incompleteness”. It could be no other way.

Spanish Cooperation Cultural Centres

More active than 25 years ago Jorge Villacorta Chávez Contemporary art critic and independent curator

The Cultural Centre of Spain in Lima offers some three hundred open-access activities every year. Its strategic city-centre location has had the valuable, paradoxical effect of decentralising its users; its institutional platforms have facilitated access to art and culture to a diverse public, to audiences who find space and, above all, meaning in the varied presentations made. People commonly say “Get there early, because there’ll be a long queue” when a new programme opens. It’s always fascinating to observe the different types of people waiting in line at the opening of an exhibition or for an activity to begin, depending on the event. I have seen groups of retired people and local residents, from Santa Beatriz, and on other occasions members of younger generations (and of the not so young), forming part of the underground music and radical scene; at other events, young emos, feminists or LGBTIQ groups; or fans of literature, drama, film, sports or graphic design. Over the years, the Centre’s capacity to attract and retain interest has remained constant. The present management and artistic team of the Cultural Centre of Spain in Lima has not only continued and built upon its legacy, but it has made itself more complete, collaborating with external festivals, forums and fairs, such as the International Book Fair, the Hay Festival in Arequipa, the Performing Arts Festival of Lima, the High Season Festival of Lima and the Lima Film Festival, to name just a few. The Centre has steadfastly focused on the city, its problems and its initiatives and is committed to forming a local and global citizenship, capable of rethinking the past and reaching towards a future that is fairer, more authentic and more communicative. The importance of the Cultural Centre of Spain in Lima is such that it would be impossible to imagine that it has not always been so. But there was a time when Spain only existed in the Peruvian imaginary as “the Motherland”, a parental figure, a symbolic

taskmaster, who kept herself incomparably far apart from the majority of the local population. The last significant wave of Hispanophilia in Peru took place in 1935, with the celebration of the Fourth Centenary of the Spanish foundation of Lima, but this sentiment had practically vanished within twenty years. Trade, economic cooperation and educational aid might be said to have sustained relations between the two countries, providing advantages and administrative efficiency, but Spain certainly did not present its human side in the field of culture, if we view this as meaning a dynamic network of connections based on shared experiences, with exchanges of visions among people with widely different outlooks. For Peru, the 1980s were violent years, during which subversive groups terrorised urban centres, especially Lima, and destabilised organisations throughout the country: it was a cruel, bloody time in which it was clear that in Peru we did not understand each other as persons, and were unable to respect individual human rights. In this desperate context, the approaching Fifth Centenary of the Meeting of Two Worlds brought the Spanish Embassy in Peru to sudden prominence in Lima. The country sorely needed an agent capable of manoeuvring among all the circles that then comprised this city, where the cultural framework was fractured. And this agent was Milagros Hernando, the Embassy’s cultural attaché at the time, who dedicated all her efforts to building the necessary understanding – point by point, group by group – to lend meaning to the spirit of 1992. These ties among the divergent parties were forged just in time and new tangible knowledge was gained by all concerned, as the basis for a cultural exchange programme that both parties were called upon to create. Moreover, a new era was then beginning for Peru, with the country’s victory over the subversive forces. The Cultural Centre of Spain in Lima initiated its activities among the local community in an

Cultural Centre of Spain in Lima

exceptionally well-located space, Plaza Washington, where it is still to be found, although unimaginably more active than 25 years ago. To the best of my recall, I had very little contact with the Centre until 1996. Among the exhibitions I visited there, I remember one in particular, which displayed facsimile illustrated editions of the volumes in which Bishop Martínez de Compañón recounted his travels around the diocese of Trujillo, on behalf of the King of Spain, between 1780 and 1790. Then, one day, I was invited to curate an exhibition of Peruvian contemporary art in the Centre, where I met Virginia Careaga, its director, and her staff. Since then, I have considered this institution as a place where I have dear friends. Without false modesty, I believe that exhibition, Lo sagrado de lo profano (The Sanctity of the Profane), which I jointly curated with Ana María Rodrigo, was a milestone, creating a new outlook on the work of visual creators working in Lima, representing the generations of the 1980s and 1990s. From this experience it became very clear to me that the Cultural Centre of Spain was searching for local people with whom it could relate and who wished to participate in constructing a new cultural scene in Lima. And throughout Peru. With the arrival of Teresa Velázquez Cortés in Peru, who took charge of the Centre in late 1997, a programme of continuous, intensive cultural work began to take place in Lima, which noticeably raised the levels of creative exchange in contemporary culture and highlighted new areas for collaboration. This programme took as its basis the need for dialogue, at all times and in all directions, a dialogue in which every participant from Spain met and related with a significant number of Peruvians; at no time was there any suggestion of an imbalance favouring contributions by the Spanish personnel. In this dialogue, it was stressed that the importance of the new director’s arrival lay in the potential for

greater contact, with follow up activities and concrete outcomes, with Peruvians. At the Centre we got to know each other, to realise how much we had in common and where our differences lay, doing so on a basis of total equality, in what could be termed “our second home”. In these meetings, the need for innovation was at the forefront of our discussions, and one outcome of this was the First National Video and Electronic Arts Contest, held in 2001. In those years, the Centre provided invaluable support to the Ibero-American Biennial of Lima (held in 1997, 1999 and 2002). When Ricardo Ramón Jarne took over as director in 2003, the Centre took another step in the dynamics of cultural exchange, with the introduction and expansion of itinerant exhibitions in the field of visual arts, as projects designed and carried out by Peruvian curators, which were subsequently taken to other parts of the AECID Network in Ibero-America. This was the case, for example, of the exhibition Vía Satélite. Panorama de la fotografía y el video en el Perú contemporáneo (By satellite - a panorama of contemporary photography and video in Peru), curated by José-Carlos Mariátegui and Miguel Zegarra), which was displayed in five countries between 2003 and 2005. A similar trajectory was taken by the exhibition Poder Verde -Visiones psicotropicales (Green Power: Psycho-tropical visions), curated by Christian Bendayán), which was presented in Buenos Aires and was the first to provide, outside Peru, a visual, radical interpretation of the current situation in the Amazon basin. Conferences and seminars in the auditorium were complemented with workshops in other spaces within the Centre. Drama and dance, for reasons of space, were presented in other venues in Lima. Spanish films were regularly screened, enabling audiences to observe at first hand the international consolidation of a new force in world cinema, in

Spanish Cooperation Cultural Centres

appearance and narrative form, which subsequently inspired new trends in Peruvian cinema. Many powerful shows were presented by independent bands in the local rock scene, who alternated the use of the Centre’s auditorium with Peruvian contemporary music festivals. In addition, concerts of electro-acoustic and electronic music took place, for several years. Beyond the celebration of sharing a common language, suddenly there was renewed contact between Spanish and Peruvian poets, novelists and journalists, and local writers had the opportunity to meet editors invited to Lima from Spain. Young independent Peruvian editors were able to exchange opinions with their Spanish counterparts, and gained an enhanced awareness of their own identity. Opportunities were offered with no regard for gender, an aspect that was strongly emphasised and which contributed to overcoming male supremacy among writers, paving the way for greater attention to be paid to the female voice in authorship. In a related field, the diversity of options in sexual orientation (LGBTQI) was also strongly supported by the Cultural Centre of Spain, through cultural manifestations of all kinds, including the visual arts, dance and theatre. Whilst remaining at the forefront of cultural expression, the Centre has undergone a series of changes. In the last decade, different directors, first Juan Sánchez and then David Ruiz López-Prisuelos, took responsibility for designing cultural policies appropriate to a resizing of the Centre’s overall activity. Far from losing sight of its crucially important role in the cultural field in Lima, the Centre has maintained its high profile thanks to the creativity displayed in its lines of action associated with the performing arts and dance, participative cultural events that have often taken place using the Plaza Washington itself as a stage. At the end of 2018, the Centre hosted a visit by the King and Queen of Spain, during their official

visit to Peru in a meeting to celebrate the invitation made to our country to participate in the 2019 edition of the Madrid Fair of Contemporary Art (ARCO). The Centre invited representatives of the local cultural scene to take part in this meeting and to learn about the implications for Peru of its becoming a special guest at ARCO. In the current situation facing our country, in which certain high authorities are being tried on charges of corruption, the cultural actions promoted by the Centre in recent times, and which have been warmly received in civil society, remind us that culture forms part of the base from which democracy is constructed, here and everywhere.

Cultural Centre of Spain in Lima

More than a house, a home Fabiola Figueroa Cultural Manager. MAEC-AECID scholar, intern with the ACERCA programme. Director of Arts in the Ministry of Culture of Peru and currently Head of Culture in the City of Lima.

There are many times in life when one must take decisions, and, depending on the choices made, the path may go one way or another. On the threshold of the new millennium, in the year 2000, I decided to abandon my university degree in Communications and instead study Arts. I entered the National School of Fine Arts, a public institution located in the historic centre of Lima, which in those years was the scenario for large numbers of students and others who needed somewhere to meet and raise their voices against the authoritarianism and corruption which then characterised our government. In this world, the decision to study art is always a difficult one; in Peru and in the context of those times, it was a real challenge. If I remember anything from my life as an art student, it would be the long walks I used to take with my classmates towards that large building that housed the Cultural Centre of Spain in Lima and the hours spent in its library or waiting for the latest edition of Exit magazine to discover the current news about the art world. It was there, in those days that I discovered many Spanish film directors, and my passion for cinema began to take form. But the Centre not only opened our eyes to Spanish art; it also lent a space for Peruvians to make their work known, presenting various major projects. One that particularly comes to mind is a collective exhibition curated by Christian Bendayán, called Poder Verde. Visiones psicotropicales (Green power: Psycho-tropical visions). But there were also many, many projects in the fields of performing arts, music and literature. The Cultural Centre of Spain gave us free access to local and international contemporary artistic content, and to a library focused on art and culture, at a time marked by political repression. For my generation, for us as students at a public college of arts, this was an opportunity that broadened our horizons.

At the time, I was unaware of where this decision would lead me, that it would create these ties with Spain via its Cultural Centre in Lima. And today I find myself writing this text as a sort of autobiography; that historic pink building is no longer just a physical space, it came to be a home, a reference point, a place that took me in and over time allowed me to witness its change to become a cultural reference for our city, not only for the promotion of the arts, but as a place of encounter and reflection, where diversity converges and spaces are created for intercultural dialogue. But a home must have a human element, and over the past ten years I have had a close-up view of the work carried out: by its directors, Ricardo Ramón Jarne, Juan Sánchez Gutiérrez and David Ruiz López-Prisuelos; by the remarkable team of staff who have made the Centre what it is; and by the Spanish scholarship holders who have passed through its doors. My professional relationship with the Centre began in 2008, when I formed part of a group of self-governing cultural associations from different neighbourhoods, from “the other centres” of the city, which decided to promote the Network of Emerging Cultural Associations (RACE). The Centre, and its director Ricardo Ramón, made us welcome and invited us to present wide-ranging debates on self-management, autonomy in cultural creation and production, expression and collaborative endeavours, and to reassess notions of periphery and emergence. The space provided was important in enabling the construction of different forms of citizen participation and of public policies, implanting a living culture of community in our city. That time and those initiatives gave a new direction to my career. During that period, the Centre also became a benchmark for the design of cultural projects and of cultural management for development. The opportunity to apply for one of the grants and

Spanish Cooperation Cultural Centres

scholarships offered by the Spanish Ministry for Foreign Affairs and Cooperation (MAEC) was of fundamental importance in promoting a host of cultural and artistic initiatives and in fostering the professionalisation of cultural management. The influence of the Cultural Centre of Spain began to extend beyond its physical space, giving real meaning to cultural exchange and cooperation. This was true in my own case, too. I was awarded one of the MAECAECID grants, which enabled me to go to Spain to study a Master’s Degree in Cultural Management at the Carlos III University in Madrid. This also gave me the possibility of doing my internship in the ACERCA Programme of Training for Development in the Cultural Sector, where I learned about the work done by AECID and the people who provided the Spanish backup for the Network of Cultural Centres. In 2011, after my return to Peru, I became Head of the Cultural Centre of the National School of Fine Arts, where we coordinated several projects with Juan Sánchez; later I was appointed Director of Arts in the Ministry of Culture, where I worked with David Ruiz López-Prisuelos. In these joint projects, over several years and with the backing of the Ministry of Culture of Peru and the Culture Department of Lima City Hall, we supported the Centre’s cultural and cooperation policies, connecting them with other public activities in this field, both locally and at the national level. Thus, we strengthened institutional activities, supporting the creative sectors and facilitating spaces for reflection of the impact of culture on development. In view of the autobiographical path I have outlined, I now realise that matters of exchange and cultural cooperation are no longer outward and homeward return trips, but shared journeys, taken together, along the same path. In this respect, it is essential to acknowledge the role played by the Cultural Centre of Spain in the current sociocultural

context, giving us a warm welcome, providing a home where we can meet and get to know each other, urging us to innovate, and opening its doors to provide a space for public enjoyment and use, something that is urgently needed in this city where even the parks are behind bars. The Centre encourages the public to enter and take part, views the cultural manager as an ally and is committed to promoting cultural content that leads us to reflect upon our memories and our identity, in a country that still has difficulty in opening up about its recent history, and which still has a long way to go on the path to recognising women’s struggles and in taking a different approach to gender issues. But we shall take that path together, I believe.

REPÚBLICA DOMINICANA Cultural Centre of Spain in Santo Domingo Address Calle Arzobispo Meriño 2 (esq. Arzobispo Portes), Zona Colonial. C.P. 10210. Santo Domingo Opened 1990 Web https://www.ccesd.org/

Spanish Cooperation Cultural Centres

Cultural Centre of Spain in Santo Domingo

The Cultural Centre of Spain in Santo Domingo (CCSSD) is located in the former Calle Plateros, now called Arzobispo Meriñ, in the historic city centre, the inspiration for European-style urban design in the Americas. The institution was created in 1990 by the Spanish Agency for International Development Cooperation (AECID) to enhance cultural cooperation between Spain and the Dominican Republic, two nations that share profound historical ties. The CCSSD is now an artistic and cultural reference point in this Caribbean metropolis, offering a wideranging cultural programme every year, with over 150 activities and events, with 20 or more exhibitions of Dominican and international artists, as well as outdoor concerts, lectures, film festivals and study courses. The importance of this Centre and its unquestionable impact on the local scene are partly explained by its very special location. The historic centre of Santo Domingo, the first city to be built in the American continent and the administrative hub of the Spanish colonial government during the first half of the sixteenth century, contains the largest number of museums, galleries, theatres and exhibition centres in the entire Dominican Republic. Amidst so many options, the CCSSD has become a driving force of artistic creation, acting in support of development cooperation and fostering emerging talents in this country. During its almost 30 years of existence, the Centre has done outstanding work in favour of the Dominican society, promoting access to culture among sectors at risk of exclusion, encouraging all kinds of artistic expression, defending the cultural legacy of African-descendants, supporting the activities of the LGBTIQ community, fostering cultural diversity, stimulating creative exchange and collaborating with the initiatives of other public institutions, associations, groups, cultural managers

and NGOs. At the same time, it has sustained alliances with private organisations to strengthen and unite those working in favour of the cultural sector. A colonial school that became a cultural centre The history of the CCSSD has a fascinating connection with the early days of Santo Domingo. The beautiful building housing the Cultural Centre dates back to 1502, when Nicolás de Ovando founded the city, and an ambitious young man from Huelva by the name of Hernando Gorjón arrived on the island. Before long, he founded a sugar mill and made his fortune. As he had no descendants, Gorjón bequeathed all he had to create a school. In 1540, this institution received a royal warrant to establish two teaching chairs, and in 1558 the institution was elevated to the rank of university with the name of Santiago de la Paz. One of its professors was Cristóbal de Llerena, the author of the Entremés, considered the first dramatic play written in America. During the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, the Gorjón university building was transformed, successively, into a seminary, a convent and a military quarters. It eventually reappeared as a university, administered by the Jesuit movement. However, this rebirth was abruptly interrupted in 1767, when King Carlos III expelled the religious order from all his domains. As time passed, the building, located close to the Caribbean Sea and the Ozama estuary, fell into ruin. In the mid-1970s, during a visit by the then president of the Institute of Hispanic Culture, Alfonso de Borbón, the Dominican State considered the timing right to restore the former teaching institution, converting it into the headquarters of the Dominican Institute of Hispanic Culture (IDCH). In 1987, during the Centre’s management transfer to AECID, an adjacent building dating from the early twentieth century was acquired, enabling

Cultural Centre of Spain in Santo Domingo

1. Walk through the Colonial City of Santo Domingo, guided by the members of Club Cultura. 2. View from the semi-circular arches that give access to the Centre’s patio. In the background, the ogival arch of the Prats Ventós room.

3. The Centre’s library has one of the most complete collections of art books in the country. 4. Xiomara Fortuna, “the queen of fusion”, in one of her concerts in the patio of the Cultural Centre.

Spanish Cooperation Cultural Centres

the IDCH to expand its administrative offices and freeing up space for the Gorjón College, where exhibition halls and related areas were created. These two buildings were combined and designed to function as a single cultural unit. At that time, the Dominican press characterised the IDCH as an entity with the vocation to “welcome, protect, promote and project the diverse manifestations of Spanish and Dominican cultures”. Three years later, its name was changed, first to the Hispanic Cultural Centre and, later, to its present denomination of the Cultural Centre of Spain in Santo Domingo. Spaces for art, diversity and knowledge The architectural style of the colonial building housing the CCSSD is very similar to that found in olden Spain, especially the houses of the region of Extremadura. The exterior features a wonderful stone

portal, its most historic element and one of the most representative of the Isabelline architectural style in the Americas. The rectangular framework bore the following coats of arms, subsequently destroyed during the Haitian occupation (1822-1844): the imperial coat of arms of Carlos I, the heraldic shield of Santo Domingo, the arms of the Gorjón family, the insignia of the House of Burgundy, the columns of Hercules and a pendant with symbols of the Order of Santiago. Inside, the CCSSD has a number of luminous, spacious exhibition halls. The first one on the ground floor is called Prats Ventós in honour of the renowned Spanish artist, who later took Dominican nationality. It was the former chapel of the Gorjón College and has a capacity for 150 people. The second exhibition hall is named after María Ugarte, an important Dominican historian of Spanish origin. This space is the result of combining two rooms from the

Cultural Centre of Spain in Santo Domingo

Spanish Cooperation Cultural Centres

original building, and has a maximum capacity for 100 people. From these exhibition halls visitors can access the patio and the Centre’s gardens, where there is also a terrace with free wi-fi and a stage for outdoor activities (music, drama, dance, etc.). This patio can accommodate 180 people seated and 500 standing. The first floor contains the games library, an area for children, with a variety of books and educational toys. This small recreational centre conducts its own programme of activities, including art workshops, film screenings and storytelling presentations. Then there is La Ventana, a newly created space intended as a reading room, which also has computers for internet use. Finally, on this floor, a multimedia library provides a large collection of Ibero-American books, magazines and films. In addition, the CCSSD has a multi-purpose room for 50 people and two classrooms for 10 and 15 people, respectively, equipped with projectors, monitors and computers, among other technological resources for lectures, workshops and courses. A radio broadcasting studio and spaces for administrative services complete the facilities available on this floor, with an area of 750 square metres. A much prized institution In Santo Domingo, the CCSSD plays a major role in presenting Spanish culture and fostering cultural and development cooperation, and caters very effectively to different areas of society, including artists, cultural managers, university students and young people in general. The Centre is well regarded by all these groups, who consider it close to their interests, encouraging participation and enhancing

understanding. This positive impression is shared by the authorities and the main economic, social and cultural agents of the Dominican capital, due, in large part, to the Centre’s continuing healthy relationship with these sectors. Since its foundation, the CCSSD has encouraged local artistic creation and fostered the diversification of cultural possibilities. At the same time, as an agent of Spanish Cooperation, it has supported and participated in the main cultural events of the country. For example, the Centre organises its own celebrations as part of the Santo Domingo Carnival, and during the International Book Fair it coordinates various literature-related activities. Other major events in which the Centre takes part include the International Theatre Festival, the Photoimagen photography biennial, the Long Night of the Museums, the Design Biennial dRD, the Music Festival (organised by Alliance Française), the Santo Domingo Music Festival, the International Festival of Contemporary Dance (EDANCO), the International Children and Youth Theatre Festival (FITIJ) and the Women in Theatre Festival. The CCSSD is currently active, too, in areas such as providing training for human resources in the field of culture; political and economic aspects of its contribution to development projects (for example, the empowerment of cultural industries); synergies between education and culture; the sustainable management of the cultural heritage; relations between communication and culture; and advancing the recognition of cultural rights. The Centre also undertakes important initiatives with groups at risk of social exclusion and on major issues such as the environment, gender and African descent. In the latter respect, the CCSSD has contributed to a wide range of projects, including

5. Activity in one of the art workshops organised by the CCSSD

6. Dancers in an activity related to the exhibition on the popular artist Nereyda Rodríguez

Cultural Centre of Spain in Santo Domingo

7. CCSSD programme of events, June 2016

the Festival of African Descendants Today, the seminar on Cultural Expressions of Afro-Dominicans and numerous concerts of indigenous African rhythms. One of the projects that has made a major social impact is that of Club Cultura, a programme to promote participation in society by elderly persons living in the Colonial City. Every month, these senior citizens become cultural promoters and act as guides, presenting a tourist and cultural route within the historic centre of Santo Domingo. The idea of this project is to integrate and involve the elderly in cultural practices. Another area of interest is that of LGBTIQ issues; the Centre has cooperated with this population in organising some of the most important events in the city, such as the OutFest International LGBT Film Festival in Santo Domingo. Moreover, the members of this community are encouraged to make use of the Centreâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s classrooms, meeting rooms and workshops. To further reinforce its position as a cultural agent, the CCSSD has presented its medium-term plan to promote the culture-related goals of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. Another of its priorities for the coming years is to promote cultural rights among the Dominican population, with the support of the Ministry of Culture. Following the guidelines of the Directorate for Cultural and Scientific Affairs, and the agreements made within Country Partnership Frameworks, the CCSSD will continue working to consolidate cultural issues as a key factor in the countryâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s sustainable human development.

Spanish Cooperation Cultural Centres

Professionalism and humanity

Multiple dialogues

Jorge Pineda Visual artist. His works form part of important collections in the Museum of Contemporary Art of Castilla y León (MUSAC), the Patricia Phelps de Cisneros Collection and the Valencian Institute of Modern Art (IVAM).

Darío Solano Secretary General of the UNESCO-Dominican Committee on the Slave Route and President of the Dominican Platform of African-Descendants.

The Spanish Cultural Centre in Santo Domingo is a second home for the artistic world of the Dominican Republic, supporting all kinds of artists in developing their projects. Moreover, its programmes facilitate knowledge, providing the means for strengthening artists’ discourse and channelling cultural expressions, both at home and abroad. The defining quality of the Centre is its professionalism, combined with a profoundly humanistic outlook.

In the Cultural Centre of Spain in Santo Domingo, African descendancy is represented within a space where multiple dialogues are encouraged, giving a voice to cultural diversity and interculturality. The Centre’s institutional agenda is constructed from a horizontal perspective that encourages us to rethink notions of the African descendant, an aspect of Dominican society that is too often invisible. Such actions help decolonise a blinkered view of Dominica’s cultural legacy and enable a more plural, universal vision, created from the diversity of the nation’s cultural and ethnic manifestations. The Centre promotes dialogue, oriented towards an ethnic-racial democracy in which African descendants are not subordinated to colonial priorities, which still remain in the structure of traditional thinking that pervades Dominican society.

COSTA RICA Cultural Centre of Spain in San José Address Diagonal a la Rotonda del Farolito, Barrio Escalante San José Opened 1992 Web http://www.ccecr.org/

Spanish Cooperation Cultural Centres

Cultural Centre of Spain in San José

The Cultural Centre of Spain in Costa Rica (CCSCR) was inaugurated in 1992. Its stated goal was to strengthen and promote the culture of Costa Rica, Central America and Spain, and to support the contributions of all parties involved in this sector. The CCSCR is a member of the AECID Network of Cultural Centres, which facilitates the circulation of cultural knowledge and practices throughout IberoAmerica. During its 25-year history, the Centre has evolved through different phases, but at all times has firmly advocated human and cultural rights, viewing this concern as the fundamental basis for its strategic lines of action, projects and activities. Today, the CCSCR is committed to the 2030 Agenda and to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). One of its main aims is to foster inclusion and solidarity and to create alliances with vulnerable populations, enabling them to benefit from this cultural connection. The CCSCR has three physical spaces: the historic one, known as “El Farolito”, is an inclusive space which, in collaboration with likeminded organisations, supports the cultural sector and attracts large, critical audiences, devising collaborative activities and projects intended to produce a positive impact on development in Costa Rica. The second space, Plaza Skawak, was inaugurated in 2017, and from its inception has encouraged public participation, expressing this aim in its architectural layout and even in its name (Skawak means “owners of our space” in the Bribri-Cabécar language). The name was chosen after consulting with neighbours and indigenous communities through their community organisations. Among other connotations, Skawak means ownership, the idiosyncrasy of an indigenous people and its world view, which has been endangered

for centuries. The design of this Plaza and the underlying concept differ from those of the Centre’s other public spaces; this hybrid, mutable space forms a bridge between the public and the private, where different institutions and groups can coexist; a space for spontaneous interaction and collective encounters; a space for the intuitive, pleasurable, direct interpretation of its potential, untrammelled by convention. In this space, we may expect the unexpected. The Centre’s fundamental goal, to be open to all, has led it to re-imagine and re-direct its work, to function in a different way in this new space, to create a structured basis for creation within its commitment to inclusion and equality. In the outdoor area provided by Plaza Skawak, art and culture are incorporated into the daily life of the city, there is a space for the community and for public participation, where everybody can share, exchange, propose and cooperate with everyone else in building up cultural and social connections. The Centre’s third physical place, Casa Caníbal, is one for experimentation, where the emphasis is placed on freedom of thought and creation. Here, the outcome sought is not so much that of obtaining results; instead, it lies in the experience itself. For example, the Artistic Residencies Programme takes place within Casa Caníbal, focusing on coexistence, creation and exchange, in activities open to international, regional and local creators and researchers. Casa Caníbal expands the offer of residencies and workplaces in the city of San José, supplying economic resources, tools and institutional support, and thus forms part of the city’s infrastructure made available to local artists. These three spaces are all intended to foster participation by a critical public, and focus on enhancing community empowerment, on being present in public issues and on opening up new

Cultural Centre of Spain in San JosĂŠ

1. Plaza Skawak, a community space for public participation, was inaugurated in 2017.

2. The group Saturno Devorando in a season of concerts in the Farolito, in 2016.

Spanish Cooperation Cultural Centres

possibilities. In short, taking a different institutional approach. In these spaces, the CCSCR promotes experimentation and mediation, favouring creativity, inclusion and a plurality of ideas and critical thinking, seeking to generate opportunities for individuals and groups to become agents of change. The Centre works to utilise the potential offered by the spaces, relating each one to its users. In so doing, it catalyses processes of reinterpretation and thus influences the collective imagination. The Cultural Centre addresses its goals via three areas of priority: culture as an element of external projection, by presenting contemporary Spanish culture in Costa Rica; cultural cooperation between Costa Rica and Spain, as an exchange of experiences and knowledge among creators in both countries, thus contributing to the participation of cultural agents within the Ibero-American Cultural

Space; and culture as a stimulus to development, by supporting cultural ventures, providing training programmes in the cultural sector, generating spaces for debate and public participation, and enhancing the value of the local intangible heritage. The CCSCR management bases its policies on four strategic lines: external projection and cultural cooperation, seeking to create networks and foster exchange, and involving Spanish cultural actors in the local sector; experimentation in creative processes, from the creation of spaces for research and exchange within a collaborative, multidisciplinary environment; education and training for professionals in this field and strengthening the creative industries of the national economy; and the mediation of contemporary cultural practices, to strengthen ties between creators and the public and to promote critical thinking.

Cultural Centre of Spain in San José

3. The group Do Not in a season of concerts, “In El Farolito”, 2017 4. Movida Canibal, an acoustic experimentation project in the Casa Caníbal studios.

Costa Rica is classed as an ‘advanced cooperation’ country, in which the CCSCR carries out a policy of bilateral coordination in accordance with the New Generation Agreement of Spanish Cooperation. For the last three years, following the strategic direction set out in the Centre’s 2016 Action Plan, it has sought to manage cultural processes through horizontal cooperation among equals, to the benefit of all and with on-going feedback; thus, the Cultural Centre has assumed the role of facilitator of peer relations, working to promote and implement sustainable, solid long-term projects. In working with other agencies and institutions, the Centre always takes into account the priorities of the 2030 Agenda and the SDGs, ensuring they are incorporated into the projects undertaken, and maintains an ongoing dialogue with its counterparts to foster the exchange of knowledge, research and innovation, through the Sustainable Culture and Development programme. In recent years, the CCSCR has implemented plans for three-way cooperation with agencies such as the UNESCO Regional Office, the EU Delegation in Costa Rica and the Central American Integration System (SICA). The Centre also works to reinforce alliances between organised civil society and public institutions, by promoting ties between the public and private sectors. Other aspects of great importance include the Centre’s ongoing cooperation with vulnerable communities and the continuity of its environmental projects, such as programmes based on art and culture to raise awareness about recycling and the necessary reuse of electronic waste. In short, the CCSCR consists of three spaces, three priority areas, four strategic lines of action and two approaches (in human and cultural rights), but one overall mission: that of cultural cooperation.

Spanish Cooperation Cultural Centres

All Roads Lead to El Farolito Carlos Cortés Writer, journalist and university professor. In 2017, France awarded him the title of Knight of the Order of Arts and Literature. He is a member of the Costa Rican Academy of Language.

It is very difficult to speak dispassionately about the Cultural Centre of Spain in Costa Rica. For 27 years, my intellectual life, and that of my close friends and peers, has been influenced by the Centre’s work in the public space. As too has that of most writers, artists, social scientists, humanists and cultural managers in Costa Rica throughout this period. Like many others, I have considered the Cultural Centre my home, one whose doors and windows are always open. This was brilliantly illustrated by the synecdoche coined in 1992, when the CCSCR was dubbed El Farolito (the little light), from the proximity of its site to one of the old street lamps in San José. This symbolic christening, which reflects the Costa Rican tendency to use the diminutive for what we hold dear, made the Centre something familiar, close, tangible and timeless – and at the same time historical – somewhere we all return at some point, to recharge our original, vital energy. A point of reference, a meeting point. El Farolito – let us be perfectly clear – is not just another institution, it is a milestone in our collective memory. Its existence has changed the lives of thousands of people, those who created art and those who witnessed it, and I am one of their number. However, in this brief review it is not my intention to recreate an individual experience, but to reflect the lasting impact that the Centre has had on the dynamics of artistic and cultural production in Costa Rica, in fruitful interaction between Spanish Cooperation, the independent sector and the State, and in formulating public policies to foster creativity. In 1980, Costa Rica had some of the most important cultural infrastructure and institutions in Central America and the Caribbean, after Cuba. However, the economic crisis slowed its development and growth, and the country struggled to complete major projects such as Plaza de la Cultura and the Melico Salazar theatre and to make them financially sustainable. Film production dwindled and finally

disappeared in 1987, after which no new films were made for some 15 years. Public publishing firms, which had until then dominated the market, were on the brink of bankruptcy, and artistic collections were only sustained by private investment. Modern dance became unexpectedly popular with support from decentralised institutions, and it was not by chance that quality theatre was abandoned, as promotors opted for light comedy. Dance music, such as the rhythmic tropical mix “chiquichiqui”, dominated the airwaves and outdoor festivals. In those times there was no real “independent cultural sector”, and it is very likely that we would still be in that situation had it not been for El Farolito. While El Farolito was not the first international cultural centre when it appeared in 1992, it was the first to present an innovative management model that combined a regular, contemporary programme of events with an attitude that was receptive to the initiatives of new trends in artistic creation. At that time, there were very few exhibition spaces available, and even these few were subject to the demands of the cultural environment. There were no strategic guidelines or criteria encouraging them to contribute more substantially to the contemporary debate on artistic and cultural practices. The great merit of the CCSCR, and of its first director, Clara Ballesteros, was to listen. To listen and suggest. To exchange ideas, to sense, to take risks, to defend intuitions; but above all, to listen to a country that in those times, even more than now, would whisper, speaking by signal and circumlocution, shouting its silences and silencing its shouts. That is why the first season of Talks in El Farolito in 1993, the oldest such programme by the CCSCR, which I helped organise, was called “The whispers and the voices; Costa Rican writers face to face with the public”. That first gathering brought together the great names that had forged our literary tradition over

Cultural Centre of Spain in San José

50 years, and those who would soon take their place; in some cases, for the first and only time. Past, present and future were all packed into that crowded room. El Farolito was conceived as a space for multicultural, interdisciplinary and plural dialogue, without prejudices or predetermined responses. As a call to get together, to discuss and overcome controversies that for too long had been neglected by society; to address issues in a spirit of freedom that was reaching us from an equally free Spain, open to modernity without borders. This sense of freedom was the key factor; the implicit acceptance that we could learn from each other; that we could leave behind the imperialist image of the mother country and the sacrosanct “Hispanity”, which people still referred to when I was a student in the dusty halls of the former Costa Rican Institute of Hispanic Culture. A significant aspect of this was the Centre’s geographic location, at one corner of the Escalante barrio, between the University, and its academic population, and the historic parts of San José, as a hint of the still incipient urban regeneration. El Farolito represented the first important change in this neighbourhood, a residential suburb in the 1930s neocolonial style which in the 2010s became the city’s main cultural circuit. The management of the Cultural Centre has focused on three strategic pillars: supporting training and artistic-cultural creation, debating the collective imaginary, i.e. the essence of what we are and who we wish to be, and contributing to a consideration of public policies in a national, regional and global context. The CCSCR has helped us understand ourselves as a society that took a quantum leap towards globalisation in the last few decades of the twentieth century, coinciding with a profound crisis of nation states in Latin America. It helped us gain a perspective on our identity as citizens and as Central

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Americans, in a region that went from one reality, dominated by the Cold War and the post-war period, to another that was much more fluid, in which national identities opened up to other ways of understanding social coexistence and the challenges of the global agenda. In 1997, Jesús Oyamburu, the director of El Farolito, edited the anthology “Changing Times, Changing Cultures in Costa Rica”, which contained the presentations made at a congress with the same title organized by the CCSCR, the Ministry of Culture, the National University of Costa Rica and the Latin American Faculty of Social Sciences. This was the first academic publication to highlight the link between the global economy, public policies, international cooperation and creative industries; one of the contributors, then a young film-maker, wrote: “In the book of the film industry of Costa Rica, barely the first words of the first line have been written”. This verdict seemed unarguable, but if it became renowned, it is because it was later refuted in a 400-page study, The impossible mirror. A century of cinema in Costa Rica, by María Lourdes Cortés (2002), a project that was initiated at the invitation of the CCSCR, and proved that the first motion pictures had been made in Costa Rica in 1914, that the country’s film history was long, discontinuous, fragmentary and random – but real. Since the connection with the past had been lost, the historical perspective that then emerged became an indispensable platform on which to build the future possibility of film making. By 1997, the CCSCR had already made an essential contribution to audio visual production, highlighting its importance as an emerging sector. Five years earlier, a group of filmmakers had attended a workshop with the Catalan screenwriter and producer Lola Salvador; the enthusiasm generated, the generational cohesion and the zeitgeist led to the creation of a permanent workshop and to the

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first Costa Rican Film and Video Exhibition, held in November of the same year. In conjunction with the Ministry of Culture, the Centre organised this Exhibition for 18 years. In 2012, it became known as the Costa Rica International Film Festival. La Muestra (The Show), whose original name reveals its unpretentious origins, set out to show what there was, what was being done. It brought together promise and expectations, generations of film-makers who had not made commercial cinema for decades, together with young talents, just beginning their careers; it was the beginning of what was to come. The CCSCR made further essential contributions in the late twentieth century, during the emergence of new sectors such as multicultural musical trends, independent publishing, contemporary visual arts and new technologies. On 7 May 2019, the entire country celebrated the centenary of Walter “Mr. Gavitt ” Ferguson, a living legend of calypso, an Afro-Caribbean music that still retains all its vitality. The international launch of the tribute album Walter Ferguson: 100 Years of Calypso reminded me that the first time I heard his name was in El Farolito. In 2002, the Centre released Babylon, one of Ferguson’s first studio albums, almost 75 years after he started his career as a performer and composer. Recovering this musical heritage, which was under-appreciated until recently, was one of the main goals of the En Clave AfroCaribe project, promoted by Spanish Cooperation in Central America, the Dominican Republic and Haiti. In addition to calypso culture, the CCSCR sought to incorporate into our musical heritage traditions that had until then been marginalised and excluded from the official folklore catalogue, such as the indigenous music of the Guanacaste people. It also worked to promote areas of popular culture, for instance, the bolero rhythms of Ray Tico, the only non-Cuban musician to form

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part of the filin movement, and Creole swing, along with contemporary forms such as rock and electro acoustic. Since 2000, the Centre has sponsored around twenty volumes of poetry published under the legendary Perro Azul imprint. This was the first publisher to market literature in sectors other than the institutions and the universities; the poetic sensitivity of the 21st century surfaced with these books, which introduced names that we now consider essential, like Osvaldo Sauma, Luis Chaves, Mauricio Molina and María Montero. In the same decade, and under the initiative of Lidia Blanco, the director of El Farolito from 2001 to 2003, Perro Azul and the CCSCR launched an ambitious eight-volume series of publications, termed Miradas Subjetivas (The Subjective Gaze) on the visual arts, literature, theatre, cinema, music and dance. In 2017, to celebrate its 25th anniversary, the Cultural Centre opened Plaza Skawak, “Owners of our space”, in the Bribri language. This new facility was physically and symbolically integrated into the cultural complex of the Old Customs House. From its inception, El Farolito and the spaces added since then, Casa Caníbal and Plaza Skawak, have fulfilled the ideal of providing a home in which to nurture and create culture, in whatever shape or form, where we can add our own voices to what the Costa Rican writer Eunice Odio called “the great universal ballad”.

HONDURAS Cultural Centre of Spain in Tegucigalpa Address Colonia Palmira, 1ª Calle, n° 655, Contiguo al Redondel de los Artesanos, FM 1100, Tegucigalpa Opened 2007 Web http://www.ccetegucigalpa.org/

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Cultural Centre of Spain in Tegucigalpa

The Cultural Centre of Spain in Tegucigalpa (CCST) opened its doors in 2007, and so it has already accumulated a significant history in Honduras, where its contributions to the promotion of Spanish and Ibero-American culture and creativity and to development are widely acknowledged. Society recognises the CCST as a modern centre dedicated to the creation and dissemination of avant-garde cultural expressions. Furthermore, it is a focal point for the cultural dynamics of the region, for the preservation and promotion of cultural diversity, and for the construction of a more inclusive and sustainable society. The Honduran socio-political and cultural reality determines CCST’s strategic approaches and main lines of action. In common with other countries in Central America, Honduras presents certain characteristics that have a special influence on the development of its society and culture. These include aspects such as ethnic diversity – the country has a significant indigenous and African-descendant population, and hence presents linguistic and cultural diversity; other relevant questions include the lack of public safety, which affects the daily lives of many people; the migratory phenomenon and the country’s geographical configuration itself, at the midpoint between the Southern Cone and North America; the unstructured nature of the cultural sector; and the lack of access to and consumption of cultural products by a broad range of society. In this context, the arrival of the CCST in the Honduran cultural scene represented a dynamic new approach, raising the profile of these issues and generating change. The Centre, very noticeably, offered an open, pluralist space, with a regularlychanging programme of events, open to all, in which special emphasis was placed on the promotion of creativity and on enabling access to culture for the new generations. The Centre organised over 400

activities each year, thus encouraging local artistic processes. Its membership of an international group of Cultural Centres, under the aegis of Spanish Cooperation, has helped the CCST construct an important network of contacts dedicated to cultural and social collaboration. In addition, it maintains a healthy relationship with local institutions and works with government agencies in relevant areas, including the Executive Directorate for Culture and Arts, the Ministry of Education and the National Directorate for Indigenous Peoples and African Hondurans. Thanks to its less institutional profile and its greater proximity to the work carried out by the third sector, the CCST is able to work very closely with cultural actors at all levels, and very specially with the Committee of Cultural Centres, which represents the main cultural agents of Tegucigalpa. The CCST cooperates in the implementation of public policies in the institutional area, especially in the field of culture and public involvement. In this respect, important work has been done in the historic centre of the capital and in other Honduran municipalities, via the project Más Allá del Centro (Beyond the Centre). Spanish Cooperation has traditionally been very active in providing training for specialists in the field of cultural management, both in the public sector and in private entities, and in Honduras the CCST has maintained this pattern of contribution. Training courses are regularly given with and for Honduran cultural actors, either in matters related directly to cultural management, or in those which are necessary to achieve greater social inclusion and to create a society that fairer and more environmentally sustainable. Since the CCST opened, it has offered a valuable showcase for local creativity in fruitful coexistence with artistic offerings from Spain and

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1. Collective Ibero-American Exhibition Ilustrando feminismos (Illustrating feminisms), 2018

2. GarĂfuna dance show in the Living Cultures season, 2017

Spanish Cooperation Cultural Centres

other parts of Ibero-America, collaborating in cultural entrepreneurship and promoting cultural and creative enterprises. Each year, a dozen or more exhibitions of visual arts are presented at the Centre, reflecting the trends of the emerging vanguard; in addition, there are lectures and round tables on cultural, social and economic current affairs, book presentations, concerts, performances, drama, dance and film screenings for all tastes. In accordance with its international vocation, the CCST contributes to the operations of regional networks across the cultural spectrum, both public and private. In this regard, the Centre not only provides a stage for the presence of local cultural products and artists, it also facilitates cultural mobility, whether by supporting international tours or, especially, by proposing inter-country artistic residencies. The Centre also lends important support to Central American integration, via collaborative projects and enabling exchanges of best practices. In addition to the above, the CCST is a point of encounter for cultural activists and artists in Tegucigalpa, as a venue for shows and exhibitions, collaborating not only in the arts, but also with related social entities. The opening, in 2017, of Babelia 3.0, as a space for creativity and diversity has attracted organisations of all types, facilitating support for Honduran civil society and international NGOs. At the same time, the CCST provides a space for encounter, collaboration and debate without fear of confrontation, and even encourages critical thinking about its own role. The Centre’s Medialab service facilitates the use of new technologies by creators, in areas such as project consulting or the launch of innovative creative products or ventures; the CCST also collaborates with other agencies in this field and, above all, offers programmes oriented towards technical training and the creation of a digital culture, by means of technology such as CreaLAB. The CCST pays special attention to cultural identity, individual rights and the preservation and protection of vulnerable sectors of the population. Thanks to its proximity and collaboration with local and international organisations, the CCST is well placed to promote women’s rights, gender equality and assistance for social groups at risk of exclusion such as LGBTI groups. In this context, too, the CCST

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has made important changes in its processes and facilities, seeking to make the Centre more inclusive, especially for people with different abilities, and to become more environmentally sustainable. Honduras is a multi-ethnic, multicultural and multilingual country, with indigenous and Africandescendant populations that retain their own languages. The nation, therefore, has a wealth of cultural expressions; the Centre works to preserve this cultural diversity and to make it better known throughout the national population. Accordingly, in close collaboration with civil society organisations and other public institutions, the CCST vigorously promotes diversity-related activities. One such is its work to raise awareness and understanding of the country’s languages, by initiatives such as the publication of Diccionario de las Lenguas de Honduras (Dictionary of the Languages of Honduras). The Centre also highlights awareness among the general public of the cultural practices of indigenous peoples through its organisation of lecture seasons such as Living Cultures of Honduras. The circumstances of Tegucigalpa, where citizen insecurity directly affects the enjoyment and practice of culture, have led the CCST to emphasise actions that should be taken to prevent violence and educate against it, in order to create a culture of peace. One such is the Crearte (CreateArt) project, which involves civil society and the city’s cultural fabric in activities like Recreovías por la Paz (Pathways to Peace through Culture and Sport). In addition, a dynamic policy has been adopted to recover spaces for public use, such as the Redondel de los Artesanos park and the historic centre of Tegucigalpa, promoting their ownership and generating spaces where people can meet and socialise. In the last decade, the Centre has worked tirelessly to help preserve and promote cultural diversity, through cross-cutting approaches to gender issues, human rights and the environment. Specifically, it has supported ideas, projects and actions in areas such as recovering public spaces, strengthening institutions, preventing violence and supporting creators. The Cultural Centre acts to achieve and maintain free access to culture, which it considers an essential part of sustainable human development. Like all the other Cultural Centres operating as part of Spanish Cooperation, the

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3. Poster for the lecture “El pueblo Miskitu” (the Miskitu people), as part of the “Living Cultures of Honduras” season

CCST takes the view that in order to overcome the challenges that constantly arise, throughout the world, it is essential to create an inclusive, diverse society. The Centre’s future policies and actions will necessarily be based on addressing the challenges facing the cultural sector and Honduran society today. In this respect, the Centre benefits from its experience and advantages with respect to other cultural agents. On the one hand, its role as an agent of cooperation for development provides it with a unique perspective on culture and obliges it to reach out towards the most vulnerable population sectors and to pursue the goal of sustainability. On the other, the fact that the Centre has its own dimension of cooperation – something not available to other cultural agents – underpins its support for internationalisation and for enhancing relations among the creative sectors of Honduras, Spanish and the other nations of Central America. In this context, the CCST, assuming that respect for cultural diversity must exist as a crosscutting focus within Spanish Cooperation’s strategy of association with Honduras, and that it must continue to work in this field (in accordance with the 2030 Agenda), will work to recover public spaces, to design and implement cultural policies inhibiting violence and to extend the bounds of social innovation. It will also propose further actions based on intercultural dialogue, freedom of expression and creation, and the effective participation of citizens in cultural life, paying special attention to persons living in vulnerable situations. To do so, the Cultural Centre will promote alternative cultural activities, enhance cooperation through continuous dialogue with creative agents and cultural networks, help provide capacity-building programmes and work to safeguard the cultural heritage of Honduras.

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Creativity and Development Mario Hernán Mejía Director of Culture at The National Autonomous University of Honduras (UNAH)

Culture forms part of the actions for development taken by Spanish Cooperation, in emblematic programmes including Cultural Heritage, the Network of Cultural Centres in America and Africa, the Network of Ibero-American Training Workshops and Training Centres in Latin America. In Honduras, these programmes have made a notable contribution to revitalising its historic city centres, in coordination with local governments and the Honduran Institute of Anthropology and History. The Comayagua Colonial Programme deserves special mention as a benchmark for managing material cultural heritage and establishing local cultural policies, applying vision, political leadership, technical capacity and citizen participation, all of which are crucial to the sustainability of this heritage. The Cultural Centre of Spain in Tegucigalpa (CCST) joined the Network of Cultural Centres in mid-2007, with a clear understanding that culture and development are tightly linked. Accordingly, the Centre promotes free access to its cultural offers, a policy that has led the CCST to play a major role in the artistic-cultural scene of Tegucigalpa, and elsewhere in the country with its project Más Allá del Centro (Beyond the Centre). The CCST participates in cooperation for development by strengthening individual and institutional capacities in fundamental matters such as cultural policies, heritage management, cultural management and the enhancement of linguistic and cultural diversity. The Honduras Virtual Library of Literature, which forms part of the Miguel de Cervantes Virtual Library, is a repository of Honduran literary and intellectual production that was inaugurated by the Prince of Asturias, now King Felipe VI of Spain. This project resulted from strategic alliances made by the Centre with academic, scientific and cultural institutions, and has given rise to remarkable works such as the Dictionary of the Languages of Honduras,

edited in collaboration with the Honduran Academy of Language. En Clave AfroCaribe (Afro-Caribbean Notes) is an outstanding project on the Garífuna language and its literature, comprising an investigation of the musical expressions of the African-descendant populations of the Caribbean coast of Central America, the Dominican Republic and Haiti. The Cultural Centres of Spain in Costa Rica, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua and the Dominican Republic have participated in this project, the results of which are published in book form and as a CD. The CCST has organised a wide variety of events, including exhibitions, workshops, reading programmes, book fairs, concerts, film festivals and round tables on Spanish, Ibero-American, Central American and Honduran art. The CCST is active in generating cultural capacities, and has collaborated with the National Autonomous University of Honduras in promoting international seminars on cultural management. The third such Seminar, in 2014, focused on university cultural policies and strategies; the fourth, in 2016, on cultural observatories; the fifth, in 2017, on cultural management for local development; the sixth, in 2018, on the generation of cultural capacities for the SDGs; and the seventh, in 2019, on the creative economy and territorial development. Lastly, one of the factors highlighting the importance of the CCST in Honduran cultural life is its management model based on the recognition of cultural rights of access and citizen participation. The implementation of a criteria of proximity underpins the Centre’s identity as a plural, open space, promoting ongoing dialogue with Spanish culture, language and art, addressing contemporary artistic and cultural expressions of all the identities represented in Honduras.

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A space for diverse, inclusive identities América Mejía Co-founder and director of Mujeres en las Artes (Women in the Arts), a non-profit organisation founded in 1995. Member of the Citizen Commission of the Historic Centre and of the Tegucigalpa Committee of Cultural Centres.

The reality of our local context is that the social and political environment is unfavourable to the promotion of cultural rights, in the sense of political participation and individual freedom to express oneself on cultural issues. What do we see today in the country? The more the creative sector is dominated by the private sector, the less creative content is offered to foster cultural diversity, practices, exchanges and dialogues – despite the necessity of these expressions among the different sectors. This reality suggests that we are currently failing to differentiate between what is merely accessory and what is actually necessary for cultural and artistic development in Honduras. In contrast to this pessimistic outlook, the Cultural Centre of Spain in Tegucigalpa (CCST) has revitalised, mediated and facilitated the cultural scenario during the past ten years. It has made significant contributions to local artistic practices in promoting the professionalisation of the sector. In particular, it has fostered the view that creation should produce an internal change, that it should put a spoke in the wheel of the runaway human machine, that it should make us uneasy and spur us to think differently. This concern has been at the forefront of the CCST’s calls for artists to expand the practices of their production and thus call reality into question. This space has been shared by many creators, but above all by women, artists whose proposals have found a place in the CCST for expression and for the declaration of rights that have so often been denied and silenced. An example of this is the project El tiempo que nos quedó en la carne (The time left us in the flesh) by Lía Vallejo, a visual artist, who exposes and discusses a universal problem, one that is transposed into shame, ignorance and power, and which constitutes one of humanity’s greatest

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atrocities: child abuse, perpetrated by religious authorities and tolerated by institutional policies. It was the CCST that welcomed this artist and her work. The CCST performs valuable work with the Network of Cultural Centres of Spain, through exchanges, collaborative projects, residencies and itinerant exhibitions. This cooperation is especially important following the budget restrictions imposed on programmes for cultural cooperation in the 1990s. Many of the artistic platforms and projects that had been promoted in Central America have since disappeared or been reduced to isolated elements. This situation has added to the complex reality of the national cultural scene, a significant factor in a country where there is currently little circulation and expression of languages that allow the development of critical and reflective thinking within artistic practice, whereby social actors are encouraged to criticise, recreate and alter the states of things. In the last five years in particular, one of the Centre’s priority commitments has been to promote the creation of content for adult education and public awareness, acknowledging that rights are more widely recognised when society talks about them. In this agenda, the CCST is a leading force, holding debates, meetings and round tables, both within organised civil society and among alternative groups of diverse identities. The opening of the new Babelia 3.0 space helped revitalise the CCST, providing it with a participative, open agenda including the promotion of rights in gender equality, environmental issues, the rights and needs of indigenous peoples, sexual diversity and other areas of current concern. To conclude this review, let us note that the CCST has facilitated institutional management through its creation of shared agendas with civil

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society, for example, in its association with Unicef and Women in the Arts, as an implementer of Crearte, a cultural programme for children and teenagers promoting coexistence and peace, which was carried out in twelve municipalities. The Centre’s fundamental role in the social and cultural dimension, fostering the enjoyment of creativity, is not limited to artists; in our country, it is aimed at the entire population, in the view that culture is a right. Female artists, sexual diversity, citizens’ groups, critical reflection on the question of rights in Honduras…. These issues would not be seen in the same way without the CCST. That is why we celebrate its presence and the contributions it has made to culture in our country.

EL SALVADOR Cultural Centre of Spain San Salvador Address Calle La Reforma 166, Colonia San Benito, San Salvador Opened 1998 Web https://www.ccesv.org/

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Cultural Centre of Spain in San Salvador

History The Cultural Centre of Spain in San Salvador (CCSSS) was officially opened in 1998. Like most Cultural Centres, there is no specific date for its origin, as the Centre was inherited from the former Salvadoran Institute of Hispanic Culture. However, since its re-denomination and the acquisition of its headquarters, the Centre has continued to broaden its cultural activity and to become more solidly established as part of the socio-cultural context of El Salvador. This evolution coincided with the ending of the civil war and the signing of the Peace Treaties in 1992, which brought in a new socio-political scene and a period of peace and political stability, which made cultural action not only feasible, but necessary. During its first years of existence, the Cultural Centre was under the direction of the Office of Culture of the Embassy, with support from the former Institute of Hispanic Culture. Nevertheless, its own Director was appointed in July 2005, coinciding with the expansive period of the Spanish Cooperation, thus granting the Centre more possibilities in the programme of activities offered, both in quality and in quantity. The Centre’s first director was Juan Sánchez, who modernised and revitalised the institution. Firstly, the physical space was renovated to give it more personality, with a red and white decorative scheme and cement floors. This building, a priori, offered little scope for expansion, being small and hemmed in between the Embassy and the Technical Cooperation Office. Nevertheless, a project was set in motion, with repercussions extending beyond the Centre’s walls. Cultural cooperation was assigned a generous budget, which enabled a broad programme of activities to be offered. Moreover, these were not limited to the capital but reached many other parts of the country. Outstanding projects from that first

stage of the Centre’s existence include Invasión en el Parque (Invasion in the Park), the Youth Art Award and the publication of the Revuelta (Uprising) collection. The CCSSS became consolidated as a space for encounter and a reference point in the fields of art and design – the Centre’s logo was acclaimed and created a trend. Programmes of activities for children, literary presentations and drama projects were also initiated. Another highlight of those initial years was the crucial support provided by the Centre in the creation of the National Dance Company. The second Director, Fernando Fajardo, took over in 2010 with a very different proposal, partly due to the economic crisis in Spain, which had provoked a considerable reduction in the funds available. His management focused on new processes of collective decision and social participation. The Centre had long sought to gain additional physical infrastructure, and in 2011 it was able to lease a nearby space, where a new project began to take shape: La Casa Tomada (Under New Ownership]). This project was undertaken by different collectives, with diverse interests but a common goal: the transformation of La Casa Tomada into a space of encounter, debate and freedom, with no prerequisites or barriers to participation. EU funds were of crucial importance, enabling the consolidation of one of its flagship projects, Cultura entre Todxs para Construir Nuevos Mundos (All Together for Culture, Building New Worlds). With the additional resources and equipment available, La Casa Tomada provided numerous training and education programmes, together with mediation and participation initiatives involving the adjacent neighbourhood of Las Palmas. During these first two stages of its existence, the CCSSS was staffed by a small team of local

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workers. Although these personnel had not received specific training as cultural managers prior to their arrival at the Centre, mainly due to the lack of facilities in this respect in El Salvador, by the late 1990s they had become well established as professionals and experts in cultural cooperation. In 2017, Eloísa Vaello Marco took over as the Director of the CCSSS. She has worked to consolidate the advances achieved by her predecessors, establishing a long-term programme aimed at creating a visible impact and obtaining synergies with cultural and social forces in the local environment. To achieve these aims, the Centre sought to integrate the worlds of art and culture into the social and political domains, upholding citizens’ cultural rights, proclaiming the value of culture, facilitating access to public spaces and calling for their use as a collective good. Including La Casa Tomada, the CCSSS currently has over 2,000 square metres dedicated to culture, with a library, a multi-purpose room for exhibitions, workshops, presentations and talks, a scenic arts room for film, music, dance and theatre, a cafeteria, meeting areas, spaces for promoting initiatives by cultural and social entrepreneurs, an ornamental garden, a small vegetable garden, a recording studio, a photographic darkroom and a radio broadcasting booth. Main lines of action The activities performed by the Cultural Centre are defined in the Master Plan for Spanish Cooperation, in its Culture and Development Strategy Paper. The CCSSS, also in line with Spanish Cooperation policy, seeks to comply with the 2030 Agenda and to help achieve the Sustainable Development Goals. Working directly with related institutions and the cultural sector of El Salvador, the Centre has published an Annual Action Plan, based on strategic development objectives. Its programme is focused on three main areas: the internationalisation of Spanish culture, cultural cooperation and culture as a factor for development. The first of these areas concerns Spanish culture, its dissemination and visibility. The CCSSS aims to make Spanish creators more widely known, prioritising young new talents, but without forgetting classical, more established artists whose

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presence always enriches festivals and international encounters. As yet, there is no commercial circuit in El Salvador that might attract a Spanish theatre or dance company, or art exhibition, and so the Centre’s presentations of our cultural world in El Salvador are of vital importance. What is most important however, is that this line of action should complement the other two. In this sense, the work of the Cultural Centre is always global. In showcasing Spanish proposals, it also seeks to forge ties and networks with local artists and creators, to create spaces for education, discussion and friendship, spaces of exchange that strengthen the relations between these two sister countries. As an example, consider Dolorosa (Woman in distress), the production by the National Dance Company of El Salvador. This collective creation was directed by Luz Arcas, a Spanish dancer and choreographer, the director of the company La Phármaco, who worked for over a month in its preparation, as part of the Residency Programme for artistic creation, This project not only exemplified the internationalisation of Spanish culture, bringing the work of La Phármaco and Luz Arcas to El Salvador, but also generated learning activities, exchange and collective creation. No less important, it resulted in inter-institutional strengthening, as the CCSSS worked in close coordination with the Salvadoran Ministry of Culture to consolidate the National Dance Company. The second axis of activity is that of cultural cooperation, which is the backbone of the Centre’s regular programming, with a wide range of activities, projects and programmes fostering ideals of exchange and cooperation with public institutions and with the different sectors of civil society, among whom the CCSSS enjoys a privileged position as an interlocutor. At the same time, through the Network of Centres and via multilateral institutions and international organisations, the Centre has participated in initiatives to strengthen the IberoAmerican space and international cultural networks. Highlights in this area include projects such as Invernadero (Hothouse) and A2Bandas (Twin track). Although the Centre’s main goal is to support local artists and help make them better known, this is complemented by skills-acquisition programmes given by Spanish experts, exchanges within the Network of Centres, debates and discussions, and

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1. Premiere in 2019 of Dolorosa, by the National Dance Company of El Salvador and Spanish choreographer Luz Arcas, director of the company La Phรกrmaco.

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spaces for public participation and experimentation. Thus, art and culture enable us to reflect on the socio-political present, on where we are and where we wish to be. The third axis is that of transversality, connecting all the programmes, projects and activities scheduled for the Cultural Centre. This cross-cutting approach is set out in the Culture and Development Strategy Paper, which details seven lines of action, in all of which culture is understood to be essential for comprehensive, sustainable development. Not every Cultural Centre can address all of these areas with the same degree of intensity, but the CCSSS places great emphasis on skills training, taking full account of the first two areas of attention; thus, it is very active in fostering communication, with its radio station Radio Tomada e Impúdica at the forefront: in the political dimension of culture, it undertakes projects such as La Casa Tomada, Invernadero and Intersecciones; and in the preservation of heritage and popular

memory, with projects to strengthen and raise the visibility of náhaut, i.e. the process of reconstruction and remembrance following the Salvadoran civil war. The Culture and Development Strategy Paper also addresses transversal subjects such as gender issues, sexual diversity, inclusion, the environment and human rights. All of these areas are central to the Centre’s programming, in line with its fundamental aim, to provide an open and inclusive space to foster the enjoyment of culture. The Centre’s position in the local context; strategic planning The Cultural Centre celebrated its twentieth anniversary in 2018, consolidating its position in the sociocultural framework of El Salvador, strengthening and organising its programme in line with the notion of heterotopia proposed by Foucault, in which he described certain institutional, cultural and discursive

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2. Hispanic Salvadoran Theatre Festival. National Theatre of San Salvador, October 2018.

3. Spanish dancer Fernando Hurtado, in front of the CCSSS building, at the presentation of its programme for 2019.

4. Las Musas Desconectadas in the first concert of the A2Bandas project of musical encounters at the CCSSS. La Casa Tomada, March 2018

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5. Presentation of the second issue of the magazine Impúdica, published by the CCSSS and El Faro. November 2018 6. Performance of Andy Retana (Costa Rica) at the inauguration of the exhibition Rapaces Generos.as. March 2019

spaces as “otherly”: unsettling, intense, incompatible, contradictory and transformative. The CCSSS, if it has not already done so, wishes to become a heterotopy, as defined by Foucault. Its aim is to provide a space for encounter, without barriers, where artists and public can intermingle, where theatre merges with cinema and dance takes to the streets, where all can join in, where a choir of senior citizens can sing while children play at reading and sharing. A space in which we think in Spanish and sing in náhaut, a non-space with room for all. A space at the vanguard of contemporary art and learning, in art, critique and curatorship. A non-space that has gone out into the city squares to recover and reinvent public spaces, which has been referential in setting up models for the collective management of cultural spaces, coexisting with La Casa Tomada, in order to complement and understand one another and to build bridges between different ways of making culture. But, above all, step by step, director after director, with a more or less generous budget, the Cultural Centre has continued to be a space of culture for everyone. A space for dialogue and thought. A space for encounter and freedom, for contradiction and transformation. In times of crisis, fear, violence and uncertainty, the goal of this Cultural Centre is to remain a space of respect, democracy and culture. A place for all citizens, for the construction of critical thought and for free thinkers. A space with memory, retaining our past and capable of producing an inclusive narrative, spanning all perspectives and sensibilities. A space in the present, for the present: to play, to learn, to grow, to imagine and to dream. A space to enjoy drama, film, music, dance, photography and art… but above all, a space in which to build and to equip ourselves for the future, for a better future.

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XX, marking the first 20 years of the CCSSS Javier Ramírez (Nobody) Visual artist. Co-organiser of FEA, with Elena Salamanca, of ADAPTE, with Ronald Morán, and of the exhibition Equis, Equis (XX), marking the twentieth anniversary of the Cultural Centre of Spain in El Salvador.

The faces that comprise the institution X marks the spot where a place is located on a map. It pinpoints a site; it might be your starting point or your destination; it might be the centre of somewhere. El Salvador is full of signs that mark meaningful spots (official or otherwise): a cross erected to remind us of a dead relative, monuments to abstractions such as “reconciliation” or “transparency”, Google Maps pins telling us where to find an ATM, etc. We might draw virtual lines connecting these spots, and these would reveal a dynamic image of the living culture of the country; they would also show us one such spot standing out from all the rest, one where multiple lines converge. In downtown San Salvador, the Cultural Centre of Spain in El Salvador (CCSSS) is a meeting point and a driving force for various initiatives in the ample field of culture. Since June 1998, it has passed through different stages, changing according to the political context of the time, the national and international economic situation, the vision of the Director currently heading the institution and the ebb and flow of trends, but it has always found an appropriate response to the circumstances that may arise. If you look carefully, apparent behind the CCSSS logo there is a group portrait of persons whose faces reveal different backgrounds. The history of the institution is also that of the personnel who – each in their own way and in their own time – have generated the complex, collaborative work involved in the operations of a cultural institution. What the CCSSS has achieved and contributed to society reflects the human quality of its staff: it is their ideas and actions that make the projects tangible, that translate them into documented plans, and

Cultural Centre of Spain in San Salvador

the mapped-out guidelines into concrete facts that transform reality. Community culture for development An X is drawn from two strokes that meet in the centre. From the simple union of these lines, we have the letter and all the benefits it offers. Were one of the elements missing, it would be something else, but not an X. Two small strokes, two tiny paths that meet at a shared spot. If maps showed the routes that we walk every day, we would find other lines, created by persons whose paths cross our own during the daily routine. From these intersections, we could observe the effects generated by each encounter. Our work in culture is based on just this type of human interaction: when the paths of two or more people (or two or more communities) intersect, the conditions are right for them to generate, or contribute to the great human creation that we call culture. With the new spaces opened by La Casa Tomada, the Cultural Centre of Spain now has a more plural structure, one that facilitates support for initiatives on human rights, gender equality, cultural diversity, indigenous and African-descendant peoples, environmental sustainability and the fight against climate change, among many other areas of urgent attention. From artistic creation as a strategy to encourage different ways of thinking about social problems to the use of open-source technologies and even in the everyday interactions within the cafeteria at La Casa Tomada, every single day we can observe hundreds of personal paths that intersect in this space, which exists to make a positive contribution to society, to create diverse cultures out of multiple idiosyncrasies.

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Expressions and artistic exchanges The graphical symbol of the X is a work of art in itself, adopted and transformed in use by a host of cultures over thousands of years. The simple drawing of two sloping lines, joined at the centre, enables us to represent ideas and concepts as diverse and complex as the unknown quantity of an equation, a kiss in a text message or the female chromosome, to name but a few. In their quest to create equally effective images, artists in El Salvador have been changing the ways in which they work at an ever-increasing rate during the last 20 years. The recent history of Salvadoran art is replete with footnotes citing the CCSSS as one of the most important institutions presenting the work of creators and their responses to the challenges arising in the new century, in which new technologies have made borders disappear and distances shrink, smoothing the way for collaborations between different disciplines and latitudes. In fields such as contemporary dance and art, the impact of the cooperative work sponsored by the CCSSS is particularly visible. Its monthly programme of exhibitions and the Awards for Young Art have spurred new trends in forms of expression, reflecting the ever-changing present, giving rise to a series of works that now form part of the permanent collection of the El Salvador Museum of Art. Likewise, the Centreâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s support for the Morena CelariĂŠ National School of Dance and its collaboration in founding the National Dance Company of El Salvador have enabled mutually enriching exchanges between professional dancers in the region and those from Spain, attracting an unprecedented degree of international attention. Among the tangled confusion of reality, artists attempt to cut through the noise, to understand

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the movement and to describe what they see and hear; in short, they strive to explain how we feel, from human experience. Among this same tangled confusion, cultural institutions provide support, perhaps not essential, but certainly valuable, so that we may continue discovering ourselves as persons, as creators. A personal testimony of liberation (and healing) I am currently engaged in curating the XX exhibition, on the twenty years of the Cultural Centre of Spain in El Salvador. This process has led me to recall the experiences that have impacted me most profoundly in this period, mixing my own experiences with other perspectives, more concerning the internal functioning of the institution. Within the cement grid of San Salvador, I find myself reviewing the history of this Centre and of the people who have made it what it is, and then displaying this history on the walls and talking about it in public: showing it off. But after rummaging through boxes full of pictures and papers, I feel like this story includes me, too; that the institutionâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s archive is also a family album that goes far back, recalling memories in which the faces are familiar, but younger; some faces are no longer here, the physical space has been remodelled so much, fashions have changedâ&#x20AC;Ś all are signs of the transformation of culture. I can see no right way to end these words; I look towards the future and see that much remains for me to do (hopefully) in my personal telling of how I see the world and how it feels for me. Nothing is certain and yet, wherever I may be, whatever I may be doing, I will always have something of the rich legacy left me by the Cultural Centre of Spain, by those who collectively made it part of the cultural world of El Salvador. When I think of the institution, in my mindâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s eye I see its logo, and I am grateful for the conversations over the

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many years, when we had space to work in harmony, or sometimes in disagreement. As always, there is so much left to be said but now is not the time, so let me just say: Amen. This text was published in the book 20 years of the CCSSS, San Salvador, December 2018.

MÉXICO Cultural Centre of Spain in Mexico Address Pasaje Cultural Guatemala 18 - Donceles 97. Colonia Centro, Delegación Cuauhtémoc C.P. 06010 Ciudad de México Opened 2002 Web http://www.ccemx.org/

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Cultural Centre of Spain in Mexico

The Cultural Centre of Spain in Mexico (the CCSMX) is an innovative, open and inclusive multidisciplinary platform that exhibits the best of art, culture and science from Spain, in Mexico. Its programming is firmly committed to human development as a fundamental process, and it works in close collaboration with local agents. Since its creation in 2002, the Centre has provided a valuable space for cultural cooperation with public institutions, private organisations, NGOs, independent actors and civil society. This cultural space promotes diversity and creative excellence from Spain and Ibero-America and fosters values in interdisciplinary cultural practices. In the historical centre of the Mexican capital, on a site included in the UNESCO World Heritage list in 1988, the CCSMX is located just behind the Metropolitan Cathedral. The building was first constructed on a plot belonging to Hernán Cortés, who had donated it to one of his stewards. Over the years, the mansion house was used as a family residence, a convent, a small hotel, commercial premises and a wine cellar. It was finally abandoned and fell into ruin after the earthquake of 1985. In 1997, the Mexico City authorities donated the site to the government of Spain. The choice was not coincidental, but reflected a commitment made by the Spanish Agency for International Development Cooperation (AECID) to contribute to the recuperation of a historic monument, as part of the project to rehabilitate the city centre. The CCSMX finally opened its doors on 18 November 2002. The reopening of this building, at number 18 Calle Guatemala, was an event of fundamental importance to the cultural scene in Mexico City. Not only was the building completely renovated; a new cultural potential was enabled, attracting a wider public and helping establish the area as a landmark on the city’s cultural circuit.

In this context, “El España” as it is known in the city, rapidly gained a reputation as a space for dialogue among the many forms of interpreting Ibero-American culture, and as an institution dedicated to fostering universal access to culture. Throughout its history, the CCSMX has been an important cultural asset in the city, acting as an agent of cooperation and development and sponsoring initiatives to raise cultural awareness and provide skills training to professionals in the field. Over 700 years of shared history infuse the walls of the building currently hosting this institution, the largest of Spain’s cultural centres abroad. Including the pre-Hispanic foundations, dating from the late fifteenth century, and the contemporary architecture produced by the 2011 renovation, the CCSMX now has over 6,000 square metres dedicated to Ibero-American culture, in the heart of the largest Spanish-speaking country in the world. Mexico has the most important and diverse cultural infrastructure in Latin America. Its cultural framework consists of major institutions, both public and private, industries in the sector, independent agents, artists and self-managed spaces. Mexico is a priority destination for the Spanish Government’s foreign cultural policies and is one of the largest and most significant overseas markets for the Spanish cultural industry. Over the past 17 years, the CCSMX has evolved in parallel with the local cultural context, maturing, becoming stronger and consolidating relations and dialogue with the different actors in the Mexican cultural sector. In the city’s cultural ecosystem, the CCSMX is recognised to be an avant-garde institution, open to all, that seeks to generate and strengthen cultural processes that directly affect the sustainable human development of the city and its inhabitants.

Cultural Centre of Spain in Mexico

The institutional mission of the CCSMX is defined in accordance with the above considerations. Fulfilling its mission as a cultural centre, the CCSMX presents interdisciplinary proposals in which science, the plastic arts, the performing arts, music, literature and cinema are all interconnected, via diverse references and formats. In accordance with the demographic reality of the country, the Centre emphasises the need for young people to participate, and defends and fosters diversity. Reflecting the great importance placed by Spanish Cooperation on this important sector of the population, the CCSMX has developed its Laboratorio de Ciudadanía Digital (Digital Citizenship Laboratory, DCL). The DCL is a skills-training platform that inter-relates aspects of the arts, culture and science by means of information and communication technologies, enhancing human development and fostering a critical outlook among the citizenry. The DCL, an educational innovation based on workshops and socio-cultural activities, helps create a community that encourages learning and the acquisition of digital skills. In early 2014, the DCL began operations, providing a new instrument in the Centre’s approach to cooperation, via approaches such as the AECID Protocol for the design, creation and management of public and private alliances for development. The CCSMX has been innovative in this respect, for example in its alliance with Fundación Telefónica México, with the co-participation of Fundación Bancaria “La Caixa” and Ateneo Español de México. Over 150,000 people visit the Centre every year, forming a community of users, students and participants in a wide range of activities. These users, moreover, are playing an increasingly active role, collaborating in the definition and co-production of many contents and activities. Such is the case of CCSMX Radio, which is managed by children and teenagers, and the reading-promotion programme, conducted by pensioners and consisting of monthly reading encounters. Over 1,200 such co-produced activities take place each year, in a programme that is committed to benefiting the local environment and to promoting the cross-cutting values that underpin the AECID’s policies: defending human rights, gender equality, environmental sustainability and respect for cultural diversity.

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How are these ideas transferred to cultural programming in the context of Mexico City? Through trial-and-error, by knowing when to take necessary risks and by consolidating what already works well. Examples of successful ventures in this area include the Penitentiary Theatre Programme, conducted in conjunction with the Shakespeare Forum, for groups of prison inmates, enabling performance projects to recreate other, possible worlds; the long-term training programme in cultural management, imparted by professionals in this sector; the “I Want to be a Scientist” sessions for young people, aimed at fostering a vocation for science, especially among young girls; and the development of computer/internet applications for learning indigenous languages, putting into practice the political commitment of Spanish Cooperation to achieving sustainable human development via cultural projects. Taking into account the need to address all types of audiences, the CCSMX offers facilities and programmes suitable for persons with disabilities or special needs; thus, it provides information and library materials in Braille, and offers monthly activities with interpretation in sign language. It also offers training and instruction for specific needs, responding to the pedagogical and intellectual challenges that may arise in a complex environment. Creativity is a fundamental concept and instrument enabling the Centre to design solutions for the future and to contribute to achieving the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals. In the promotion of Spanish culture, the CCSMX has established programmes for the dissemination of all creative contemporary languages. Many of these programmes take place in the Centre’s headquarters, while others support the presence of Spanish talent elsewhere in the country, ensuring Spanish participation in the major forums and festivals in Mexico. Thanks to these promotional activities, Spanish culture is well represented at internationally famous events such as the International Book Fair in Guadalajara, the Cervantes Festival and the International Film Festival in Morelia, in collaboration with the Palace of Fine Arts of Mexico City and the University Museum of Contemporary Art (MUAC).

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1. Solos (Alone), a performance presented in the CCSMX as part of the International Day of Dance 2019

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The Spanish language, a shared resource, is the most important instrument fostering the cultural space our two countries have in common. The CCSMX promotes artistic creation through its activities, in which the Spanish language is the means and the message for production and knowledge. Workshops, seminars, laboratories, concerts, presentations and other formats all rely on the participation of Spanish and Mexican thinkers, writers, theorists and intellectuals. The Centre’s prioritisation of dialogue is patent in the actions taken to create a space for conversation. Many of these ideas have been put into practice in the digital library of the CCSMX, a space of co-existence and unrestricted access to knowledge. The Centre’s exhibition area offers a constantly-changing programme of exhibitions of contemporary Spanish art. Their curators have two main aims: to support the internationalisation of Spanish artists, and to present exhibitions as instruments for mediation in which artistic

2. Pièce distinguée n°45, inaugural performance of the exhibition Take a seat of La Ribot in 2018

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3. Exhibition Ascensión y caída: un sacrificio (Rise and fall: a sacrifice), by Alberto Odériz part of Project 1, a Programme of individual exhibitions by Spanish artists resident in Mexico, 2019. 4. In collaboration with the INAH, the CCSMX is incorporating ICTs and augmented reality to enrich the user experience.

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expression is a strategy for catalysing thought, through mechanisms of representation based on artistic expression. The Centre also houses the Museo de Sitio (Site Museum) displaying preHispanic Calmécac relics. This building was once part of the sacred Tenochtitlan enclosure, and later held a training centre for the leaders of Mexican society. Today it presents a textbook example of good practice in archaeological intervention and heritage protection. The dynamism in the Centre’s programmes and in its audiences is particularly noticeable in its schedule of dramatic and musical productions. Theatre, dance and performance are offered by companies from both sides of the Atlantic every month of the year in the CCSMX auditorium. This hall is called Espacio X and provides a versatile space that can accommodate all types of drama and music production. Music, an art with a unique capacity for bonding and building communities, has always played a vital role in the history of this Centre. In its initial years, the Centre’s outdoor terrace was

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essential to the revival of scenic arts programmes in the historic city centre. And even today, the terrace remains a major part of the Centre’s activities: from Wednesday to Saturday it provides visitors with an outstanding outdoor venue for live music, presenting a wide range of styles in a cool, hospitable environment, open for all and embodying the nature of this institution,. Making this cultural institution something that belongs to us all is the main goal of all involved at the CCSMX. An open, questioning attitude, too, is in our DNA, enriching every day and encouraging us to continue working and learning. .

5. CCSMX programme on gender issues and human rights 5

6. DJ set and performance by Forqué, aka Virgin Mary, on her first visit to Mexico in 2019

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What is the purpose of a cultural centre? Eugenio Echeverría Director of the Border Cultural Centre of Mexico City, dedicated to sonic and visual arts, multimedia and design, and inquiring into trends related to institutionalised contemporary art.

In 2003, when I arrived in Mexico City from Barcelona to study at the Film School of the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM), the cultural scene in the capital was undergoing a transformation from a self-referential model into a scenario in which creators, managers and curators engaged in a creative horizontal dialogue with international aesthetic concerns and artistic institutions. Until the 1990s, the cultural and artistic spaces of Mexico City had been shaped and nurtured by the institutional circuit and commercial galleries, seeking to avoid risk and taking familiar, safe options. At the other extreme were certain hybrid spaces and programmes, now deemed iconic, fostered by the local artistic vanguard, such as La Panadería, Temístocles and La Quiñonera, which revolutionised the ways in which art was produced, exhibited and understood in the city. The structure of these experimental, transgressive spaces, which had been so influential in the 1990s, began to weaken in the following decade, due to the economic crisis and also, perhaps, the inevitable end of an artistic-cultural era. However, with the passage of time, this collapse came to be seen as an opportunity to restructure the art scene, and reorient it towards contemporary identities, viewed as globalising or normalising according to the political stance of the beholder. By the early 2000s, when the Cultural Centre of Spain in Mexico (CCSMX) opened, the artistic, musical and cultural arena in the capital (and therefore in the country) was going through a period of transition, and required the development and consolidation of a new network of institutional, commercial and self-managed spaces.

Cultural Centre of Spain in Mexico

In 2006, four years after the CCSMX was inaugurated, we opened the Border Cultural Centre, a space that I have been responsible for since then. Border began as a space dedicated to graffiti and experimental sonic art, later focusing on emergent art. We are currently becoming involved in interdisciplinary processes, from trans-feminist and anti-neoliberal positions. In my opinion, these two different models of cultural space, the public one of the CCSMX and the private one with a public vocation, represented by the Border Cultural Centre, have evolved in parallel in many ways, a logical development in view of the fact that both centres were opened to address the perceived demands of the time. During those first few years, from 2006 to 2010, it was common practice for Border and “El España” to share not only artists, curators and personnel, but even audiences and evenings. The stage for Mexican graffiti was erected with the assistance of urban designers and artists, who found in these and other spaces the ideal forum in which to share their work and to make themselves better known: thus, the creations of Dhear, Smithe, Neuzz, Saner, Mookiena, News and many others could be seen both at the Border and also at “El España”. The situation was similar for emerging artists and designers such as Jorge Alderete, Dulce Chacón, Amor Muñoz and Rita Ponce de León. It wasn’t uncommon to hear that the programme for the evening meant going first to one centre, and then to the other. Whatever their channel of presentation, many of these creators obtained the possibility to experiment and/or legitimise themselves thanks to the platforms offered by the two centres, despite their very different positions and the spectra of possibilities offered. In the early 2010s, the collaboration between institutional, commercial and self-managing spaces,

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on the one hand, and creators, managers, curators and the general public, on the other, intensified. It was in this context that an artistic-cultural community interacting through a network of new spaces, existing in parallel with the official framework, began to take shape. These spaces included El patio de mi casa, Vértigo, Galería Tal Cual, Fifty24mx, Yautepec, Neter Proyectos, and Bikini Wax, among many others. Most of these have since closed down or limited their activities, due to changes in the political system of the art world. In its day, this community identified itself as ‘emerging’, and this label is still valid today, after a long process of professionalisation, legitimation and economic and political resistance. The present social climate in Mexico imposes a different type of necessity on us, affecting the agendas of the cultural spaces and obliging them to respond to, or at least debate, the demands generated by the afflictions of our society. Taking approaches going far beyond those adopted ten years ago, many of the cultural spaces still nurturing the local and national cultural network are focused on applying interdisciplinary processes to alleviate the wounds inflicted by a globalised culture that is leaving progressively less margin for dissent, on body and soul. However, comfort may be drawn from the fact that dissenting projects and approaches are still being undertaken within institutional, independent or private spaces, showing that contemporary cultural productions are still being undertaken in a spirit of self-criticism. The positions, sometimes contradictory, offered both by the Border and by the CCSMX, allow them to tackle issues such as inequality, gender violence, sexuality, race and empowerment, through the lens of artistic practices. An example of such a response is the exhibition Lo que se ve no se pregunta. Identidades Trans y de género no conformista (What you can’t see, you don’t ask. Trans and non-conformist gender identities)

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which I was honoured to present as co-curator, with Tania Pomar, Susana Vargas and Laos Salazar at the CCSMX in 2015. This exhibition was especially important and symbolic for me, as it was my first real, solid curating project, as well as being the first exhibition which addressed trans issues in Mexico. This project was a direct forerunner of the Jauría Trans Cultural Centre, a space managed by trans people, for trans and trans-allied persons, which has formed part of the Border Cultural Centre since 2017. Two years later, the Jauría Trans Cultural Centre remains the only active cultural space in the country to address issues crucial to the trans community. It provides accompaniment and peer-support groups, as well as artistic and cultural activities, with workshops, exhibitions and other interventions. These contributions are significant, and not just a token nod to the “T” in LGBT. Of the countries that provide statistical data in this respect, Mexico has the second largest number of murders of trans persons. Moreover, the life expectancy of a trans person in Mexico is just 35 years, in contrast to the 77 years of the cisgender population. These figures highlight the need for urgency. In addition to these facts, and from the experience of the “Lo que se ve no se pregunta… “ exhibition, the Border Cultural Centre and the CCSMX jointly undertook the design and implementation of the programme entitled Dissident Cultures, a call for research and interdisciplinary production in this field, which has been operational since 2016. This programme, an open call for projects which has received over 400 applications in its three years of existence, is aimed at generating a collective examination of the diverse manifestations of dissident culture, to serve as the basis for a sevenmonth research project, the results of which will be presented at an interdisciplinary exhibition in the CCSMX.

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On reviewing the trajectories of our two Cultural Centres, which at first functioned in a disconnected way, but which now work in close cooperation, with common goals, we must conclude that this is the way for institutional centres financed by public funds, to influence and be influenced by self-managing bodies. By working together and joining our forces and capacities, we can overcome each other’s shortcomings, carry out projects and foster socialartistic development within one or several specific communities. Ultimately, this kind of communal development is the driving force for any space that defines itself as a cultural centre. This approach allows us to resist policies that not only oppress the cultural sector but also non-hegemonic identities, including artistic groups, activists, sexual dissidents and the politically divergent, whose search for self-recognition is addressed by our institutions.

EQUATORIAL GUINEA Cultural Centre of Spain in Bata Address Paseo Lumu Matindi s/n, Bata Opened 2001 Web http://www.ccebata.org/

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Cultural Centre of Spain in Bata

Cultural cooperation between Spain and Equatorial Guinea dates back to the 1980s and 1990s, when the Hispanic-Guinean Cultural Centre of Malabo promoted various activities that rapidly became an important aspect of sociocultural collaboration between the two countries. In the same period, in the mainland region of Equatorial Guinea, various cultural cooperation activities were implemented through the Cultural Action Programme, via Spainâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Technical Cooperation Office in the city of Bata. The creation of two Spanish cultural centres in Equatorial Guinea was a direct consequence of the increasing presence and promotion of Spanish culture in both areas; the first centre was inaugurated in 2001 in Bata, with the objective of projecting cultural cooperation throughout the countryâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s mainland region; the second was inaugurated in 2003 in Malabo, after management of the HispanicGuinean Cultural Centre was transferred to the local authorities. The activities of this Cultural Centre are focused on the island of Bioko. After 16 months of construction work, the Cultural Centre of Spain in Bata (CCSB) was inaugurated on 9 July 2001 by the ambassador of Spain in Equatorial Guinea, Jacobo GonzĂĄlez-Arnao Campos. Since its inception, the CCSB has provided a major point of reference for artists, associations, institutions and other sociocultural groups, providing Bata with a wide range of cultural facilities and events, including library services, courses, workshops and the promotion of local artists. The Centre also presents cultural and artistic lectures and facilitates a platform for written and audiovisual publications of various kinds. In parallel to these activities, the CCSB has also consolidated its position as an inclusive institution that promotes diversity and defends fundamental

values within the framework of a constantly evolving civil society. The CCSB headquarters, on the waterfront of Bata, near the historic city centre, is excellently located. The building has a surface area of over 2,500 square metres, distributed on three floors around a central courtyard which itself is a multi-purpose space where activities such as exhibitions, concerts and contests are held. The building also contains a large auditorium, an African crafts shop, a bookshop and classrooms. There are two libraries: firstly, a general one with a capacity for over 50 users, and which constitutes a repository of the intellectual and literary life of the continental region of Equatorial Guinea. This library has more than 5,000 volumes, including reference books and those available for loan; there is a specialised section on Africa and Equatorial Guinea, with more than 480 documents on the geography, history and customs of the region, and other sections for literature and magazines. The library also hosts programmes to encourage reading, and is used for lectures, book presentations and many other activities related to the world of culture. In addition to this general library, there is also one for children, with over 1,200 books, providing an invaluable educational environment for primary school children. Apart from this main building, the CCSB also makes use of Asonga Space, the former headquarters of Spanish Cooperation in the country, which is utilised as temporary accommodation for artists and others who collaborate with the institution on a regular basis. This space features various modules, including housing, offices, storerooms and pavilions, all of which contribute to the cultural activities performed. In one of the pavilions, and elsewhere within the site, activities for schoolchildren are carried out, as part of the Asonga Programme.

Cultural Centre of Spain in Bata

The CCSB is currently working on various projects aimed at meeting the UN Sustainable Development Goals of the 2030 Agenda, to ensure that the necessary development of our world takes into account the essential goal of sustainability. In this regard, over the last five years, the Centre has conducted a growing number of activities to promote the inclusion of persons with disabilities, to foster equality between men and women, to combat gender violence and to encourage respect for diversity. Many of these activities have been carried out in conjunction with other organisations, public or private, such as ASAMA (Association for the Support of African Women), ASSONAMI (Association for the National Solidarity of Disabled Persons), ONCIGE (National Organisation for the Blind of Equatorial Guinea), as well as with educational institutions such as “Manos Felices” and “La Fe”, schools for students with hearing difficulties. With respect to artistic and cultural promotion, the CCSB collaborates with State institutions such as the AEGLE (Equatorial Guinea Academy of the Spanish Language), and has worked with a broad

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range of local artists in fields such as dance, music, painting and literature. The outcomes of the Centre’s work and its collaborations with other bodies are reflected in the themed weeks organised by the CCSB every year, including Women’s Week and Functional Diversity Week, as well as in training activities such as the Sign Language Workshop, held in the Bata building. In addition, the Centre hosts lectures, the presentation of books and other publications, exhibitions and courses. Inter-institutional collaborations also give rise to events such as Book Week, the Comic and Illustration Contest against Gender Violence, and micro-theatre sessions to urge the eradication of violence against women. The CCSB considers it very important to highlight the country’s rich and diverse heritage, both tangible and intangible. Therefore it has worked to rescue the heritage elements brought from the island of Corisco, identifying them, stabilising their condition, packing them and organising their delivery to the authorities of Equatorial Guinea. Moreover, the Oral Resources Laboratory of the CCSB has tirelessly

1. Christmas carol contest, part of the Conservatory project at the CCSB 1

2. Guitar workshop

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3. Indigenous Languages Day 2018. Musical performance by Manuel Eyama with traditional instruments

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supported initiatives to enhance the understanding, preservation and awareness of the intangible heritage of Equatorial Guinea. In the performing arts, the CCSB has fostered the presentation of theatre performances, with the collaboration of local theatre companies such as Ceiba Bantú, Biyeyema and the Millennium Actors. However, the Cultural Centre does not limit itself to supporting existing talent; it also inspires and instructs. Thus, students’ creative and expressive skills are encouraged and promoted through workshops in drawing, guitar, piano, percussion, poetry and writing. The graduates of these courses, in turn, have become cultural agents, producing a major impact in Equatorial-Guinean society. Some young writers have already published their texts in Spain, after perfecting their writing techniques in the workshop directed since 2017 by Matías Elé, writer and co-editor of the magazine Atanga, which in turn is published by the CCSB. Many of the artists who have emerged after passing through one of the Centre’s workshops

are now household names in the country’s cultural landscape, and epitomise the work carried out by the CCSB and its dedication to local culture. Apart from these initiatives promoted directly by the Centre, it also undertakes a wide variety of projects in collaboration with governmental agencies and institutions, or with other cooperation organisations or private bodies, which are invited to make use of the Centre’s facilities for the performance of seminars, courses, awareness-raising activities, drama, film screenings, etc. The CCSB is also an important source of information about scholarships, competitions and announcements, by Spanish and local authorities, regarding activities taking place in Equatorial Guinea and abroad. Information on cultural and artistic interest is disseminated both through its bulletin board and via its presence in social networks. With respect to the Centre’s work elsewhere in the continental region of Equatorial Guinea, the Cultural Extensions Programme is of particular importance. This programme is one of the means by

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which the CCSB seeks to decentralise its activities, towards other areas of the city and even inland, ranging from Ayamiken to Kogo and from Mbini to Nsork. These extensions of the Centre’s work include activities such as cultural tours, support for festivities in city neighbourhoods, visits to schools and itinerant programmes to encourage reading.

4. Asonga Space, students from the National School, celebrating Mothers’ Day, 2019 5. Concert of female voices, during Women’s Week, March 2019

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Women in Africa Anastasia Nzé Ada President of IDHMA

The non-governmental organisation For Equality and the Human Rights of Women in Africa (IDHMA) has been collaborating with the CCSB in Bata since 2012, with excellent results. Specifically, IDHMA has worked with the Centre on capacity-building projects for civil society organisations in the continental region of Equatorial Guinea, focusing on human rights for women and girls. For the last seven years, as part of the national campaign “16 days of activism against gender violence”, which begins on 25 November every year with the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women and continues until 10 December, Human Rights Day, IDHMA has held seminars at the Cultural Centre in Bata. The issues discussed in these meetings include violence against women and girls, underage pregnancies, early or forced marriages and the link between gender violence and AIDS. In this respect, too, the Regional Training Seminar on Sensitivity to Gender Equality and Violence Against Women in Equatorial Guinea was held as part of the 7th National Campaign. During the First National Women’s Week, focused on the celebrations of 8 March, IDHMA held a seminar at the Cultural Centre on gender equality. Another seminar, on equality and African regional instruments for the protection of the human rights of women and girls, was held during the First PanAfrican Week of Women, in commemoration of 31 July. Finally, a seminar on human rights and human trafficking was organised in March 2019, in the context of the Ven Amiga (Come Friend) project to provide comprehensive assistance to women and girls subjected to people trafficking in Equatorial Guinea. The opening ceremony of this event was attended by the Consul of Spain in Bata and the director of the Centre.

The IDHMA is truly grateful for these collaborations and for the assistance provided, for the space and materials made available, and for the contributions made by the staff at the Cultural Centre of Spain in Bata.

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As the Head of an Educational Institution

Functional Diversity in the CCSB

Maria Luna Escribano Cabrera Director of Carmen Salles School of Ebinayong

Hilario Engonga Eló Oyana Secondary school teacher. Vice President of ASSONAMI (Association for National Solidarity with Persons with Disability)

As the Head of an inland school, in Ebinayong, I would like to confirm that during the last four years the Cultural Centre of Spain in Bata has been a window onto a cultural landscape through which we have perceived broader horizons and a world elsewhere, observing a novel outlook. Violin and piano concerts, puppet theatre performances, activities for Book Day, traditional and modern dance, the exhibition “The Prado Museum in Bata”, comic exhibitions, book donations, etc…. these activities and more have opened our eyes to a world of culture that in our environment would not otherwise be easily accessible. Let me relay what our students have said about these activities: the Cultural Centre encourages us to learn more and to better ourselves, and also enables us to discover other cultural realities, which motivate us still further; the Centre inspires us to undertake new learning paths, to do things differently, and to realise that what other young people are doing, so can we. The Cultural Centre offers great enjoyment, leisure, happiness and friends. That is why we wish to continue enjoying this “window to the world” for many years, this opportunity to live a little more opened up to culture.

In our collaborations, I have always enjoyed an interesting and fruitful relationship with the Cultural Centre of Spain in Bata. The CCSB has offered me the opportunity to attend various training courses, to apply what I have learned and to share it with others. In addition, I have been able to visit exhibitions, attend lectures and presentations of drama, literature and music. Over the past few years, our bond has grown stronger, with events such as the annual celebration of the Week of Functional Diversity, dedicated to persons with disability. The CCSB and my own Association have cooperated in organising the activities involved in this Week. Its success has brought us great satisfaction and has allowed persons with disabilities to step into the light, to enjoy the capabilities they have and to exchange opinions and experiences. These types of initiatives make society more aware of the problems of reduced mobility or other disability and stop these issues from being considered taboo or something to be concealed. Lastly, it would be very useful for the members of our Association for the Cultural Centre of Spain in Bata to address our request to reduce or eliminate the architectural barriers to mobility within the building.

EQUATORIAL GUINEA Cultural Centre of Spain in Malabo Address Carretera del Aeropuerto, s/n, Malabo Opened 2003 Web http://www.ccemalabo.es/

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Cultural Centre of Spain in Malabo

The Cultural Centre of Spain in Malabo (CCSM) and its counterpart in Bata (CCSB) are part of a historic productive process dating from 1979, when a massive international response was mobilised in support of the country, after a decade in which the emerging state of Equatorial Guinea had collapsed. Cooperation at this initial stage took the form of humanitarian aid. As if the country had been hit by a hurricane, international agencies not only collaborated with the local authorities but on occasion even replaced them in order to meet urgent needs. The Cooperation Office in Equatorial Guinea was created within this context of urgency, a full decade before the Spanish Agency for International Development Cooperation (AECID) took shape. Throughout the country, the Office carried out multi-sector programmes, many of which (such as culture, heritage and education) were involved in the restoration of the historical Cardenal Cisneros Institute, and the consequent creation of the Hispanic-Guinean Culture Centre. During the next twenty years, this bi-national institution, associated with the Organisation of Ibero-American States for Education, Science and Culture, dynamised the cultural scene in Equatorial Guinea, generating a network of decentralised cultural facilities across the country, with classes in various artistic disciplines, a successful publishing house and even an educational radio station (Radio África 2000). The CCSM made a significant impression on the “generation of the Equatorial Guinean renaissance” and those who were young then often say, “you aren’t from Malabo if you didn’t go used to go to the Hispanic-Guinean film shows on Sunday mornings”. Despite this considerable history, the CCSM is still relatively young: its re-establishment in 2003

lacked the urgency of the previous reconstruction work, but arose during the inclusion of cultural policies as part of the cooperation agenda. This circumstance was almost inevitable, as the Centre came into being during the period in which Spain was a leading proponent of 2001 Universal Declaration on Cultural Diversity, at the UNESCO General Conference, which was later followed by the arduous discussions resulting in the 2005 Convention on the Protection and Promotion of Diversity of Cultural Expression, and the AECID’s Culture and Development Strategy Paper, published in 2007. Fundamentally, therefore, the CCSM continued a path that had been previously mapped out, whilst adapting it to the new challenges facing the cultural centres. In terms of geography, the CCSM is characterised by its island location, off the African continent. However, it works in close coordination with the Cultural Centre in Bata to make a nationwide impact, transmitting Spain’s cooperative efforts within Africa and the Ibero-American Cultural Space, thus facilitating fruitful exchanges among creators and enabling local artists to make their mark on the international scene. The twin focus of Spanish activities in Equatorial Guinea is reflected in the Centres’ efforts to incorporate local creative diversity into the programmes and activities promoted, and also in generating conditions that will enable local cultural activities to be extended further afield, and even the promotion of exchange programmes with Spanish and Ibero-American artists. Perhaps the most notable aspect of this expansion of the cultural horizon is the support provided by Casa Africa for the Vis a Vis festival, an encounter between Spanish cultural promoters and African musicians, but other important initiatives include the tour of

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1. Entrance to the Cultural Centre of Spain in Malabo

the Equatorial-Guinean Audiovisual Fair through Latin America and the Caribbean, and the fact that the logo for the 2018-2019 AECID campaign for the Elimination of Violence against Women was designed by the Spanish-Guinean illustrator Lydia Mba. Although producing less media impact than large-scale public events, the MMSB organises longterm training courses throughout the year in order to stimulate interest and to foster professional skills in the creative processes. Courses are offered in areas such as piano, guitar, creative writing, self-publishing, traditional percussive arts and dramatic expression, both for adults and for children. In addition, literacy courses for persons with hearing impairments have been offered for many years. Despite Spanish Cooperation’s budget reorganisation of its resources a decade ago, these training courses have been maintained and prioritised since the 1980s as a long-term investment. Similarly, the Joint Standing Committees for Cooperation continue to meet, taking into account that among their three areas of priority concern, two – culture and education – are represented in the CCSM. Another significant aspect of the Centre’s activities is its involvement with the ACERCA programme and its exchange of personnel with the Cultural Centre in Bata, which reduces the danger of the compartmentalisation of knowledge and creative innovation. To complement its training and instruction programmes, the Centre, which occupies an area of over 6,000 square metres, assists and provides facilities for young creators and civil society, thus contributing to the realisation of collective projects. As part of this process, for many years such projects have been inaugurated in the Centre’s main events room, which thus serves as a pilot space for an

2. The children’s library of the Cultural Centre of Spain in Malabo

3. Hispanic Song Festival

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4. Concert of the Annabonés group Fafá Palea

artist’s initial interaction with the public, prior to entering the limited commercial circuit. Reflecting the broad-based approach of Spanish Cooperation abroad, as well as promoting creative activities, the Centre’s classrooms are regularly used for training courses offered within the environment of Spanish Cooperation. Nevertheless, in the field of cultural creation, the Centre presents its own, idiosyncratic elements: the population of Equatorial Guinea possesses a wealth of living languages, rich with expressions of intangible heritage. In the initial interventions of the Spanish Cooperation Heritage Programme, work was oriented towards tangible heritage and even archaeology. However, in recent years, the Cultural Centres have prioritised the intangible heritage of the population (relating to the main ethnic groups: Fang, Bubi, Ndowé, Bisio, Annobonesa and Fernandina), supporting research, systematisation and dissemination through workshops and

publications (dictionaries, grammar documentation and compilations of narrated tales). The two Cultural Centres present regular progress reports from their Oral Resource Laboratories, and assist Spanish researchers with their field research. In addition, the Centres have recently begun providing training and instruction in the management and digitalisation of documentary heritage materials, taking into account that the conservation of these documents is complicated by the climate conditions in the region. The Malabo Cultural Centre has two busy libraries: one is general, with an interesting selection of African texts, while the other is for younger readers. These resources, together with the library of the National University of Distance Education, which shares the same building, constitute one of the key nodes in the island’s small network of public libraries. In its literacy-promoting activities, the Centre regularly presents original publications from Equatorial Guinea. It also organises weekly visits from schools. The Centre’s reading programme

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a wide selection of documents from other libraries constitute a documentary heritage that receives numerous inquiries from users at home and abroad. Nevertheless, there remains a significant digital breach in Equatorial Guinea, which poses serious limitations to the goals of sustainable development. In response, the Centre provides training in digital literacy, together with other forms of instruction such as the use of techniques of digital editing and illustration in the creative field. In accordance with its role as a specialised unit within the AECID, the CCSM offers programmes and projects that span the various sectorial approaches described in the Spanish Cooperation Master Plan: some are unavoidably transversal in nature, while others are specific to local circumstances, such as the thematic workshops intended for a specific population sector. The themed weeks offered by the Centre emphasise specific issues such as violence against women, sexual diversity, children’s rights and biodiversity. With respect to the environment, one of the Centre’s main concerns, it has issued various specialised publications, such as “Protected Areas of the Island of Bioko”, and has played an active role in awareness-raising campaigns. Furthermore, for the last eight years the Centre has presented its own theme week commemorating the International Day for Biological Diversity, with the collaboration of the Spanish Government, universities and civil society, as well as the United Nations. This event, presenting training and cultural activities, has become a fixture on the academic agenda, and in Equatorial Guinea it makes a major contribution to the exchange and transfer of environmental knowledge.

also follows the model pioneered by the Princesa Cartonera publishers at the AECID Library. Over the past two years, groups have been trained in the techniques of artisanal bookbinding, as a strategy for diversification, and the Bata and Malabo Centres have established a publisher for these products, thus expanding the scope and impact of new local narratives. Moreover, the ISBN sequence has been recovered from the editions of the former HispanicGuinean Cultural Centre, which ensures that the new publications are recognised abroad under the same conditions as other editions of a commercial nature. Since 1985, the editorial has annually published texts submitted to the 12 October Literary Competition; more recently, it also began publishing entries to the ‘Guinea Writes’ Literary Contest, for novice writers. Both of these publications are distributed via Spanish Cooperation libraries in three continents. Recently, to facilitate the custody and consultation of Spanish Cooperation publications in Equatorial Guinea, the Technical Cooperation Office and the two Cultural Centres jointly created a micro-site hosting the texts from Equatorial Guinea stored in the AECID Digital Library. The 40 years of publications included in the Hispanic Library and

5. Fifteenth anniversary of the CCSM, 2018

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Combining nature and culture Rocío Cadahía Fernández Screenwriter and public awareness coordinator at the NGO ECOGUINEA

Back in 2001, UNESCO announced that cultural diversity is part of our universal heritage, “as necessary for humankind as biological diversity is for living organisms”. Culture and biodiversity take on different shapes through time and space, and both embody innovation and creativity. One is clearly a human product, the other, seemingly, appears from randomness, competition, climate... Culture and biodiversity are closely intertwined, but in such countries as Equatorial Guinea this relationship becomes even more intimate. It is so primary, so solid that the country’s culture and art can only be properly comprehended through the lens of its lush natural wealth. In this country, when nature inhales it inspires, and when it exhales, art is born. This symbiosis has shaped a rich oral tradition and a multitude of rituals and legends, anchored in time, are relayed from one generation to the next and profoundly lodged within multiple ecosystems. When the jungle breathed, tales came to life. Tales that told of the turtle, the gorilla or the owl, which were transformed during the night into wise men, courageous warriors or sorcerers. Tales that told of a drum made from the forest, which was called nkú by the Fang, and which called out for persons by their name. In Guinea, women breathed the soul of the river, and ecstatically, beat the riverbed to make it sing out. And their wish was obeyed, in the most ancient voice ever heard. And when nature inhaled a drop of the sea, the poetry of Raquel Ilombe was born, and from her window in Bata she wrote “What have you done, red earth, that I have you so deep within? What have you done, sea? Your waves covered me and changed me to shore”.

The artists of Equatorial Guinea have marvelled, been surprised or frightened before the grandeur of their world, and these feelings then appear in their work: in the sculptures of Fernando Nguema, whose universe emerged from the sinuous lines of fallen tree trunk; in the rich legends of the Bubis, for whom there is no waterfall, boulder or lake without its protecting spirit; in María Nsue’s Ekomo, already considered the country’s outstanding work of literature, in which the tangled, humid jungle is ever present. All of this should be no surprise; Equatorial Guinea is in the Congo River basin, thought of as one of the lungs of the planet, which has one of the richest biodiversities of the world. Apart from the continental region, this Central African country has three main islands (Corisco, Annobón and the largest, Bioko), a large maritime area (almost 90% of its territory is composed of ocean), but also mountains and beaches, and of course, forest. Vast ranges of virgin jungle that still shelter elephants, chimpanzees, pangolins, antelopes, hundreds of types of birds, and thousands of unique and fascinating insects. Without any doubt, its twin treasures of biodiversity and culture are the country’s most valuable heritage; these two treasures (as international organisations tirelessly repeat) must be recognised and preserved for the present and for future generations. Over the past eight years, this belief has been the driving force inspiring Biodiversity Week, an event that began as a small-scale meeting of biologists and NGOs in 2012, and which has since become consolidated as the outstanding environmental event in Equatorial Guinea. Nonetheless, this evolution has not been without difficulties. ECOGUINEA, one of the institutions that supported Biodiversity Week from the start, came into existence almost simultaneously with the event. We were, and remain, a small NGO

Cultural Centre of Spain in Malabo

focused on the conservation of biodiversity, with an eye not only on research, but also on environmental awareness. In these recent years, Guinea has lived through what we experienced in Spain in the 1960s, with accelerated development, a rural exodus and, in a sense, the abandonment of traditional ways and feelings about the environment. It became necessary for the population to fall in love with its natural world all over again. In response, activities were organised in schools, reports and documentaries such as The Secret of the Forest appeared, allowing the world to see unprecedented images of the country’s jungle for the first time. The Secret of the Forest was sponsored by the Cultural Centres of Spain in Equatorial Guinea and, inevitably, it was released during Biodiversity Week in 2016. Its national and international success highlighted, once again, the power of the bond between nature and culture, a promising augury for the future of the country. The idea was also broached of creating an encounter focused on environmental awareness and on the need to protect the environment in Equatorial Guinea. Since then, Biodiversity Week has been held each year, coinciding with International Biodiversity Day, on 22 May. It is no coincidence that, every year, the venue for this event has been the Cultural Centre of Spain in Malabo. This choice highlights not only the institution’s breadth of outlook and resolute commitment to sustainable development, but also its profound knowledge of the country’s idiosyncrasies. This commitment has not only been maintained over the years, but it has in fact strengthened, thus consolidating the CCSM as a fundamental partner in Equatorial Guinea, making it a crucial element in promoting environmental awareness and education.

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This is borne out by the facts. During the six days of the last Biodiversity Week, an average of almost four hundred people visited the Cultural Centre every day, mostly students from the National University of Equatorial Guinea, one of the organising bodies of the event. Another major achievement of the Week was the sharing of its organisation. From the outset, the doors were open to anyone interested in contributing, and this ranged from agreeing upon the logo for the week to the activities to be incorporated. In the most recent edition of the event, over thirty organisations lent their support, in one way or another. Particularly important was the involvement of the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock Farming, Forestry and the Environment, which has played a very significant role for several years. Without this contribution by so many volunteers, it would have been impossible to sustain the Biodiversity Week, which has never had stable funding. This is why, despite the uncertainty that seems to arise every year, the Week carries on, overcoming all obstacles, and establishing itself as a place of encounter, awareness and learning. Among its many activities, there are lectures on the state of biodiversity in the country, exhibitions showing alternative ways of protecting the natural world, and workshops where participants can access training in disciplines related to sustainable development. The Week also offers a wide range of activities for children, encouraging them to appreciate and care for their environment. In this communication of the reality of diversity, instruments such as theatre, film, music and the media are powerful channels for awareness. Through these instruments, the Week’s fundamental principle, that we must protect the natural world, is conveyed to the entire country. We make this enormous collective effort so that Malabo and Equatorial Guinea may remain infused by

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The intangible heritage of Equatorial Guinea Nánãy-Menemôl Lêdjam Former Coordinator of the Oral Resources Laboratory

the colours, the scents and the strength of nature. So that we may continue breathing forest and ocean, and with these airs construct our music, tales and poetry. And may their echoes, like those of the nku, continue sounding through all the jungles of the world. And long may this last.

The experience of the Cultural Centres of Spain in Equatorial Guinea dates back to 1982, when the Hispanic-Guinean Cultural Centre (H-GCC) first began operating. This was a bi-national cultural institution, expressly constituted as a joint sponsorship between Equatorial Guinea and Spain. Initially, it had two directors: on the Spanish side, the linguist Germán de Granda; and for the Guinean authorities, the journalist and writer Donato NdongoBidyogo Makina. The creation of this bi-national institution on the soil of Equatorial Guinea was not a trifling event, but an opportunity for the two countries to advance together in issues related to culture. The H-GCC had certain basic, clear-cut objectives: it was imperative to develop an efficient cultural policy, including the study and knowledge of the variants and peculiarities of Spanish as spoken by the local population, as well as the revaluation of the native languages and cultural sensibilities that make up the variegated cultural mosaic of this territory nestled within Central Africa. In addition to fostering and extending creativity throughout the territory, the H-GCC has placed special emphasis on promoting the indigenous cultures of Equatorial Guinea, granting them a privileged space, including them in the agendas of the Cultural Centres and providing classes for the instruction of the Bubi and Fang languages. This endeavour is not limited to teaching these languages, but extends to publishing textbooks in this respect, such as the Fang language course, by professor, philologist and poet Julián Bibang Oyee (1990); the Bubi language course (1991), by Justo Bolekia Boleká, who is also a poet and a doctor in Philology; Malabo Spanish: phonetic / phonological processes and dialectological implications, by Professor John M. Lipski (1990); and the Bubi Anthroponymy: a linguistic study by Justo Bolekia Boleká (1994).

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Another approach taken by the H-GCC to foster local languages is the strategy adopted in the Christmas carol contests convened each year, in which two works must be presented, one in Spanish and the other in one of the local languages, reflecting any cultural sensitivity in the country. To date, this requirement has continued to be applied, thus encouraging the young people of Equatorial Guinea to incorporate traditional rhythms into their music and choreography, and to learn to speak and write in their regional language. In order to disseminate culture issues throughout the country and abroad, the H-GCC was authorised to publish two cultural magazines; The Patio, which appeared monthly, and Africa 2000, published twice yearly. At the time, these were the best media in which authors and researchers from Equatorial Guinea could publish their work. During the existence of the H-GCC, it published numerous literary works, together with many social and linguistic studies by specialists and experts in the native languages and cultures. Other works by writers from Equatorial Guinea included Voces de espuma (Foam Voices) by Ciriaco Bokesa Napo; Álbum poético [Album of Poems] by Jerónimo Rope Bomabá; Poemas, La carga, El desmayo de Judas and Áwala cu sangui [Poems, The Load, The Fainting of Judas and Áwala cu sangui], all by Juan Tomás Ávila Laurel; Requiebros, ¿A dónde vas Guinea? [Where are you going, lovely Guinea?] and Sueños en mi selva [Dreams in my jungle], by Juan Balboa Boneke. During this period the Centre also published compilations of folk tales from various ethnicities, such as Fang tales from Equatorial Guinea, Bubis tales, Annobonese tales and Ndowes Tales, all compiled by Jacint Creus. Today, the CCSM is continuing the work begun by the H-GCC. Since 2003, when the Cultural Centre

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first opened its doors, a growing number of texts have been published by authors from Equatorial Guinea, partly due to the literary contests convened by the Centre every 12 October, Hispanic Day and coinciding with the commemoration of the country’s independence. Contests are also convened on 23 April each year, International Book Day. The cultural centres of Spain are the only institutions that have convened nationwide literary competitions, having done so since 1985. Every year, the winning texts are published in their respective journals, The Patio and Africa 2000, by the H-GCC, and The Centre Tree and Atanga, by the CCSM. At present, these winning texts are published in a single volume, which was originally called Seas of Guinea, but was later renamed Winners of the 12 October Literary Competition. The 23 April contest, now known as the ‘Guinea Writes’ Short Story Contest, is sponsored by the Martínez Hermanos Foundation. The top three winners from Malabo and the top three from Bata are published by Cartoneras Editions. For this literary contest, only narrative texts are eligible. Apart from these two literary contests, the mother tongues of Equatorial Guinea are further promoted through the preservation of the H-GCC catalogue. Moreover, since 2003 the CCSM has published several works by Guinean authors, both literary and focused on linguistic research. Outstanding examples of the latter include the Spanish-Bubi / Bubi-Spanish dictionary, by Justo Bolekia Boleká (2009); Pichi grammar, by Kofi Yakpo (2010); Descriptive grammar of the Fa d’ambô, by Armando Zamora Segorbe (2010) and the SpanishFang / Fang-Spanish dictionary by Julián Bibang Oyee (2014). Formerly, the country’s oral traditions were published only in compilations in the magazines The Patio and Africa 2000, but since 2006, when the Centre for International Studies of Biology

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and Anthropology (CEIBA) was opened in Malabo, the dissemination of this genre has expanded considerably, with the publication of monographs containing short stories, traditional poems, proverbs and oral traditions in general. The Oral Resources Laboratory, thus, greatly boosted the printed availability of intangible heritage materials in Guinea. The Oral Resources Laboratory was a programme promoted by CEIBA that began operating in the CCSM one year after its introduction in Bata, in 2001. This programme organised the training of future researchers to conduct field studies on traditions and customs, and to recover the wealth of oral expression present in the different ethnic groups of Equatorial Guinea. Thanks to this programme, the CCSM was able to publish or sponsor a great deal of research, some by experienced investigators and other work by the trainers. Highlights in this published output include Words that have no mouth: urban stories of Equatorial Guinea; Why we are black and more stories and legends of the Bubi people; The Bubi collection of proverbs; The Annobonan oral songbook; Traditional poetry of the island of Bioko; and Word of mouth, Studies of the oral literature of Equatorial Guinea. With the support of the Oral Resources Laboratory, the Cultural Centre published more than twenty books, and funded several lectures given by members of the Oral Resources Laboratory. Unfortunately, the difficult financial situation in recent years has led to the disappearance of the financial contributions to this programme, making it necessary to resort to other, more economic formats. However, despite their importance and the intelligent approach adopted, the results are not always comparable to those obtained previously. Similarly, the disappearance of the emblematic scholarship programmes that had supported research and made grants accessible in the academic environment, such as the Inter-University

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Programme for Cooperation and Scientific Research has had a notable effect. Nevertheless, opportunities do arise through the spaces for exchange that are regularly convened by the Cultural Centre: its library offers a valuable bibliographic collection (in both physical and digital formats), it currently has two publishing outlets (12 October and Cartonera Editorial) and it is a member of an inter-continental network of centres created to facilitate the transit and exchange of ideas. Ensuring the dissemination of the countryâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s oral and literary traditions, and promoting social and linguistic studies is a real challenge, but one that must necessarily be faced, because a community that loses its own cultural identity is destined to extinction. The Cultural Centres of Equatorial Guinea have always played a leading role in responding to this challenge, and we firmly believe that they will continue to do so, as part of the commitment made when they were created 40 years ago.

Centres associated with Spanish Cooperation

Staging of La Batalla del Parque España (The Battle of Parque España) on the esplanade of the Cultural Centre in Rosario, April 2017

ARGENTINA Parque de España Cultural Centre in Rosario Address Sarmiento y el río Paraná S2000AHQ, Rosario Opened 1993 Web https://www.ccpe.org.ar/web/

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Cultural Centre Parque de España, Rosario

The Cultural Centre Parque de España (CCPE) is the product of a shared history, that of the thousands of Spanish immigrants who, towards the end of the 19th century, having crossed the Atlantic, disembarked at the historic docks of Puerto de Rosario and began to assimilate life in this small city, which was beginning to flourish. In Rosario, descendants of those immigrants forged the idea of symbolically bringing together the two nations, in a space that would become emblematic of that meeting of cultures. In bringing the project to fruition, far from imagining a static monument, they set out to build a living memory, one representing an evolving intangible culture. This artifact would first be a foundational tie with the nation’s Hispanic history and origins, later a permanent bridge of exchange with contemporary Spain and finally a link in the Ibero-American creative chain. In an unprecedented project, the municipal authorities of Rosario and the Spanish Government agreed to combine resources in raising this Complex, creating both a home for the proposed educational and cultural centre and a generously-sized public space. To do so, the Parque de España Cultural Foundation was created, composed of the Government of Spain, the Municipality of Rosario and the local Spanish community, represented by the Federation of Spanish Associations of the Province of Santa Fe. The building’s construction was based on a project by the Catalan architect Oriol Bohigas, under the direction of the Rosario architect, Horacio Quiroga. The construction, inaugurated in 1992, was not only one of the largest such investments made by Spain abroad, but the cornerstone of the city’s urban transformation during that period.

Anchored on the banks of the Paraná – after the Amazon, the second longest river in South America, at nearly 5,000 km – the CCPE is an essential part of the Complex, offering outstanding versatility in its multi-purpose spaces. The CCPE project recovered the emblematic character of the nineteenth-century port tunnels on the site, preserving fundamental elements of the original architecture, and transforming the derelict building into a modern, versatile space for the people of Rosario. The theatre within the Complex has a large entrance hall, the main auditorium, seating 518 people, a stage measuring 12 by 10 metres, dressing rooms, simultaneous interpretation booths and air conditioning. It also has a concert piano and an acoustic panelling system that allows the reverberation in the chamber to be adjusted according to need. The performing arts can also presented in the outdoor amphitheatre, which has 300 seats and a magnificent stage overlooking the river. Art exhibits are displayed in the Galleries, three interconnected domed tunnels, with 180 linear metres of exhibition space and a total surface area of 500 square metres. The chamber known as Tunnel No. 4 seats 130 people and is perfect for small-format concerts, drama and lectures. The CCPE also has a media library, free to access, for reference and research, with a wealth of books, video and acoustic archives. This space is equipped with modular furniture and is also used for lectures and workshops with up to 30 people. The Parque de España Centre for Historical Studies and Information, which preserves documents on the Ibero-American past and makes them available for reference, is also situated within this Cultural Complex.

Cultural Centre Parque de España, Rosario

1. Excellently sited between the river and the city, the Parque de España Cultural Complex, designed by the Catalán Oriol Bohigas, is of great architectural originality.

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Last but not least, the Patio de Cipreses is an open space with a capacity for about 800 people that is used for concerts and other large events. Lines of action The CCPE, which was created by and for the cultural communities of Argentina and Spain, has made a significant addition to the cultural panorama of the city. Its management model, as a mixed institution, is fundamental to the Centre’s planning and actions. From its initial stages, the CCPE’s policy of shared responsibility has marked its strategy of collaboration and support with other cultural, political and social institutions within the local administration, giving rise to a rich and productive synergy of cultural life in the city. At present, the Cultural Centre has seven main fields of activity: network cooperation (coordinating projects and actions in line with the CCPE’s tradition); Spanish culture; training in culture and education; creative cultural industries; visual and performing arts; philosophy, science and humanities; inclusion and emerging rights. Situating the CCPE in the local context Beautifully located, resembling a balcony overlooking the Paraná River, the CCPE rests on the shores of Rosario like a magnificent brick-built ship, a perfect metaphor, paying tribute to the thousands of Spanish migrants who crossed the Atlantic in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries and who rapidly became part of the local culture, enriching it with their knowledge, arts and crafts. When inaugurated in 1992, Oriol Bohigas’ design became part of the urban fabric, like an enormous ship anchored on the banks of the Paraná, reopening a river port that had long been closed to the inhabitants of Rosario. With this milestone in its history, the city began a historical recovery of its coastal foreshore, transforming a neglected space into a magnificent vantage point over the river. The CCPE is an integral part of this complex, and since 2002 it has been managed under an agreement of mutual cooperation between the city authorities and the Spanish Agency for International Development Cooperation (AECID).

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From the outset, the CCPE applied an innovative model of cultural management in the city, adopting a broad and unconventional concept of culture, linked to education and awareness-raising in this sector, paying special attention to emerging forms of artistic expression and encouraging local cultural industries. This experience became a model for others to follow. Today, as in 1993, thousands of people from Rosario continue to enjoy the best of local, national and international art and culture in the CCPE, learning, fostering new talents, debating, generating critical thought on areas of concern and constructing new, vibrant experiences. The CCPE, promoting culture as part of international cooperation In assessing the role of the CCPE as an agent of culture and cooperation, let us first acknowledge the unique cultural identity of the city of Rosario, which has a long history and a wealth of tradition, arising from the contributions of different communities. Since its creation, the CCPE has shown that cooperation in the field of culture is, indeed, a creator of citizenship and a source of sustainable results and experience. In this, the Centre has provided a model for international cooperation since 1993. Reflection on its achievements in the cultural world of Rosario has led the Centre to maintain its understanding of culture as a collective action, resulting in a dynamic of change, working via cooperative relationships to advance the city’s development and enhance the quality of life of its citizens. Argentina and Spain have a long tradition in bilateral treaties of cooperation, proof that they can and will, in theory and practice, continue along the path for culture and development traced out previously, despite the realignment produced by Argentina’s change of status (it is no longer considered a priority country for assistance, and therefore is not addressed directly in the Master Plan of Spanish Cooperation). The strategic position of the CCPE maintains the fundamental idea that culture should be managed as a transcendent resource, strengthening and contributing to development, collaborating in

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social inclusion and promoting the generation of knowledge and responsible thought. Strategic pillars

2. do it, an itinerant exhibition organised by Independent Curators International, from New York, at the CCPE in 2018

Based on three fundamental pillars – innovation, inclusion and sustainability – the CCPE applies strategies aimed at establishing productive synergies with the actors that shape the cultural panorama of the city. Always taking into account the Sustainable Development Goals, the CCPE operates, on the one hand, in accordance with the positions adopted by the municipal authorities of Rosario with respect to cultural matters (its 2030 Strategic Plan identifies Rosario as a Multicultural and Educating City), and on the other, in line with the objectives of Spanish Cooperation’s foreign cultural action. With an agenda that is varied, intense and plainly visible on the cultural map of the city, the CCPE encourages young people to participate, fosters new languages, and seeks new ways of understanding and communicating. In addition, the Centre works to generate human capital in the cultural sector, with special emphasis on the creative industries and projects of a socio-cultural nature, and to create a critical mass resulting in cosmopolitan dialogue among creators, presenters and the public, with open debate and discussion of emerging rights. The CCPE projects are focused, in particular, on the visual and performing arts, film, literature, thought and cultural education. This outlook is determined by the C+D (Culture for Development) strategic pillar, on which are based other concerns such as environmental issues, gender awareness, cultural citizenship and human rights. The CCPE is a pioneering institution in social and cultural innovation, and in its vocation of serving society will continue to promote cultural cooperation for development as a means of social transformation.

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3. Aerial view of the CCPE Amphitheatre

4. Concert in the Principe de Asturias Theatre

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We are part of it

Unavoidable reference

Matías Martínez Actor, director and playwright. Director of the theatre companies La Piara and Tragedias Argentinas. Author of award-winning shows such as Pelo de Grasa (Grease Mop) and Mein Karl.

Graciela Carnevale Conceptual artist, member of the Vanguard Art Group of Rosario, one of those behind the famous artistic-political project known internationally as Tucumán Arde.

The Cultural Centre Parque de España is the City of the Immortals imagined by Borges; its shape and intricate architecture – vast and labyrinthian – let us know that it will persist when we are no longer. Meanwhile, in its galleries, theatres, esplanades and tunnels, we the artists work as we please, and the Centre surrenders to our wishes, allowing itself to be moulded to our fancy. Those of us who inject its concrete with art come to form part of the structure, and hence become immortal.

The Cultural Centre Parque de España is an essential part of the artistic scene in this city, not just for its high-quality programming but also because of the routemap followed. The artists of Rosario have enjoyed a fruitful relationship with this institution, based on collaboration and exchange, over many years. It is always open to dialogue, alert to new challenges, accepting of diversity and interested in all aspects and dimensions of culture. The Centre is resolutely committed to issues such as human rights, gender equality and the defence of the environment, and expresses this commitment in all its actions.

Spanish Cooperation Cultural Centres

A balcony onto the Paraná Miguel Lifschitz Governor of the Province of Santa Fe (2015-2019) and former mayor of Rosario (2003-2011).

There is no greater symbol of the fraternal bond between Spain and Argentina than the Cultural Centre Parque de España. The history of its genesis and development illustrates the strength and depth of the profound ties between us. But it also offers something else, based on what was then a novel form of collaboration: international cooperation and the joint organisation of agendas to work with public and private institutions, on both sides of the Atlantic. The CCPE is much more than its school, its park and its Cultural Centre: it is an inspiration; it is the cornerstone of the most important urban transformation that Rosario has experienced in the last hundred years. With the arrival of this Centre, we no longer turned our backs to the Paraná, but looked around to redefine the relationship between ourselves and river, pledging to recover it for all to enjoy. On the banks of the Paraná, Spain helped us give Rosario a balcony onto its river and to embark towards the future.

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ARGENTINA Cultural Centre of Spain in Cordoba Address Entre Ríos 40, CP X5000AJB, Córdoba Opened 1998 Web https://www.ccec.org.ar/

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Cultural Centre of Spain in Cordoba

As the tango goes, “Twenty years is no time at all”. The Cultural Centre of Spain in Cordoba (CCSC) opened on 7 April 1998, under an agreement reached between the Spanish Agency for International Development Cooperation (AECID) and the Municipality of Cordoba, with the aim of promoting local artists and cultural activity, encouraging collaborative creation between these artists and new forms of Ibero-American expression, and promoting contemporary Spanish culture. The CCSC is located in the heart of the historic city of Cordoba, in a colonial mansion dating from the early 19th century, with a surface area of 1000 square metres. It contains three exhibition rooms, an auditorium with a capacity for 90 people, a centre for media documentation and its own online radio station, Eterogenia. In addition, there are three patios and an outdoor amphitheatre, which are used for live music shows, film screenings and presentations. Since its opening, the CCSC has become a landmark institution within the city, thanks to the innovative themes addressed, the quality of its productions and the large numbers of visitors wishing to view new proposals in local and IberoAmerican aesthetics. Its focus on areas of cultural interest such as media arts and comics, together with the crosscutting approach adopted towards gender issues and the environment, in addition to the Centre’s commitment to diversity and social inclusion, have all contributed to the joint agenda agreed between the CCSC and local institutions, in the view that culture is both a right and an instrument for the transformation and development of the social fabric in the city of Cordoba. The CCSC has pioneered concern to ensure accessibility to cultural spaces in the city. The first measures taken in this respect were to make the architectural space more accessible, for example

by providing ramps and more accessible restrooms; subsequently, the planners considered the accessibility of contents and services. The Centre offers materials in sign language, audio guides, texts in Braille and macro type for every exhibition. In addition to the Tiflo Material and Educational Support Network (MATE), adapted guided tours and movie screenings with descriptive audio are provided. The media library contains the Vero Vanadia-Design for Everyone collection and books for persons with visual disabilities are available through the Tiflolibros Library. The radio station Eterogenia, not only enables ready access to its facilities, but it also has a technical operation console with boards in Braille, together with computers loaded with JAWS software, which allows people with limited vision to read the screen. The radio station transmits two programmes dedicated to inclusion (Atado a un sentimiento and Distintos caminos) (Hooked on a feeling and Different paths). In the customer service area, a programme for the inclusion of persons with disabilities was created following the agreement reached with the Office for Employment Intermediation in the Provincial Secretariat for Fairness and Promotion in Employment. From the outset, the CCSC has represented a node of communication and exchange among cultural agents in the city, offering a wide and varied programme addressing all the languages of artistic creation, including the visual arts, audiovisual work, music, literature, performing arts and education. Ultimately, the aim of the Centre is to facilitate access to culture for the population it serves. The CCSC forms part of a network of municipal cultural centres, and functions in line with the cross-cutting philosophy recommended by the Secretariat of Culture. In this respect, activities it has participated in include Women’s

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Month, Cordoba according to the Cordobans, the Art Market and the Book Fair. At the latter event, Spain was the first country to be invited, in 2014, and many outstanding Spanish writers attended, including Agustín Fernández Mallo and Elvira Navarro. For the “Cordoba Kills” International Meeting of Crime Writers, the CCSC invited the authors Alexis Ravelo, Lorenzo Silva and Ángel de la Calle to present their work. The mixed nature of the Centre enables it to operate in conjunction with other cultural agents such as the Cordoba Culture Agency, within the Provincial Government, and to contribute to the programming of events such as the Mercosur Festival, where works such as El cielo de los tristes [Unhappy heaven] by the Catalonian company Los Corderos and Penev, by the company La Teta Calva have been presented. The CCSC has also collaborated with the Teatro Real of Cordoba, in staging El perro del Hortelano (The dog in the

manger) by the Comedia Cordobesa troupe and Tsunami, by Guillermo Heras, as part of the Jolie Libois Drama Seminar. The CCSC, in addition, has actively participated as part of the cluster EUNIC Fund, organising the six editions of the International Literature Festival, with the presence of writers such as Andrés Barba and Guillermo Abril and the illustrator Javier Zabala. Moreover, the CCSC takes part in the European Cinema Week and in the Diálogos Globales (Global Dialogues) conference, organised in conjunction with the Ministry of Culture. Since 2008, the Centre has been a major protagonist in the world of comic art. It has a comic library, a permanent exhibition space “Suelta de Globos” (Blowing Bubbles) and hosts the annual Docta Comics festival, the only one of its type in Cordoba and which has received contributions from Javier Olivares and David Rubín.

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The CCSC fosters the work of young artists, contemporary thinking and cultural management, as disciplines for local development. As well as its pioneering work in the field of emerging art and in promoting cultural encounters between cultural activists on both sides of the Atlantic, a very significant area of the Centre’s work is its blurring of the boundaries between art and new technologies, in projects such as Agosto Digital (Digital August), Experimentalia, Mediáfora and the International Electroacoustic Music Festival. The CCSC is not only a junction for exchange but also a platform for proposals and an open-access laboratory, as the basis for its cultural schedule, with a strong focus on social and development issues, in which culture is viewed as an aspect of social participation. Our challenge for the future is to incorporate the 2030 Agenda as the core driver for our actions, in the understanding that the concepts of culture and

development have broadened in recent years. And this broadening of the battle field of culture, within a new global agenda such as that contained in the Sustainable Development Goals, encourages us to continue working and to reinforce processes of social innovation, democratic participation, human rights, gender issues and diversity, as an inherent part of our daily routines within Spanish Cooperation.

1. International Contemporary Art Fair ¡Afuera! Arte en Espacios Públicos (Out! Art in Public Spaces), 2010. Globos aerosolares (Hot-air balloons) by Tomás Saraceno

2. Docta Comics Festival held since 2008

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The value of a node, open to change Gonzalo Biffarella Composer and electroacoustic musician. Multimedia artist. Lecturer at the Seminar on Composition with New Technologies at the National University of Cordoba and coordinator of the International Day of Electroacoustic Music.

Quantum physicists, who might be considered the priests of our era, say that we understand the world not through things, but through events, through processes that occur and transform over time. I have been fortunate, as an observer and as a direct participant, to have witnessed the evolution of the Cultural Centre of Spain in Cordoba (CCSC), throughout its 21 years. Twenty-one years of a space-time featuring conversations, agreements and disagreements with the Spanish Cultural Agency and with the decisions taken by Cordoba City Hall, considering and deciding upon the ideas and the work of the hundreds of people who have found in “España Cordoba” (as we call it here), an open door to the development of cultural projects. This channel has enabled projects in multiple directions to be undertaken, lines of work in which major emerging artists from all over Ibero-America have found valuable elements to enrich and finalise their proposals. One such line of work, and undoubtedly the one in which I have been most directly involved, concerns developing the relationship between the arts and new technologies. Since its beginnings, “España Cordoba” has given generous, constant support to media arts. Events such as Agosto Digital, Experimentalia, Mediáfora, MediaLab and the International Day of Electroacoustic Music, to name but a few that I have been involved in, have enabled Spanish and Argentinian artists, and on numerous occasions, representatives of other Latin-American countries, to meet and exhibit their work. Let me stress, however, that this line of research and development is only one of the many that have been promoted by the Centre. For example, valuable projects have also been conducted in association with

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the Universidad Nacional de Córdoba (UNC). Many of the teachers in the Arts Faculty at the UNC have presented their work in one or more of the events held at the CCSC, and have obtained support to invite Spanish artists and theoreticians to seminars and workshops at our Faculty. This fruitful relationship between our two institutions has also given rise to one of the projects with greatest potential today in the field of media arts, namely the Latin America-Europe Anilla Cultural (Cultural Ring). With strong initial support from the AECID, the Anilla was born as a decentralised network in the cultural arena, seeking to make the best possible use of the great global networks, Red Clara in Latin America and Giant in Europe, getting theoreticians and creators talking to each other. In Argentina, the Anilla node was installed at the CCSC thanks to its agreement with the UNC, facilitating access to the InnovaRed fibre optic networks. The Anilla began operating in 2010 with active nodes in Argentina (at the CCSC), in Chile (at the Contemporary Art Museum of Santiago), in Colombia (at the Modern Art Museum of Medellín), in Brazil (at the Cultural Centre of São Paulo) and in Spain (at the Centre of Contemporary Culture in Barcelona). Later, other nodes were added, in Uruguay through Infoart, in Mexico through Cenart and a new one in Colombia at the Caldas University of Manizales. The Anilla was rapidly acknowledged as an invaluable international instrument for dialogue and online creation. It facilitated innumerable collective creations, in real time, and contributed to the generation and consolidation of a critical mass in the media arts, especially in Latin America. Visual artists, musicians, designers, performers, dancers, writers, thinkers, researchers, teachers and managers… all

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became “weavers” of a web, highlighting the value of pooling our resources and abilities. Thanks to the dedication of hundreds of people, that initial project has grown and become transformed into the “España Cordoba” that we have recognise and treasure today. Undoubtedly, many of us wish the energy that runs through the CCSC to continue flowing, and to achieve new forms of expression. The Argentinian and Spanish officials must now respect those wishes and ensure the continuation of this bilateral agreement supported by the CCSC. Its achievements to date bear witness to its value and lead us to dream of many more such achievements in the years to come, in ways that defy our imagination. In my opening words, I referred to physicists and the idea that we only know the world through its changes. Let me conclude this brief text by recalling how much we have learnt of our world through observing and experiencing the changes in our cultural lives made possible by the work of the Cultural Centre of Spain in Cordoba.

PANAMร Cultural Centre of Spain in Panama - Casa del Soldado Address Paseo Esteban Huertas, Casco Viejo, Panamรก Opened 2013 Web http://www.ccecasadelsoldado.org/

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Cultural Centre of Spain in Panama – Casa del Soldado

The Cultural Centre of Spain in Panama – Casa del Soldado (CCS/CdS) is a space for encounter, reflection and learning. A place for the transmission and exchange of knowledge, but above all, a space of community in Panama. In the Cultural Centre, community is understood as a place of refuge, somewhere we can escape from the commercial logic that prevails elsewhere and where we can adopt other perspectives, such as liking and listening. The Centre is associated with the Spanish Agency for International Development Cooperation (AECID), and managed by the Panama-Spain Foundation, a non-profit entity with participation by some of the leading Spanish businesses in the country. This Foundation channels private contributions to supplement the funding received from Spanish Cooperation. The CCS/CdS was inaugurated on 18 October 2013 by the Prince of Asturias, now King Felipe VI of Spain. Since then, it has formed part of the AECID Network of Spanish Cultural Centres. The Casa del Soldado de la Independencia, which hosts the Cultural Centre, is an exceptional building nestled in the centre of the Casco Antiguo (historic city centre) of Panama City, near Paseo Esteban Huertas and beside the city wall which once separated the elite from the less favoured sectors. The Centre is one of the few buildings located within the walls of the Casco Antiguo, which makes it both unusual and charming. Today, it is home to an exemplary programme of cultural activities, originating from Spain and from Panama. The building has a concrete structure and wooden floors, and was constructed in the early twentieth century. At the orders of Octavio Méndez Pereira, the then Education Secretary, the Archaeology and History Department of the National Museum was installed here in June 1925. The halls dedicated to History and Ethnography

displayed a priceless collection of pre-Hispanic art which is currently housed in the Reina Torres de Araúz Anthropological Museum. The National Museum was relocated to new headquarters in the 1930s, and its former home was transferred to a charitable organisation for survivors of the struggle to separate what was then the province of Panama from Colombia in 1903. They were known as the “Soldiers of Independence”, and a small exhibition describing this episode was displayed. During the 1990s, the house was transformed into the headquarters of the National Heritage Directorate and, after a period of inactivity, it was restored in 2010 by AECID, with the support of the Panama Workshop-School. In recent years, the Casco Antiguo has been subjected to an aggressive process of gentrification which has radically changed the urban and social structure of the neighbourhood. Therefore, the relationship between the Cultural Centre and the local community is a fundamental part of its outlook, and the Centre undertakes projects aimed at engagement with its surroundings. The CCS/CdS is currently developing a mediation strategy, preparing a project to be implemented in conjunction with the community. The Centre identifies itself with the dynamics and problems of the neighbourhood, and fosters dialogue with its neighbours by promoting school visits, by means of a programme dedicated to working with the children living in the area, and by opening up spaces for debate and reflection. One aspect of the Centre that has remained unchanged since its origins is its encouragement of participation by the general public and by the local artistic community. The Centre has fostered meeting and discussions, and has made itself a home from home for groups of creators, researchers, users and its own personnel. Local participation is a key element in the Centre’s Strategic Plan. This participation is achieved by working with civil society.

Cultural Centre of Spain in Panama – Casa del Soldado

1. Panamá Aérea, by the International Laboratory for the Creation, Dissemination and Research of Aerial Dance. Presented at the Cultural Centre, September, 2018

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The Centre seeks to provide a platform and to be a catalyst for proposals, not just a producer or a shell for activities. In collaboration with the CCS/CdS, different groups and sectors have made use of this space for their activities, meetings and projects. These include Michita Café, associated with feminist groups, and BlaBlaLab, a programme of debates addressing subjects such as human rights, gender equality and current affairs. The Centre’s facilities are open for discussion and debate, in the view that these aspects are crucial to inclusion, tolerance and democratic health. However, giving citizens a voice and a stage does not make the Centre the protagonist in the project; it is the activists themselves who play the leading role, empowering themselves. The CCS/CdS supports local institutions and collaborates with them, especially in the area of training, under the ACERCA programme of Training for the Development of the Cultural Sector. One such area of collaboration is with the Directorate for Citizen Culture and Education of the Mayor’s Office of Panama, through the Points of Culture programme. This municipal project, carried out in conjunction with the Ministry of Education, transforms schools in the capital city into cultural spaces for community use during weekends. With the support of the Cultural Centre, several workshops focused on cultural management have been conducted under this programme for municipal staff. Another important activity performed by the CCS/CdS is the annual celebration of the Month of Black Ethnicity, which forms part of the Africa in America Festival organised by the Mayor’s Office. The Cultural Centre presents various activities within the framework of this festival, aimed at raising the profile of African-descendant culture in Panama. One of these activities is the exhibition La Travesía (The Crossing), about the culture of Congo, accompanied by an outdoor mural over 100 meters high, narrating the importance of blackness in the construction of the Panamanian identity. The Cultural Centre of Spain in Panama offers a permanent, varied programme of workshops and training courses intended not only to promote cultural management, but also to assist in the recuperation of the historic memory and heritage of the area, playing an active role in management and conservation with local counterparts. More specific

Cultural Centre of Spain in Panama – Casa del Soldado

2. Encounter of artists, as part of the programme Trampolín, July 2018 3. Artists in the programme En una Papa, in a laboratory session in 2018

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workshops are offered on drama and cinema, training and theatrical appreciation. During the last two years, moreover, the Centre has initiated a pedagogic line of action, oriented towards procedural and collaborative participation, self-publishing and the book as an instrument of individual and collective transformation. La Casa del Soldado provides an alternative space, and has a small library of this type of independent publishing output. These workshops and training activities may be classed as tangible projects; but other, less concrete, measures are also worthy of attention, such as the Centre’s prioritisation of debates about professionalisation, recognition and assistance for workers in the creative sector, internal work processes and forms of encounter and collaboration within the Cultural Centre. The 2030 Agenda and the Sustainable Development Goals are incorporated into the Centre’s Management Plan through its vision of culture as a generator of capacities for development. In a world that currently presents a state of alarming social deterioration, it is urgently necessary to discuss and enhance our understanding of these complex questions. In this respect, the CCS/CdS has been working for some years in the field of contemporary art. The broad-based, flexible discussions it holds facilitate research and new ways of thinking, in contrast to other, more formal, approaches. An example of this open-endedness is the programme En Una Papa (Making a name), an inclusive project to foster contemporary art that includes training, professionalisation and assistance with promotion for artists who, for whatever reason, normally work outside the standard art circuit and, in some cases, outside society. This project is an opportunity for them to make their name known, as artists and as artistic movements, and to highlight the importance of their participation in the socio-cultural life of the city. Contemporary artistic practices help us discuss and reflect upon the present through powerful images, with a strong poetic and symbolic content, which raise questions about what is usually considered ‘reality’. Through exhibitions, as well as broader, more extensive projects such as the Trampolín programme, the Cultural Centre has become a major point of reference for contemporary art projects.

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4. Inauguration of the mural La TravesĂa, May 2019

Cultural Centre of Spain in Panama – Casa del Soldado

Culture, in its most general expression, makes us human, helps us resist hegemonic discourses and lends us greater understanding. Culture, through its contribution to knowledge and its capacity to generate critical thought, is a key factor in encouraging respect for diversity, developing creative abilities and promoting real gender equality. Lastly, it is important to acknowledge the Centre’s contribution to the promotion and awareness of Spanish contemporary art and culture through international festivals held in Panama, as well as the projects and programmes offered in order to promote collaborative endeavours, both local and regional. Whether through the network of cultural centres of the region, or through its own projects, the CCS/CdS undertakes programmes for all of Central America. Its membership of the project Central American Artistic Residencies, within the AECID Network of Cultural Centres of the Agency, and its relationship with other institutions in the region, highlight the Centre’s success in helping

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Panama form part of the artistic circuits of Central America, thus overcoming its traditional isolation in this respect. After five years, many challenges remain to be faced, especially regarding participation and mediation. Apart from ensuring the continuation of local dialogue, it is essential to engage in self criticism, because access to culture as an instrument for human development is not a concept that should be restricted to the field of cooperation. The vision of culture as a human right is a challenge that should be addressed by all public cultural spaces and institutions.

5. Concert by the group Niños Mutantes in the Amador Theatre, September 2018

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A house with its doors wide open Adrienne Samos Editor, curator and art critic. Co-founder and editor of the cultural magazine Talingo (1993-2007), winner of the Prince Claus of Holland Award in 2001.

I remember the high hopes many of us had when the Cultural Centre of Spain in Panama – Casa del Soldado, opened six years ago. “It’s about time!”, we exclaimed. Panama had been one of the few capitals in Ibero-America from which the AECID Network of Cultural Centres was still absent. People sometimes talk about “areas of silence”, territories whose isolation or terrible political situation asphyxiates the voices of culture. In Panama, it is quite the contrary. Nicknamed “the hub of the Americas”, the isthmus has one of the most buoyant economies in the continent, a stable democratic system and an optimal geographic location. People and goods from all over the world pass through, incessantly. Perhaps for this reason, major organisations in international management have prioritised much less favoured cities. Nevertheless, a country which enjoys intense commercial activity, and therefore an enviable level of income, does not necessarily distribute its wealth or its cultural climate proportionately. In Panama, it isn’t the silence, but rather the excess of noise that makes so many artistic talents and cultural scenes inaudible, so much so that they are deprived of all institutional support. Fortunately, Casa del Soldado has exceeded our expectations, to the point that it has become one of the few cultural spaces with a flourishing alternative programme. The facilities it offers are frequented and cherished not only by its neighbours, but by Panamanians in general and foreign residents as well, whether or not part of the artistic and academic scene. Over these last few years, the Centre has promoted innumerable exhibitions, book launches, workshops of all types and for all ages (but especially for the young), talks, round tables, debates, theatre, dance, film screenings, concerts…, apart from providing scholarships and residencies. It is apparent that these activities are generated or selected with

great care, to maintain the Centre’s customary high quality, to reinforce links between the communities of Spain, Panama and the region, and to cross over the barriers between art (especially contemporary art), education, critical thinking and the public sphere. With a limited budget and a small team (almost all of whom are young women), the work of Casa del Soldado is carried out professionally, in good spirits and companionship. Much of its “invisible” work consists in providing professional advice – invaluable and yet free of charge – to creators and cultural managers. Likewise, anyone from the neighbourhood or further afield is welcome to visit its cosy library, which provides a space in which to work (with internet access) and to read. Metaphorically and literally, the doors of the house of Spain in Panama City are open to us all.

NICARAGUA Cultural Centre of Spain in Managua Address Primera Entrada a las Colinas, 7 cuadras arriba. Managua Opened 2010 Web http://www.ccenicaragua.org/

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Cultural Centre of Spain in Nicaragua

Since its creation in 2010, the Cultural Centre of Spain in Nicaragua (CCSN) has been associated with Spanish Cooperation through its counterpart, the Nicaraguan Institute of Hispanic Culture, and has been working since 2016 towards its definitive conversion into an Overseas Cooperation Unit, that is, a fully integrated unit within the Spanish Agency for International Development Cooperation (AECID). Today, the CCSN is an acknowledged benchmark for cultural activities in Managua, as a unique place for encounter and exchange. Very few similar institutions in Nicaragua can offer a similar range of alternative programming with such highquality projects and activities. The CCSN is located near the Embassy of Spain, in the residential neighbourhood of Las Colinas, well outside the city centre. This distancing is associated with safety, peace and quiet, which makes the CCSN an attractive venue for the people of Managua. The building was renovated to adapt it to the needs of the Centre and the local cultural sector, and the site is characterised by its broad, open spaces, including a large garden containing many fruit trees and an outdoor area with a versatile scenic space that is used for workshops, concerts, film screenings and other activities. The Centre also has a multi-purpose room that is particularly suitable for exhibitions and lectures, a radio station, a library and a multimedia laboratory. Importantly for its users, the CCSN is one of the few cultural spaces in the city that has no architectural barriers to mobility. The city authorities donated the site to Spain in 1974 for cultural use. In return, the centre agreed to host the Nicaraguan Institute of Hispanic Culture (INCH) and the Nicaraguan Academy of Language within the building. These facilities, therefore, are shared by the three institutions. In addition to the infrastructure, the strongest asset of the CCSN is its personnel, whose degree of

training and professional experience is exceptional in Nicaragua. One of the characteristic elements of the Centre’s functioning is its ceaseless endeavour to involve the local cultural sector and Nicaraguan society as a whole in its activities. For this reason, the selection of projects and programmes is always based on external, open calls for participation that are published on the Centre’s website. Thus, artists, cultural managers and planners play a direct role in the cultural agenda of the CCSN, which enables innovative projects from different fields to be presented. Every year, a call for participation is published, taking into account the Centre’s goals and priorities, on the basis of which the projects for the following year are chosen. The authors of those selected then receive guidance to ensure that their work is in line with the Centre’s procedures and lines of action. In addition to this annual general call for participation, specific calls are made throughout the year in order to balance the programming and to ensure that all areas of attention are represented. This approach enables the CCSN to determine the current status of the cultural sector (its needs, its potential and its shortcomings), as well as the cultural interests of Nicaraguan society. This selection method also provides ongoing dialogue and ensures the transparency of the process. For the Centre, the underlying principle in this approach is to maximise the impact produced by its activities while consuming the least possible amount of economic resources, and to act in a way that is consistent with its operational context. The open policy pursued in the reception and consideration of projects reinforces the Centre’s connection with society and ensures economic transparency and efficiency. Apart from the projects selected by means of the above public process, activities are also organised

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1. Reading makes your imagination soar, part of the project Childrenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Saturdays of Drama and Reading, in association with Nicassitej, March 2019

2. Creative process of Radio Tormenta, a play presented by persons with disabilities and by the elderly. June, 2017

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by the Centre’s own personnel. One such is the programme entitled Cineando el cambio (Cinema for change), a proposal that invites dialogue and reflection on the realities that are reflected through social cinema; another is Lo Audiovisual, a training project for university students in which film creators share tools and resources from the different areas of audio-visual production. Interesting projects are also performed in association with the Centre’s library and its radio station. The library was created six years ago as a space for work, reference and research, open to all. It has a large volume of literature of all types, including magazines and journals and specialist archives on contemporary art, training and cultural management. With over 14,500 volumes, this library is unique in Managua and continues to be popular and highly regarded. It currently has more than a thousand library-card holders and visitor numbers are always high. Moreover, the library is not only a space for reading, it also organises weekly activities such as story-telling for children and the Book and Coffee reading club for adults. Since 2012, the CCSN has had a fully equipped radio studio for recording, content production and specialised technical training. The studio is also used for the on-line CCSN Radio project, which publishes weekly podcasts addressing diverse areas of interest. In Letras descafeinadas (Decaffeinated writing), for instance, authors discuss their proposals; La Bitácora (the Logbook) analyses Nicaraguan and Spanish cultural current affairs; and Chavalos en la Onda (Kids on the Wave) provides a monthly space for children from Managua schools to produce their own podcast. The Centre is currently restructuring its strategies to reach a larger audience, with video recordings of the programmes and a stronger presence in social networks. In addition to the above, some very important projects, designed and implemented with the support of the CCSN, have become firmly established in Nicaragua and have continued to be applied over a considerable period. Thus, the Emerge Project, currently in its sixth edition, showcases emerging young musical talents; its application has been extended throughout Central America via the Network of Cultural Centres. The ContentArte project, currently in its fourth edition, has created an artistic group for children, some of whom have

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disabilities. Other projects in this line include Children’s Saturdays, The Story Route and The Kamanali Route, which promote drama, reading and universal values for children, young people and older adults, respectively. The CCSN is also outstanding for the generous support it offers to leading Nicaraguan festivals, such as the Lady Fest, which promotes female artists, the International Poetry Festival of Granada, the Jazz Festival, the Ibero-American Film Festival, the Justo Rufino Garay Experimental Theatre Festival and the Centroamérica cuenta (Central America counts) Festival, directed by Nicaraguan writer Sergio Ramírez, a winner of the Cervantes Prize. The Centre also collaborates with the European Union and its Member States in areas such as the European Film Festival, and in the recent commemoration of the 70th anniversary of the Declaration of Human Rights. Various such projects have contributed to the consolidation of the IberoAmerican Cultural Space, and in alliance with other Cultural Centres in the region a growing number of student residencies, i.e. artistic cultural exchanges in Central America, have been awarded. In Nicaragua, the cultural sector is still not highly professionalised, and there remains a great need for training in cultural management and promotion. In fact, institutional support and public spaces for the development of cultural projects or for professional training are practically non-existent. Nevertheless, the CCSN is working in this field to reinforce the professional capacities of cultural agents, by providing specialist training, both through the ACERCA programme and also via workshops given by Spanish artists and planners who have been invited by the Centre to participate in activities and festivals. Thus, journalists, librarians, designers, cultural managers, oral narrators, writers, producers, performing artists and musicians have received valuable instruction in these workshops. This training facility provided by the Centre is acknowledged and appreciated in Nicaraguan cultural circles. Thanks to its varied programming and the ceaseless contextualisation of its activities, the CCSN is commonly viewed as an avant-garde cultural alternative. Popular culture is deeply rooted in Nicaragua, in areas such as folk dances, traditional music, crafts, the colonial historical-artistic heritage, religious syncretism, popular theatre and the national festivals. The country is also characterised by its

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3. Florecé (Come into bloom), a mural that formed part of an illustration workshop “Ni azul ni rosado” (Neither blue nor pink), given by Andrea Fonseca in July 2017.

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extensive literary/poetic tradition and as being the birthplace of great writers. In general, however, local agents still pay little attention to contemporary visual and plastic arts. In terms of exhibition spaces and exhibitions, there has been a slight increase, but interest remains scant. The same is true of cultural exchanges and initiatives to promote cultural products by Nicaraguan creators. In this regard, the CCSN is working to overcome these deficiencies and to meet the cultural needs recognised. The value of the Centre’s contributions lies in the content offered and the variety of audiences addressed. The cultural actions of Spanish Cooperation in Nicaragua have been diversified, reaching a broad public and ensuring Spain’s identity as a country that promotes equality and avantgarde culture, that provides specialist training in cultural management and art, and that facilitates the exchange and development of Ibero-American

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creators and artists. Numerous initiatives have been undertaken to foster the greater inclusion in society of women, LGBTI persons, indigenous populations, African-descendants and persons with disabilities. Certain groups and individuals regularly attend the Centre’s activities and participate in its calls, but activities and workshops are continually being organised to increase the Centre’s appeal, by identifying potential new activists and audiences. Thus, its cultural offer has been broadened in line with the perceived demand, attracting children and young people, older adults, social groups, schools and universities. Over the years, the CCSN has entered into various alliances with national and international institutions and organisations to maximise the impact of its programming and to extend its cultural proposals beyond the capital city. However, due to the political situation in the country, many other institutions in this field have closed or significantly reduced their activity. The withdrawal of much of the cultural cooperation formerly present has heightened the importance of the AECID as a promoter and enabler of development. On occasion, the polarisation currently observed in the political sphere spreads across to the field of culture; in consequence, it is not uncommon for a purely cultural activity to be converted into an act of political demands or propaganda, or to be interpreted as such. The CCSN has the virtue of being regarded as a neutral force, and its facilities are among the few spaces where people of different ideologies may still co-exist. Thus, in addition to being a vitally important cultural space, the CCSN is also a well-considered area of encounter, recreation, education, tolerance and neutrality. While almost all other cultural centres and spaces had to close at some time during the 2018 crisis, the CCSN was able to continue with its programming. In difficult times, the need for physical movement was minimised or avoided by the use of online training and over 200 people took part in different workshops in this format. In summary, the Cultural Centre of Spain in Nicaragua has made outstanding achievements in its short existence, and is widely acknowledged for the diversity and quality of the training it offers, for its invaluable cultural proposals, for its defence of cultural rights and for providing a space of reflection and dialogue for all.

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The impact of the CCSN in Nicaragua Mario Ruiz Music producer, arranger and singer-songwriter. Holder of a law degree and studies in Spanish language and literature. In conjunction with SaXo Productions, currently organising the Emerge Project.

Seven years ago, at the initiative of the Cultural Centre of Spain in Nicaragua (CCSN), we started working on the Emerge Project, to support new young bands, helping them become established on the national stage, and to expand the range of music on offer. After seven years of intense work in this field, the scenario is now much more professional and, despite current problems, the future is promising. The upsurge in new bands did not take place by chance; in 2015 alone, more than 60 bands applied to take part in the fifth edition of Project Emerge. During the last seven years, over 300 artists have collaborated with us in 16 concerts (13 in Nicaragua and 3 elsewhere in Central America), there have been 11 round tables and training workshops and over 2,500 people have joined us in the CCSN to make use of its technical facilities, comfort and safety. The Centre is now generally considered a valuable resource both for the artistic community and for the people of Managua. On the other hand, despite the Centreâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s achievements, there remains an urgent need to create new spaces for artists in general. Art must be brought to the different neighbourhoods of Managua and further afield; professional artists and cultural managers should be urged to express solidarity with new talents and foster alternatives so that the public may become more receptive to art in general. As a priority, we should also encourage and raise awareness of artistic creation by women, and break with the still-entrenched cultural mafia that is obstructing the artistic progress we so greatly deserve.

Lastly, it is important to continue this project throughout Central America, achieving greater exposure for the art of Nicaragua and procuring exchanges with the other Cultural Centres of Central America, to enrich the artistic scene and benefit individual artists. As a musician and a cultural manager, I am committed to supporting young talented artists. Of course, however, we must recognise that the scene is still at a very initial stage and that now, more than ever, our efforts should be focused on supporting artistic traditions that affirm, discover and express the fundamental traits of Nicaraguan identity.

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Corazón Contento y ContentARte (A Happy Heart and Contented Art); art plus disability is possible Patricia Fernández Spanish educational psychologist specialised in early care and early childhood education. Head of the Corazón Contento Comprehensive Development Centre in Granada, Nicaragua, which promotes social inclusion projects through drama and the visual arts.

From the start of this project, nervously and with much hard work, we have endeavoured to demonstrate that people with disabilities have many artistic talents. From the outset, the Cultural Centre of Spain in Nicaragua (CCSN) provided all possible assistance to make this possible. Combining different areas of artistic interest, year after year, we have worked together to accomplish this goal. The CCSN and Corazón Contento have joined forces in this project to use culture as a tool for development, in the view that development in this context means changing the outlook of the community and gaining more respect for people with disability. From that first meeting until the sixth week, the group grew in numbers and finally presented their play The Little Prince without barriers, an adaptation of The Little Prince, by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry. Seeing all the participants reassuring each other, during the make-up and wardrobe sessions prior to curtainup, was exciting, but even more so was their artistic expressiveness during the show. Jasser Pérez, one of the actors, was a 29-yearold with cerebral palsy, who had never been to a 15thbirthday celebration (a family tradition in Nicaragua when girls reach that age). He was invited to such a party by a fellow cast member. That day, Jasser, for the first time in his life, was able to feel like “one of the gang” at a party with music and girls. This made us realise that our project was not only beneficial at an artistic level, but also produced very positive emotional and social outcomes. The CCSN has been supportive of this project, contributing many ideas and innovations

to make it better day by day. The Centre plays a fundamental role in our community, helping us defend the rights of persons with disabilities through the medium of culture. The CCSN management team and organisation has given our young people the opportunity to express themselves and to feel part of the society in which they live, and to recognise the emotional expressiveness within every one of them. Because art plus disability is indeed possible.

GUATEMALA Cultural Centre of Spain in Guatemala Address 6ª Ave 11-02, zona 1, Edificio Lux, nivel 2, 01001, Centro Histórico, Ciudad de Guatemala Opened 2004 Web https://www.cceguatemala.org/

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Cultural Centre of Spain in Guatemala

The Guatemalan Institute of Hispanic Culture opened on 16 February 1955, a few months after the governments of Guatemala and Spain resumed diplomatic relationships, at the initiative of two Spanish Jesuits, Carmelo Sáenz de Santa María and Isidro Iriarte, who were also closely involved in the creation of the first Catholic university in Guatemala, the Rafael Landivar University, in 1961. The internal conflict that afflicted Guatemala for thirty-six years (1960-1996) also affected the Institute. In the 1960s and 1970s, its activity within the cultural life of the country alternated between periods when its programme was rich and dynamic, with long years of silence. This was especially so in the early 1980s, when Spain and Guatemala broke off relations following the vile assassination of its then President, Roberto Mertins. The Institute remained closed for five years. With the renewal of relationships in 1985, the Institute flourished again at its headquarters in Plazuela España, where it remained for nearly twenty years, as a benchmark of cultural excellence in a scenario that brightened as the conflict gradually declined in intensity. There were commemorations of Spanish writers, debates on Spanish theatre, exhibitions by Guatemalan artists such as Isabel Ruiz, Zipacná de León, Efraín Recinos and Rolando Ixquiac, and poetry readings from Luis Alfredo Arango, Amable Sánchez, Francisco Morales Santos, Ana María Rodas or Delia Quiñónez… to name but a few of the activities held in the Institute. This stage of its existence concluded with the signing of the treaty between the Institute of Hispanic Culture and the Spanish Agency for International Development Cooperation (AECID) in November 2004 which transformed the Institute into the Cultural Centre of Spain in Guatemala (CCSG) “as a civilian association, non-lucrative, private, apolitical, non-religious, of a cultural

character acting in accordance with the laws of Guatemala, with legal personality, with its own capital and capacity to acquire rights and to take on responsibilities”. It thus became an institution of shared management, an Associated Centre of Spanish Cooperation, which introduced itself to Guatemalan society as a renovated project with bold proposals. This was the first step of a profound change, which brought about the professionalisation of the management team, the implementation of programmes and projects promoting Spanish and Ibero-American culture, greater cultural cooperation and the nascent Culture and Development Strategy Paper (2007). The new Cultural Centre was warmly welcomed and has since come to form an essential part of cultural life in Guatemala, remaining so until the present. In parallel, the CCSG formed a closer relationship with the Spanish Technical Cooperation Office and with the Spanish Cooperation Training Centre in La Antigua, thus reinforcing the already significant presence of Spanish Cooperation in Guatemala. Membership of the AECID Network of Cultural Centres gave the CCSG the opportunity to participate in online initiatives that made a significant impact in Central America, including the projects Migraciones: Mirando al Sur (Migrations: Looking towards the South), Arquitectura de Remesas (The Architecture of Remittances) and En Clave Afrocaribe (In tune with the Afro-Caribbean), with the participation of every country in the region. These proposals highlighted the potential of online collaboration as a powerful tool for cultural cooperation. This type of regional cooperation has continued in various regional projects, such as the Programme of Central American Artistic Residencies, which is currently in its third edition.

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1. Closing event of the ZOM (Music Zone) project, to reinforce the music sector in Guatemala. November 2011

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During the last fifteen years, the CCSG has been located in three different areas of the capital, in each of which it has made its mark, creating warm, lasting memories. Carrying out so many changes in such a short time is no easy task, and would have strained the resources of any institution, but the Centre’s team never faltered, handling each situation with ability and enthusiasm. Nowadays, the CCSG is located in the historical city centre, on the main pedestrian street of the city, Paseo de la Sexta. Its relocation to this area coincided with the urban renewal process initiated by the City Hall in response to the situation of neglect and rising violence in the area for many years. The challenge of this relocation, involving the acquisition and adaptation of a former cinema into a modern cultural centre, was overcome successfully. Nevertheless, this area is now fundamentally commercial, and one in which other cultural initiatives have been unable to flourish, and some have been forced to close. As in other historical city centres, the neighbourhood is undergoing a relentless process of gentrification. Moreover, the level of street violence remains high. The Centre’s programming is based on the cultural guidelines issued by the AECID and on the annual instructions received through the Embassy. As a cultural platform, the CCSG offers a regular schedule of contemporary art, in all its forms. Its spaces are also used for rehearsals, script readings, presentations of research studies, meetings of experts and neighbourhood events. In other words, the building provides a site in which citizenship can be constructed. One of its most important contributions may have been to assist Las Poderosas (Strong Women), a group of female victims of violence who, through theatre, achieve empowerment, to become solidly established in the city. The Centre’s exhibition spaces have hosted some of the best pieces created in Guatemalan contemporary art, as well as projects critical of the surrounding harsh reality. Memorable shows that have been presented include Outsiders, a panorama of contemporary art created by indigenous artists; Imaginaria, disidente (Imaginarium, Dissident), the first complete retrospective of the group Imaginaria, an essential element of Guatemalan contemporary art; and more recently Arte Digital, which is still a

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relatively unknown area of creation in Guatemala. In addition to Guatemalan artists, the Centre has presented itinerant exhibitions enabling visitors to contemplate and enjoy the work of Spanish artists. In this respect, the exhibition The Prado Museum in Guatemala made a powerful impact, as did Vida (Life) by the photojournalist Gervasio Sánchez, who highlights the tenacity of life in times of conflict. The latest tendencies in drama, music, dance, circus, film, and many other fields have also been presented in the Centre’s auditorium; programmes such as ZOM, Aves Raras (Rare birds) and Independiente have given a platform to musicians; Escénica Poética (Poetry Scene) has done so for poets, dramatists and actors; and Horizontales enables primary and secondary schoolchildren to meet authors, both established figures and those just starting out. The CCSG has also hosted film festivals dedicated to the recovery of the collective memory, such as la Muestra de Cine Internacional Memoria Verdad Justicia (International Memory of True Justice Film Festival), FICMAYAB’ (International Festival of Film and Communication of Indigenous Peoples), Muestra de Cine Paraíso Desigual (Unequal Paradise Film Festival) and Festival Internacional de Cine en Centroamérica Ícaro (Icaro International Festival of Film in Central America). In addition to these events, the Centre presents a regular schedule favouring spaces for reflection and encounter, to address complex issues of modern life, with titles such as “Lest we forget: the evolution of culture in Guatemala from 1996 to 2016”; “Towards a reconsideration of copyright law: collectives and collaborative, open access networks”; “Memories of the disappeared: clandestine detention centres in Guatemala”. Apart from these actions, which are perhaps the most visible aspect of a cultural centre’s activities, the CCSG has always placed great emphasis on instruction and learning. The CCSG has benefited greatly from the ACERCA programme, which has enabled it to offer the Guatemalan cultural sector a wide range of courses and workshops, and these have always been well received. In recent years, its Vivero de Economía Creativa (Creative Economy Incubator), an initiative fostering cultural entrepreneurship and youth employability, has conducted three courses of its Diploma of Creative Entrepreneurship, endorsed by the country’s leading

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university, San Carlos (USAC), from which 150 young people have graduated. This experience is now being analysed and systematised so that it may be further improved in future editions. The Centre has a well-stocked library with approximately four thousand volumes, mainly focused on art and culture. The CCSG, aware of the very positive role it plays in the city, strives to present a wide range of cultural manifestations, contributing to public presence and participation and, at the same time, contributing to reducing the violence, with projects such as Street Cinema, Art and Fun in Paseo de la Sexta, Street Poetry - Thoughts to Liberate our Walls, and the Independent Publishersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Fair on National Book Day. The Centre also works in conjunction with other bodies, municipal and private, that encourage initiatives to make the public space one of encounter for citizens, in mutual acceptance. The institution, which this year is celebrating its 64th anniversary and its 15th since the signing of the agreement with the AECID, has evolved through various stages, some better than others. Now it is preparing to face fresh challenges for the

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cultural sector with the incorporation of the goals of the 2030 Agenda into its working principles. In doing so, the Centre will need to become an Overseas Cooperation Unit within the AECID, and moreover, find new headquarters to better meet its financial and physical needs, to enable its personnel to work in optimum conditions, and to bring its administrative situation into line with that of the other Cultural Centres. The CCSG, thus, is preparing to meet the persistent challenges of cultural management and to achieve the sustainable development goals.

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2. Itinerant exhibition, The Prado Museum in the Streets, in Guatemala City, 2015

3. The actor Rubén Ávila in Ser el tiempo (Being time), presented in the sixth edition of Poetry Scene, in October 2015

4. Exhibition Guatemala Después (Guatemala Afterwards), produced by the cultural centre Ciudad de la Imaginación de Quetzaltenango, September 2015

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The Culture Centre and its heartbeat Itziar Sagone Echeverría Cultural manager, communicator and artist, Director of the Paiz Foundation for Education and Culture. In her career, she has supported many initiatives in favour of community development.

Cheerfulness, vitality, conscience, respect. The Cultural Centre of Spain in Guatemala embodies these and other concepts dear to human development, based on creation and empathy. Each of its actions, however small, is inspired by the urge to foster openness and dialogue. This, in a country in which discussion and words often generate friction is something to appreciate and be thankful for. The Centre has received a weighty inheritance. Its transformation from the Guatemalan Institute of Hispanic Culture to the Cultural Centre of Spain in Guatemala was more than skin deep, requiring those involved to look inwards and to see themselves through other eyes. This change represented Spain’s clear intention to produce a change of outlook, considering cultural relationships from another angle, perhaps one closer to home. I grew up with an idealised image of the Guatemalan Institute of Hispanic Culture in its first renovation, around 1980. My father was working there at that time, which he recalls with great affection. As a young girl, I used to go there, too. Then, it was one of the few cultural spaces which actively promoted art and culture, and not just Spanish culture, although this was given priority. The Institute was open to intellectuals, thinkers, artists and creators. Open to all those who had something to say. And, for its time, it was a space that sought to foster and empower. The sea change from the Institute to the Cultural Centre of Spain was just right for those new times, which were convulsive, technological and highly symbolic. The early years were vital to the Centre’s new form. The institutional change was accompanied by major political and economic support which allowed the Centre to host discussions and to adopt a global outlook, even when this produced discomfort on the local stage. Today the

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Centre converses, flows, coexists and is capable of alternating between the most unlikely proposals, recognising the worth of each. But it is also solid enough to stop and talk about substantive issues, giving them the importance and space they deserve, ensuring due thought is given to the questions that matter. In this, I am reminded of a discussion that took place about the cultural sector in the context of the twentieth anniversary of the Peace Agreements. Although various institutions and artists participated, the CCSG was the only one in the sector to raise its voice, reviewing what had taken place in the years gone by. Advances and setbacks were analysed by this protagonist in a dual approach: in addition to viewing itself in retrospect, the Centre showed it was capable of unifying a sector that was too often characterised by isolation and separation. One of the most important decisions taken by the Centre was to support the creation and the empowerment of the theatre group Las Poderosas, highlighting the value of life and of collective reality, and identifying the wounds that must be healed so that in the future we may come to be complete human beings, formed from our own complexity. With this support alone, the Cultural Centre of Spain in Guatemala showed that by means of specific actions we can address and advance towards ten of the seventeen Sustainable Development Goals. As the Director of a local institution, I am grateful to the team of professionals at the Cultural Centre of Spain for their incredible empathy with the heartbeat of this country and for their commitment to us. Specifically, I am grateful to them for opening up their home to host the Paiz Art Biennial, from its eighteenth edition to the most recent one. In this, the Centre has played a very important role, giving

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its space and enabling this exhibition which, though heart-breaking, is full of life, revealing the entrails of our society today. For the Paiz Foundation, the Cultural Centre of Spain is a partner after our own heart, for whom we wish all the best. In these men and women working at the Centre, Spain has magnificent ambassadors of ideas and thought, a team that is totally committed day after day, who work with the humility and clarity of mind of those who recognise the importance of culture for human development and communication.

Featured Projects

Mural at La Casa Tomada, San Salvador

Project of the Cultural Centre of Spain in San Salvador

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La Casa Tomada

Background

La Casa Tomada is a project of the Cultural Centre of Spain in El Salvador, which began in 2012, and combines various types of management models, both European and American. In Spain, the Matadero Madrid Cultural Centre, focused on the world of contemporary creative work, opened in 2006, and set out an innovative line, providing an alternative space for groups working in the fields of drama, film and design, among other areas. Subsequently, the Tabacalera Selfgoverning Social Centre opened in the Madrid neighbourhood of Lavapiés in 2010, when Ángeles Albert was Director General for Fine Arts in the Spanish Ministry of Culture. The Tabacalera centre represented a model that was closer to the local population and to the protests being voiced by young people with few alternative channels of expression. It opened the way to a new type of public-private collaboration, in which shared management was an essential aspect of its structure. This same approach was adopted by La Casa Tomada in 2011, in line with many other initiatives of this type aroused by the 15M citizens’ movement, as part of a widespread reaction to political and social problems and deficiencies, particularly within the cultural sector. The term “private” came to be used by many entities, ranging from corporate interests to citizens’ movements, from foundations created by large corporations to neighbourhood associations or marginalised groups. However, it was the latter type of organisation that really made an impression in towns and cities, especially in less privileged neighbourhoods. The cutbacks in funding for culture encouraged a new generation of groups and communities to step in, united by common interests. In a way, the financial crisis stimulated

other ways of managing culture: on the one hand, these new entities were more philanthropic and horizontal, but they were also more profitable and sustainable. Today, as can be seen in the Culture and Citizenship initiative of the Ministry of Culture, there are many such associative projects and spaces. From the rural world, to new technologies, through housing, leisure, urban vegetable plots or any other area imaginable, the paradigm of community management has become part of our DNA, not only among the new generations, but among society as a whole. La Casa Tomada then, is a child of its times. In America, one of the inspirational models that has most strongly influenced La Casa is Puntos de Cultura (Culture Points), a project aimed at enhancing community cultural activities and, more broadly, the philosophy of its creator, the Brazilian Celio Turino. Secretary of Culture for Brazil between 2004 and 2010 and promoter of the programme Community Living Culture, carried out via Culture Points. Turino visited La Casa Tomada on various occasions to provide guidance and instruction to its staff and users. Other models such as the Network of Arts and Crafts Workshops (FAROS) in Mexico, the mARTadero project in Bolivia and the Brazilian network of cultural groups Fora do Eixo, among others, were also keenly observed by La Casa Tomada in shaping its model of administration and management. The name The name is inspired by the short story by Julio Cortázar, Casa tomada (House taken over), a dialectic inquiry into the boundaries between “I” and “we”. The text narrates the gradual occupation of a large house by a group of entities expressed as an indefinite

La Casa Tomada

plural, which take control of the house from its former inhabitants. In this tale, the author reflects the strength of “we”, as a collective that is nameless and faceless, with no recognisable subjects, which is seeking a utopian space, to be shared for the common good. In Spanish, “casa” (house, home) is a habitual term of endearment for places controlled by their inhabitants. In Latin America, it is used to provide a means of distinguishing groups of emigrants from different Spanish regions. Since those former times, and up to today’s squatter movement, the term has become part of the collective subconscious, describing a place where the inorganic energy of its components brought together a group of people with shared interests and tastes. Finally, “tomada - taken over” refers to the possibility of exercising control over culture through the community. Born from the crisis La Casa Tomada came into being during an international economic crisis, which had a severe impact on the Spanish economy and provoked a sharp reduction in the amount of financial assistance provided for development and culture. This cutback, which at first appeared to be an obstacle, ultimately proved to be an incentive, inspiring us to resolve the question of funding as a matter of urgent necessity. As a major point of reference in the cultural life of the country, the Cultural Centre of Spain in El Salvador offered such a broad range of activities and invited so many groups to participate that a single building was not enough for everything to take place simultaneously. The dimensions and extent of its activities meant that additional space for growth was essential. However, just when this need for more space became starkly apparent, the financial crisis made any idea of the Centre’s expansion impossible at that time. In addition, the Centre had various resources that were under-utilised, such as radio recording and transmitting equipment, a sound studio and audiovisual editing facilities, all of which needed their own space. The Centre was then using the same space for exhibitions, concerts, drama and conferences. In view of the impossibility of physical expansion, it sought alternative possibilities, in those times of crisis.

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The brand identity La Casa Tomada is an attempt to orchestrate a body of individual volitions to generate a cultural ecosystem. Like the sun and the planets, diverse collectives gravitate around the common good. The Assembly is an organic entity that defines, reconciles and guides the coexistence, survival, communication and social and cultural action of the communities and of “La Casa”. There are two levels of organisation: on the first, resident and itinerant groups are governed by a model of self-management; on the second, the groups form an alliance, for the common good, collaborating in the operation of La Casa and creating a model of group cohesion within an environment of shared knowledge. The products and services of La Casa have great symbolic value and precise quantitative validity. However, the impact generated and the value provided cannot easily be measured by traditional means. Identifying the agents, processes and benefits involved in the creative economy is both complex and diffuse, which makes it a challenge to obtain data giving a definitive understanding of the impact produced. The management philosophy of La Casa generates value in ways that go beyond the merely monetary, based on the economics of exchange, on a philosophy in which barter, trust in human relationships and creative freedom play a major role. Among its great achievements, La Casa Tomada recognises and acknowledges art and culture as a way of life, especially in its incursions into territories where the cultural sector does not often appear as a dynamic axis of the economy. Since it was founded, La Casa has demonstrated the potential of creative economies, hosting a broad range of initiatives arising from the talents of artists and creators. This potential has been developed with the facilities provided by an integrated ecosystem of connections that foster the strengthening of collaborative relationships. La Casa Tomada has generated cultural dynamics that can be replicated in other spaces, adapted according to context and local identity, to the dynamics of the community, to idiosyncrasies and to the circumstances of time and space.

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1. The coffee shop of La Casa Tomada

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2. Co-working space in La Casa Tomada

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The community management model Community cultural management is based on the idea that the group should be the main protagonist, and that participation, democratisation, creativity, productivity, circulation and the access to and consumption of culture should all be encouraged. For this purpose, the methods used are rooted in proximity and in the capacity for self-managed development. As Celio Turino observes, culture must be idiosyncratic, with local roots. Therefore, cultural centres must support the cultural manifestations of their surroundings. The task of the community cultural manager is to foster initiatives, report on the possibilities and potential of the area, generate ideas, raise questions, foster dialogue and build a sense of self esteem and self sufficiency in the community. The inclusive action taken by La Casa promotes networking, collaborative culture, the construction of collective knowledge, the exchange of experiences, peer work and intergenerational dialogue. Traditional knowledge may share the space with avant-garde ideas, an aesthetic experience may share space with a technological one. This model allows communities that had become invisible and groups lacking support to channel their work and to find a new voice of their own, a new way to build and participate in public affairs and political decision making. The projects of La Casa establish synergies among spaces, provide new forums and opportunities, facilitate visibility and strengthen the groups involved. The organisational model of La Casa Tomada is an organic one, which has evolved, adapting to reality and the lessons learnt. Its governing body, termed The Assembly, is composed of the users of La Casa. It distributes tasks, sets out road maps, generates objectives, determines management policies and in general guides the actions of La Casa. The Assembly is responsive, encourages participation and is responsible for all the actions taken in La Casa. Its proposals are based on experience, and solutions are reached through consensus, solidarity, critique and purposeful initiatives. Since 2013, La Casa Tomada has had Committees for Cultural Action, for Visual Arts,

3. Tattoo workshop

4. Recording studio

La Casa Tomada

for Communications, for Coexistence and for Management and Sustainability, each composed of inhabitants and ‘nomads’ of La Casa, but not necessarily by all those who make up the Assembly. The assembly model of La Casa is employed continually. The general goal is for an assembly to be held once monthly, with the participation of all inhabitants and nomads. The different committees meet according to their specific needs and functions, at a frequency that varies from once a week to once a month. An interesting question that arose from this situation was that of the management model. Cultural spaces, due to their dimensions and the nature of the work performed, require specialist personnel, and appropriate maintenance of their equipment and facilities. Institutionally, it was difficult to meet this need, and so a collective model of management model was also essential, so that those who made use of the space should provide corresponding support. The political model of administration of La Casa Tomada, from its conception as a cultural space, is perhaps one of the most interesting contributions of the entire experience. This type of management required us to cease to be dependent on the Cultural Centre, so that the Assembly could be autonomous in its decisions, as the sovereign governing body of La Casa. The transfer of responsibility for the sustainability of the space to citizens and groups, naturally, meant they had to have decision-making capabilities, i.e., empowerment. Actors To reflect the different types of persons involved in its use, La Casa Tomada created its own taxonomy of ‘actors’: • Inhabitants are people or groups that manage and administer La Casa as their own shared space. They generate their own, educational, creative and/or productive activities, to carry out their own tasks. They can share the space with other groups or people with similar activities, to contribute to the sustainability of La Casa. By making use of a space, the inhabitants acquire the responsibility to actively participate in the collaborative management of La Casa Tomada, through participation in the Assembly and in the work committees.

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• Nomads are people or groups that use a common space of La Casa Tomada more or less frequently to carry out their own activities. They can actively participate in the collaborative management of La Casa Tomada or through the Assembly and the committees, or through cultural production in the common spaces of La Casa, and make a financial contribution to collective sustainability. • Casanauts are cultural agents who believe in the collaborative philosophy of La Casa Tomada, which they have experienced or conceptualised in other areas of the world of collective management. They maintain contact with the Assembly from a distance and sometimes collaborate by sharing knowledge, promoting, reviewing and evaluating processes, building bridges between different standpoints, and contributing to the growth and impact of this form of collective management. • Friends are individuals, institutions and groups who do not always need a physical space in which to carry out activities in La Casa Tomada, but who wish to contribute generously to its growth, facilitating new alliances, as ambassadors of its philosophy and attracting new users and potential allies. Such friends include social and collaborative entities, private companies, philanthropists and opinion formers. • Members of the public are supporters of the initiative and users of its resources and facilities. The spaces When it first started, La Casa Tomada did not have fixed spaces assigned for its activities, but grew into its space naturally and organically, with the arrival of different groups. Currently, it is home to sixteen different groups. Some of its spaces have been converted, others have disappeared, and new ones have been created. In addition to the spaces managed by groups, there are areas common to all, such as the garden, the concert hall, the exhibition spaces and the rehearsal room. Of the self-managed spaces, special mention should be made of the hub, which not only provides a place in which to work and share with others, but also fosters creative industry by incubating social and cultural ventures, projects seeking economic and social change. Another space, the digital manufacturing laboratory, is equipped with advanced technological equipment such as 3D

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5. Products in the shop of La Casa Tomada 6. Space for creation

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7. Adultâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s choir of La Casa Tomada 8. Painting workshop

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printers, laser cutters and Arduino processors, which enable entrepreneurs and artists to experiment and create prototypes. Interaction and radiation La Casa Tomada has received substantial support from the European Union for its project Culture for all, Building new worlds. This funding enabled us not only to acquire equipment and human resources but also to invest in the organisation and administration of La Casa and to extend our cultural action further afield. The implementation of this project reinforced La Casa internally and at the same time allowed it to work in Colonia de San Benito, an affluent neighbourhood, and also in Colonia de Las Palmas, an inner-city borough with precarious services, both facilitating access to culture and the services of La Casa, and also enabling us to participate in cultural initiatives by groups such as Vacilarte. This extension

of cultural action into a neighbouring public space has strengthened the social fabric of relevant actors in the area, such as galleries, cultural centres and concert halls, thus complying with Sustainable Development Goal No. 11 in the 2030 Agenda, which refers to achieving sustainable cities and communities. A culture of peace For many years, El Salvador has undergone the social scourge of violence and the phenomenon of the maras (street gangs). La Casa Tomada intends to continue providing a neutral space for conciliation, seeking to foster coexistence, democratisation and social peace, through culture.

Project of the Cultural Centre of Spain in the City of Mexico in collaboration with Ateneo Español en México and Fundación Telefónica

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Laboratorio de CiudadanĂa Digital

The Laboratorio de CiudadanĂa Digital (Digital Citizenship Laboratory, DCL) is a training platform that combines arts, sciences and information and communication technologies (ICTs) to offer a wide range of workshops helping children and young people exercise their cultural rights. Since its creation in 2014, the DCL has operated as a public-private partnership between the Cultural Centre of Spain in Mexico (CCSMx) and the TelefĂłnica Foundation in Mexico. This alliance fosters synergies among Government, civil society, creators, artists, scientists and cultural managers to build alternative spaces for training and participation in the cultural field. The institutional design of the DCL, outlined in the Spanish Cooperation Culture and Development Strategy Paper, focuses on developing skills for the 21st century and prioritises horizontal cooperation, in which children and young people are encouraged to play a leading role as agents of development. The overall aim of the DCL is to foster participation in cultural processes as a fundamental component of human development, using science, culture and ICTs as tools for building citizenship. It also promotes teaching and learning methodologies to enhance digital skills, contributing to the professionalisation of those who use culture and technology in order to reduce the digital literacy gap in marginalised areas. Finally, the DCL seeks to reinforce the STEAM competences (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art and Mathematics) in formal and informal learning environments. In the last five years, the DCL has been used by around 19,500 people (14,000 children, 1,500 young people aged 13-25 years and 4,000 educators) and has provided over 1,000 workshops in the CCSMx and other centres, in eight of the sixteen neighbourhoods of Mexico City, as well as several other regions of the country. In the international

scene, the DCL has been invited to present a guest project at festivals and meetings in Spain, Guatemala, El Salvador, Chile and Peru, and in 2020 it will also operate in the Northern Triangle of Central America and in Cuba. The DCL has worked with more than 3,000 workshop monitors, teachers and programme managers, generating spaces for dialogue and facilitating the exchange of experiences and good practices. The workshops, thus, offer the opportunity for participation, solidarity, social transformation and real citizenship. General framework The CCSMx, as part of AECID, believes that in order for culture to generate development, it is not enough to instruct audiences or spectators. In addition, mechanisms of participation must be established, favouring the creation and production of cultural processes, the twin elements from which the agents of development are formed and which ensure its sustainability. For culture to stimulate human development, it must work in two dimensions: on the one hand, favouring access to cultural expression and on the other, ensuring the participation of children and young people. Accordingly, the CCSMx has developed programmes that meet these needs: on a permanent basis it organises activities in which boys and girls have access to a wide range of artistic proposals, approximately 400 activities per year, covering all formats and disciplines, which have been attended by about 12,000 young people. Furthermore, the DCL itself uses technology as a tool for consolidating a thoughtful, critical citizenry making full use of its rights. As mentioned above, the DCL was constituted taking the AECID Culture and Development Strategy Paper as a frame of reference, specifically concerning

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the recognition of cultural rights, the relationship and complementarity among education, culture and communication, the reinforcement of human capital and the impact produced on development by these elements, individually and collectively. Moreover, questions such as gender equality, human rights and environmental sustainability are addressed on a cross-cutting basis. The design of the DCL is based on two main concepts. Firstly, it prioritises cultural diversity, a fundamental component of human development and instrumental in that it is a catalyst of sustainability. The second concept is that of soft skills, i.e. the capabilities needed for the 21st century. In other words, the DCL enables participants to develop not only technical and/or artistic skills, but also generates experiences that allow them to consolidate their training and fulfil their development as critical citizens. The successful application of these factors has led to the DCL workshops being recognised as collaborative, innovative and creative spaces in which critical thinking, conflict resolution, horizontal dialogue, leadership, tolerance, solidarity and decision-making for the construction of knowledge are all encouraged. Structure The DCL acknowledges that children and young people are fundamental actors of human development and social transformation, and that only by ensuring the full exercise of their rights can we achieve a future in which they will transform the complex social reality experienced in Mexico today. The contents of the workshops are conceptualised in terms of the intersection between the three frames of reference considered: culture and development, the horizontal priorities of the AECID and 21st century skills. Thus, the DCL effectively addresses the two lines of action defined as its priorities in the construction of a critical citizenry: • The exercise of citizenship: the rights and obligations of citizens, ownership of public space, and the construction of identity and community. • The ownership and rewriting of the media: generating and enhancing the skills required by ICTs, addressing the challenges posed by the

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paradigm shift in access to knowledge, education and new media, and exploring the potential of ICTs to enable us to become not just consumers but also producers of ideas. In line with these priorities, the DCL offers a programme of workshops, which operate in three broad areas: 1. C reativity workshops, generating initiatives, practices and models in response to the urban challenges of the modern world, siting participants as actors in and initiators of processes that directly impact on their community. These workshops are classified according to the age range addressed: • Children’s workshops: a space for fun and experimentation for girls and boys, where they can explore their creative abilities in a practical way. • Youth workshops: a space for encounter and for constructing citizenship, using technology as a tool to encourage reflection and to raise awareness of belonging to a community and to the global world. 2. The STEAM programme, to promote the study of science, technology, engineering, arts and mathematics in childhood, fostering the development of analytical thinking and an understanding of the scientific method as the basis for knowledge construction. 3. Teacher training, a space to reflect on teaching methods, in which workshop monitors, teachers and cultural agents involved in the design and implementation of programmes for children and young people can acquire tools facilitating professionalisation. This programme is structured in three parts: • DCL Platform: workshops for trainers to reinforce their teaching processes through participatory methodologies and the use of technology as a means of generating reflection and fostering decision making, to produce a real impact on the community. • ¡Anímate! (Get going!): aimed at trainers working in participative processes, using techniques of animation and audiovisual production. • Encounters and forums: spaces for dialogue and reflection on alternative and innovative teaching and learning methodologies, and on

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concepts such as digital citizenship, digital rights, innovation and sustainability. Aimed at institutions, cultural agents, groups, instructors and all others interested in this discipline. To sum up, the DCL generates alternative spaces to traditional training options, in which workshops foster participation and encourage people to exercise their rights. In these workshops, the arts, sciences and ICT are all included in the toolkit for building citizenship. Featured projects Four projects, especially representative of the DCL, have had a very positive impact in terms of empowerment and raising the visibility of their participants. However, it is important to note that the programme Vamos a Aprender (Let’s Learn) and the News Agency of Indigenous and African-descendant Women (NOTIMIA) are no longer part of the DCL, as their activities are aimed at other audiences, outside the age range defined for the DCL. Nevertheless, these activities were initiated within the framework of its implementation. Radio 2.0 and Radio with Imagination Among the DCL’s programme of activities for children and young people, the workshops with the words “permanent” or “lifelong learning” in the title have shown that the medium and long-term outlook generates a much more profound learning process. These workshops each have a duration of ten months, and their five years of implementation have led to the graduation of various generations of skilled practitioners. Outstanding in this respect are the two radio workshops offered, Frecuencia 2.0 and Radio con Imaginación, which aim to give participants handson experience with ICTs, meeting their interests and providing an outlet for the content produced. These workshops are a space of encounter where children and young people learn soft skills and creative techniques to express their views on various issues, within the general scope of the DCL and CCSMx. These workshops have had a strong practical impact. Thus, some participants have subsequently contributed to public radio programmes for children,

1. Norma Torres, story teller, at the premiere of ¡Anímate! International Short Film Festival, held in the Vasconcelos Library, Mexico City, 2017

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2. Second Encounter of Indigenous Communicators at the San Agustín Etla Arts Centre, Oaxaca, 2015

3. First edition of ¡Anímate! at the International Short Film Festival, National Arts Centre, 2015

4. Lola de Plaza Sésamo, in an interview with participants in the workshop Audiovisual Production for Children at the 37th Book Fair in 2017 when Spain was the guest country

5. Frida and David, participants in the Frecuencia 2.0 workshop, transmitted live from the CCSMx patio, in the June Full of Music Festival 2017.

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such as Generación Z and Zona Aventura, transmitted by the Mexican Radio Institute (IMER). Others have presented Vientos TV, a children’s news broadcast on Channel 22 of Mexican public television, and one workshop graduate is now the official presenter at the UNICEF office in Mexico. The members of the Frecuencia 2.0 workshop for young people play an active role in CCSMx Radio. In fact, over 90% of its programmes are original ideas by these workshop participants, who investigate, write, produce, operate and edit the programmes. In addition to content production, these young people manage the station, organise its programme schedule, communicate on social networks and write notes for the web page about the reports produced. In short, it is these workshop participants whose voices and energy give life to the CCSMx Radio Station. About 100 children and young people take part in these workshops every year, generating content tailored for their peers.

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¡Anímate! A animar (Get going! Get them going!)

The programme ¡Anímate! A animar is a teacher training space in which instructors who present workshops in animation techniques for children learn to do so more effectively, via participatory methods in audiovisual production. This programme is divided into three stages. The first is the workshop for trainers. The methods learned are then applied in the communities where they work (from its first edition in 2015, until 2019, over 400 instructors have received this training). Finally, the students’ work is shown throughout Mexico, at screenings for the participants, their families and the workshop monitors, which showcase the creativity and imagination of the girls and boys who take part in these audiovisual workshops. These productions have been premiered at the International Children’s Book Fair (FILIJ) and then broadcast on the children’s TV show Click-Clac! on Channel 22. The best short films are later shown in the ¡Anímate! International Short Film Festival, which has been presented in the AECID Network of Cultural Centres and in other cultural spaces and centres in Mexico.

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6. Public presentation of the wall Lazos, developed in the Graffiti & Videomapping workshop, in CCSMx in 2017.

Some of the short films have been selected to be shown at national and international children’s film festivals, such as the International Film Festival for Children (and for no-longer-children) presented by the children’s film association La Matatena (Mexico City); the Juna Kino International Young Persons’ Film Festival (Morelos, Mexico); the ¡Ojo al Piojo! International Children’s Film Festival (Mar de Plata, Argentina) and the Educatiu International Film Festival (Valencia, Spain). The ¡Anímate! International Short Film Festival will soon complete its fifth edition of making audiovisual techniques accessible to instructors and children, consolidating their commitment to strengthening communication and media management skills, as tools for the construction of a critical citizenry. In 2019, the states of Jalisco and Oaxaca are expected to promote a regional encounter of participants in the Stop Motion version of the workshop.

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In the five years of its history, the DCL has made 200 short films, in which more than 2,300 children have participated. ¡Anímate! represents the first step in the transfer of the DCL project to other scenarios. With the assistance of the Cultural Centre of Spain in Lima and of the Telefónica Foundation, the DCL took part in My First Festival, in Peru, presenting the teacher training workshop and the Stop Motion activity for children. In 2019, in the second year of its presence, the DCL will play an important role at the Ojo de Pescado Festival in Chile. Let’s learn ... Applications for teaching indigenous languages This programme promotes the use of ICTs for the preservation, conservation and promotion of indigenous languages. The three apps that have been developed, for the Nahuatl, Mixtec and Purépecha languages, are entertaining and practical, enabling users not only to learn the language, but also to become acquainted with the cultures of indigenous peoples. Altogether, these apps have been downloaded by almost 130,000 people worldwide. The media coverage obtained, with over 160 appearances in national and international media, has greatly raised awareness of these communities’ efforts to strengthen the use of their languages. In the framework of the International Year of Indigenous Languages, work has begun on the development of a fourth app, for the Zapotec language, which is the sixth most spoken in the country with more than 400,000 regular users. Oaxacan artists and musicians, together with the National Institute of Indigenous Languages, will contribute to the development of this app. Indigenous and African-descendant communicators: NOTIMIA The main objective of the NOTIMIA (News Agency of Indigenous Women and African-descendants) project is to strengthen the role of female indigenous and African-descendant communicators in promoting the cultural diversity of the peoples and communities of Mexico and Central America, through the use of ICTs. Among other aims, the project seeks to expand these women’s participation in the media, through

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communication proposals that are sensitive to gender issues, interculturality and the promotion of human rights. The three editions of this encounter held to date have brought together over 120 communicators representing the indigenous peoples of Mexico, Brazil, Guatemala, Honduras, Peru, El Salvador, Argentina, Colombia and the United States. NOTIMIA, in its two years’ existence, has received €100,000 funding from the AECID to implement a permanent training programme, which will culminate with two further encounters of indigenous and African-descendant communicators, to be held in Mexico and Guatemala, in 2019 and 2020 respectively. This DCL initiative was undertaken in parallel with the Alliance of Indigenous Women of Mexico and Central America, and has been supported by UN Women Mexico, the National Commission for the Development of Indigenous Peoples, the National Institute of Women and the Simone de Beauvoir Institute of Leadership.

Other perspectives

Miguel Faustino Obiang Asumu, dancer from Equatorial Guinea, interpreting Abok, directed by Luz Arcas in 2016

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Sergio Ramírez Network of Cultural Centres, a house for literature

The writer and Cervantes Award winner, Sergio Ramírez, at the International Book Fair of Buenos Aires, 2019

From the moment we first considered organising the Festival Centroamérica Cuenta (Central America Matters), we had a strategic ally: the Spanish Agency for International Development Cooperation (AECID), which through its Network of Cultural Centres generously opened the way for our initiative. Both organisations have actively participated in the editions of this festival, which is committed to supporting literature and writers from Central America and to strengthening ties between them and their European counterparts. Since the first edition of Centroamérica Cuenta, a space for reflection and dialogue on the reality and culture of Central America, our alliance with Spanish Cooperation has enabled it to grow and thrive, over six editions, and to help make the literature and creative expressions of the region more widely known. Thanks to this collaboration, established and emerging writers from Latin America, Europe and the United States have been able to meet annually to discuss issues reflecting the Central American reality, contributing to the construction of our identity, which of course is very diverse; although they are such small countries, each one in Central America has its own specific weight. This very diversity underscores the importance of our connections with the Network of Cultural Centres, whose numerous programmes encourage the exchange of cultural and literary expressions throughout Central America and other Spanish-speaking countries. The doors of the Cultural Centre of Spain in Nicaragua (CCSN) were opened to us in 2014, so that the authors participating in our second edition could share memorable round tables such as “God is spherical”, a relaxed chat about football and literature with Juan Villoro from Mexico, Manuel Vilas from Spain and sports commentator Edgard Tijerino from Nicaragua. In subsequent years, that encounter was followed by others, together with performances, photographic exhibitions and workshops, among other activities jointly undertaken in Managua and San José. José Ovejero, Berna González Harbour, Carlos Pardo, Javier Cercas, Almudena Grandes, Ángel de la Calle, José Manuel Fajardo, Luis Eduardo Aute, Juan Cruz, Carlos Zanón and Juan Bolea are some of the Spanish authors invited by CCSN to talk with Latin American authors about literature and more. In our fifth edition, in 2017, we made use of the special conditions offered by the CCSN auditorium to present the Objetivo Mordzinski exhibition, a journey to the heart of Hispanic American literature. This anthological exhibition consisted of over a hundred photographs of the most important faces in Spanish literature, taken by Daniel Mordzinski, who was invited to Managua by Spanish Cultural Action and was warmly welcomed at CCSN during his stay in the city.

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Fourth edition of the Festival Centroamérica Cuenta, 2016

The 2018 edition could not be held in Managua due to the socio-political crisis then affecting Nicaragua, and so the festival had to be transferred to neighbouring Costa Rica, where in San José we were also assisted by the Cultural Centre of Spain. In May 2019, we again travelled beyond our borders, fulfilling our commitment to reschedule the sixth edition of Cuenta. In this adventure we were accompanied by a group of Spanish writers, including Ray Loriga, Juan José Armas, Edurne Portela, Alfonso Armada, Alfonso Mateo-Sagasta and, once again, Berna González Harbour, who with Luisgé Martín and José Ovejero are regulars at our festival. As well as round table discussions, the Festival featured a wealth of open, relaxed conversations during which Central American writers had the opportunity to exchange ideas and opinions with authors from other parts of the world. These contacts have been maintained beyond the festival and have resulted in many instances of multicultural exchange and creation. In the CCSN premises in the Costa Rican capital, San José, we organised a special selection of our programme, with book presentations and discussions, as well as special activities for children, aimed at sharing cultural manifestations and highlighting the cultural riches of the indigenous peoples of Central America, thus fulfilling one of the goals of the Network of Cultural Centres, that of fostering exchange among cultural agents.

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Training experience One of the main aims of Centroamérica Cuenta is to support authors, journalists, editors, illustrators and students by offering skills-development workshops. Year after year, these workshops have updated knowledge, enhanced understanding and enabled the exchange of experiences. During the six editions of the Festival, it has expanded into different areas, incorporating ever more workshops into the programme. In this, the Festival has a shared interest with CCSN, which provides instruction in cultural management and in the cultural sector in general. Thus, Ángel de la Calle, Berna González and Juan Bolea have shared their knowledge of comics, cultural journalism and crime writing. Other skills-strengthening activities include talks, symposia, seminars and public lectures, all free of charge, and organised with the invaluable support of the Network of Cultural Centres of Spain. As we have made clear at different times and in different places, Centroamérica Cuenta is a festival that will last. It has solid foundations as the basis to continue promoting Central American art and literature, reflecting our identity and reality in the Isthmus, hand in hand with valuable allies such as AECID, and making our region known here and elsewhere. Writer, journalist and politician from Nicaragua. President and founder of the Centroamérica Cuenta Festival, which has been held in Nicaragua since 2012. In 2017, he became the first Central American to receive the Cervantes Award.

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Luz Arcas Abok (Dance)

Malabo, Equatorial Guinea. Cultural Centre of Spain First part of the project. May and June

José Manuel Ondó Mangué, dancer from Equatorial Guinea, in Abok, directed by Luz Arcas

It is the first day of the workshop and almost no students have come. In the work plan that I have prepared there are dance classes, both in technique and interpretation, dramatic art, set design, lights, production, all the fundamental disciplines when it comes to tackling a choreographic creation. “All projects fail in Guinea” the ex-pats tell me, “It is an apathetic country”. But I think, “It’s not apathy, the fact is that our projects bore them deeply. It’s a historical weariness”. I decide to set aside my project and just observe. I meet Delmati, a well-known choreographer in the country who has taught many dancers. I talk to him, I explain my project, I ask for help. The next day, more than 30 dancers come to class. “What are you doing here?”, I ask them. “Delmati told us to come”, they answer. We start to work. After football, dance is what most interests young people in Equatorial Guinea. The boys are much more numerous and dance better. But, if the future is not very promising for the country’s less privileged classes, for girls it is almost nonexistent. Many become pregnant before finishing school, and that is the immediate end of any possible career for them. Few women can take anything very seriously except marriage and motherhood. Students arrive when they can, one to two hours late. Sometimes they don’t arrive. Sometimes this is because the family house has been destroyed by a tropical storm, other times because a relative has died, or because they have had malaria or were unable to raise the money to come to class. Each day, fewer girls come. Their parents forbid them to come for fear of pregnancies and because they are needed to work in the home or to look after younger siblings. Some boys dream of being professional dancers. There is a huge amount of talent, coupled with a dangerous mythology of success, imported from neoliberal cultures. The dancers are self-taught, they have created hybrid styles between the traditional dances of their ethnicities, which they probably learned from their grandparents and other relatives, and the African-American (and Afro-European) culture of urban dance. Pre-colonial features coexist with the outcomes of migration and with the post-colonial identity. Every boy and girl is committed, body and soul. We create a highly choral dance form, in which we develop many ideas with which they can identify, related to the collective body, to the cultural group. Unlike us, and although the moral influence of the West is strong, they remain tribal: they form part of large families and those who have died remain in the family mind. It is as if they were always there, present,

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giving them strength, a strength that becomes even more visible when they dance. I suggest that Delmati choreograph a fragment and the result is impeccable. We première the work on the day of the inauguration of the first LGBT Cultural Expression Week to be held in Equatorial Guinea. This is an initiative of the Spanish Embassy, and signifies a revolution in the country and throughout Africa. Using the acronym means that a large proportion of the population does not realise what this new white extravagance is about. In Guinea, as in most of Africa, homosexuality is taboo, in many cases illegal, and the punishment is severe. It is neither named nor can be named. The dance piece is called The night of the times and it is a total success. Second part of the project. July and August Abraham Gragera, my partner and artistic collaborator in the company, comes to visit me during the last month and ends up taking part in the project. We decide to divide the group into two, according to their ability. The intention is to work intensively with those who have most talent and vocation, with the idea of bringing the piece to Spain. I feel this would be a great opportunity for them and that it is my duty to try. The division causes discomfort on both sides. They are tribal, a collective body, a cohesive cultural group, a kind of family. I explain that it isn’t practical for everyone to travel, but that this is only the beginning of a long-term project and that, if everything goes well, there will be more opportunities. They don’t understand and they don’t feel reassured, but they have no choice in the matter, and have to accept it. For the elite group, I select six dancers, four boys and two girls, but in a few days the number falls to five: Pedro, Naftalí, Richie, Miguel and Iris, the only girl. It’s the August holidays and many will go back to their home towns. Richie, who becomes Delmati’s second in command, is the new leader. Together with Miguel, he is an exceptional dancer, specialising in urban dances, with a sensitivity that allows him to express a wealth of nuance and textures without having to resort to acrobatics. His virtuosity is poetic. He is a perfectionist; he spends many hours dancing. We make a secret alliance. He wants to dance in Spain, and he needs the group to respond and for everything to go well. Miguel is a dance genius, more strongly influenced than others by tribal dances, but with a modern interpretation, creative and wild. In his dance, a playful nature is mixed with a tremendously dark energy. When he dances, I feel that his dead ancestors accompany him. Miguel is always laughing, always teasing, feinting. When he dances his smile makes his face a mask. When he dances, there is something there, something that is impossible, but nonetheless real. I think he is the best dancer I’ve seen in my life. Neftalí dances very well and has a beautiful quality. He has a lot of talent and infinite potential, but perhaps he doesn’t take dance so seriously. Pedro does not have all the dance skills of the others; however, he has a lot of dramatic talent. Abraham saw that the very first day, and became fascinated by him. He is the one who best understands the piece, the one who is most capable of giving depth to the gestures, of finding meaning in looks and contact. He and Iris take on the most theatrical fragments of the piece, heavy with specific meaning. Somehow, they are the protagonists of the piece. Iris has an impressive stage presence, strength and depth, despite having fewer resources as a dancer. During my stay, I give classes at an American school to children from rich families. I ask the

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director of the school if one of my dancers can take the job when I return to Spain. He agrees and I decide to let them draw lots for it. When I tell the group, they can’t believe it. Getting a job as a dance teacher is a miracle, and the monthly salary the school pays, even more. Richie and Pedro are the finalists. They are nervous, it’s a question of luck. Richie wins, but Pedro is very happy, almost more so than him, jumping and shouting with joy, as if the most important thing were that good luck was floating above the heads of his people, no matter who won the draw. While we work on Abok (“Dance” in the Fang language), a piece of contemporary dance inspired by and reflecting part of its tribal and urban folklore, the Cultural Centre seeks obtain finance for the project and prepares logistical questions, such as the necessary visas. On the day of my return to Spain, I still could not assure them that their trip would take place. I return to Spain. September A few days after arriving I receive an audio message from one of the students. Pedro has drowned at sea while crossing from the island of Malabo to the mainland. A few days later, Iris is denied a visa because, being an orphan and a minor, no family member is willing to sign her permission form. Not all projects fail in Guinea. It is not an apathetic country. It is a country with living conditions that are unimaginable to us, from our privileged position in the world, not even when we are there. “Pedro would have liked them to come to Spain - I think - I’m sure of it”. He would be happy if luck were to continue floating over their heads. They come to Spain and we première Abok at the Territorio Danza Festival, in the Cuarta Pared (Fourth Wall) Hall. The members of the company La Phármaco (musicians, dancers, production team) help us adapt the piece for the three dancers who, in the end, were able to come. The day of the première arrives. It is a total success. They dance better than ever. What impresses them most about Madrid, as well as the rehearsal rooms at the Canal Dance Centre, are the dogs: so clean, so well groomed, even dressed. Now, they send me WhatsApp messages, asking when they can visit Spain again. Now, I’m working on Bekristen (“Christians” in the Fang language), a trilogy about the images and reflections experienced during and after the trip. The first chapter is called Domestication, and will première in November 2019 at the Canal Theatre in Madrid. Miguel, the dance genius, is coming to Spain for four months to be part of the cast. Getting him a work permit has not been easy. I hope this will be the start of a lasting dialogue and that my company be a space in which they can develop as artists. I hope that when Miguel returns to Guinea he will not become part of the comfortable elite, but will use his experience to combat a terrible, unfair reality, for which the President’s management is not solely responsible. Our governments and businessmen are also to blame, it is they who have exploited the freedom of the former colony in their own economic and political interests. Spanish dancer and choreographer, founder and director of the contemporary dance company La Phármaco.

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Alberto Conejero Shared campfires

Alberto Conejero, playwright

Theatre always needs the first-person plural. Without a “we” it’s impossible for theatre to happen. Bodies must be united in a single space and time for theatre to happen; our emotions must be swayed with those of other people, to move them, to view ourselves elsewise, to wonder what we are but, above all, to imagine who we could be, to feel what others have inspired in us. In theatre, we must look together – that is where the word’ theatre’ comes from, it is the place where we go to watch, all together, to see ourselves. I think it was Juan Mayorga who said that theatre is a school of moral imagination. And of emotional imagination, too. Because theatre makes us feel a threatening compassion for Others; each show splits us in two, between who we are and who we might be. Because theatre is never a slavish mirror. The French historian Vidal-Naquet talks about Greek tragedy as a “broken mirror” in which each fragment “portrays both one social reality and every other”. The stage emits unexpected images of ourselves, reminds us of everything that stirs, threatening, beyond the limits of the polis, of our supposedly controlled everyday reality. Theatre, then, is an exercise in wonderment, in stepping outside ourselves. As is every true journey. My invitation from AECID to give a playwright workshop in Spanish Cooperation Cultural Centres, in Chile, Uruguay and Peru, successively, as part of the DramaTOURgia programme, met this double condition, presenting a journey and theatre, together. It was a learning opportunity, of professional interest but, above all, offering personal growth, facilitated by effective cooperation between the AECID and the National Drama Centre. At the same time, it represented an enormous responsibility. Some years previously, I had taken part in the Iberescena programme, a learning experience that forever changed my way of understanding theatre. On this latter occasion I was the workshop instructor, travelling through Latin America. Of the four countries assigned, I had only previously visited Chile and, in general, my knowledge of their theatrical language was scant and fragmentary. The journey began in Colombia. The workshop was given in the amazing Teatro Colón of Bogotá; this is the national theatre and it is considered one of the marvels of the country. It was also where the peace treaty was signed between the FARC and the Colombian Government, shortly before my visit. There I experienced at first-hand the vibrant theatre world in the capital. I was already aware of the vitality of its theatres, from contact with colleagues such as Tania Cárdenas and Eric Layton, but being in the city allowed me to visit groups like La maldita vanidad (led by Jorge Hugo Marín) and the legendary Teatro de la Candelaria. In Bogota I met wonderful colleagues, each with their own experiences and expectations. But from the first day just sitting down and writing scenes together, imagining possible worlds, possible lives… it created bridges between us in a

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continuous state of recognition and strangeness, of identification and singularity, of Castilian Spanish spoken in other lands, with different accents, different tones, by different peoples. This first workshop coincided – thanks to effective management by all concerned – with the premiere of La piedra oscura in Bogota, directed by Victor Quesada. This production became unexpectedly relevant, in the wake of the recently signed treaty between the FARC and the Government. Suddenly, a play set in a prison cell in Santander, during the Spanish civil war, was re-signified to address Colombian questions of forgiveness, dialogue and of trying to become “we” again. I remember those days in Bogota in 2016 as a happy feeling of vertigo, like a sweet kind of altitude sickness. After Bogota came Santiago de Chile and from there, on to Asunción. Perhaps Paraguay was the country where the experience was most complete and most profound. This is a country that longs for an imaginarium, for presence, for permanence. It is an inland island, an ever-changing identity. The city bears open wounds, entire neighbourhoods are foreclosed, there are abysmal differences between one man and another, between one woman and another. Here, the people of the theatre struggle to reach their destiny, fearlessly and without hesitation in incredibly difficult circumstances, all to create a national theatre. In this respect, the work being done in the Juan de Salazar Centre, where I gave my workshop, which was later led by Eloísa Vaello Marco, is proving to be decisive. A year later I returned there, for the premiere of La piedra oscura, directed by Jorge Baez. In Asunción I still have dear friends, like Ana Ivanova and Manu Alviso, who for me represent a generation, together with others such as David Cañete and Paola Irún, who seek to create a theatre where perhaps very few would even expect it, but need it so badly. The hospitality I received from each and every one of them is unforgettable. I hope that my presence there, during the first edition of the Hispanic-Paraguayan Theatre Month, and next year, giving another workshop, on Theatre and Memory, will lend further momentum to their beautiful struggle. The tour finished in Lima nearly one month later. As well as the workshop at the Cultural Centre of Spain, which was then being directed by David Ruiz López-Prisuelos, I gave one on Theatre and Memory at the University of the Pacific, thanks to the intercession of the actor and theatre manager Sergio Llusera. Again, I met a devoted and generous team, men and women sharing paths, stories and challenges. The next year I returned to the city for the premiere of La piedra oscura, directed by Juan Bautista de Lavalle, which had previously been staged in the Centre’s own theatre, and before that, in Teatro de Lucía. There, I gave a workshop on Lorca’s “impossible theatre”, taking advantage of the different performance spaces offered by the Centre. How beautiful the sound of Lorca’s poetry, there in the heart of Lima, in that beautiful pink building. Also during my stay in Lima, I advised the director on Duende, a local production about Lorca. I have mentioned the three premieres of La piedra oscura – there was another one in 2019 in Santiago de Chile – because this performance enabled each of the casts involved to present to a local audience the two main themes of the text: the question of historic memory and the rights of the LGTBI collective. But of course, it was a round trip. That intense month has reverberated in everything I have written since. When I finish writing something for the theatre and I realise I’m not the same person I was before, then I feel that the effort was worth it. And that’s true of my travels, too. Upon returning to Madrid, I wasn’t

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Alberto Conejero, during a workshop in the Lima Cultural Centre, February 2018

the same person. My colleagues, the accents and the theatres of Bogotá, Lima, Asunción and Santiago will always be with me. The memory of theatre is fragile, very fragile. The stage is like a campfire, it calls us near, it brings us together and when it goes out, it sends us on our way. But the memory remains of that light and that shared warmth. From the workshops in Bogota, Santiago, Asunción and Lima, what accompanies me is not so much what I tried to teach and transmit, but what I have learnt from them. I trust that some of the seeds that we sowed will bear fruit, sooner or later, one way or another. The bond that remains three years later with many of those pupils and colleagues is, for me, the most precious and beautiful part of that trip. I’m profoundly thankful to AECID and to the National Drama Centre for trusting me and giving me this opportunity. In my opening words, I said that to exist, theatre always needs the first-person plural. To conclude, I have no doubt that this “We” must be masculine and feminine, from south to north and north to south, defying the frontiers created by flags and economic power, making culture and theatre our universal heritage. Playwright. B.Sc. in Dramatic Art from the Royal School of Dramatic Arts, and doctor in Religious Sciences from the Complutense University of Madrid. Ceres Best Author Award 2015. Max Best Theatre Author Award 2016.

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Mercedes Ferrer Twinned countries

Closing concert of the Week of the Author, in the CCSMx Auditorium, 2014

In Mexico City, in Plaza de la Constitución – better known as the Zócalo – and behind the Renaissance cathedral, there stands one of the oldest and most emblematic buildings of the historic city centre: the Cultural Centre of Spain in Mexico (CCSMx). When you come to the gigantic, vibrant and captivating Mexico City for the first time, it is impossible to miss the Cultural Centre, and equally impossible not to be entranced by the architectural charm of this 16th century building, which in the 18th century was partially transformed into the popular Mexican Baroque style. In 2011, the Centre’s facilities were expanded into new spaces in an avant-garde building designed by Mexican architects Javier Sánchez, José Castillo and Saidee Springall. The extension opened onto number 97, Calle Donceles but remained connected, internally, with the original structure. I have visited the Centre on numerous occasions, but I will always treasure the memory of that first time, in 2004, when I was invited to participate in the Historic Centre Festival, at a concert in the Zócalo. Many years later, with the Platform of Women Artists, I took part in another wonderful concert in the same square, for thousands of people. I later came to live to Mexico City, from 2007 to 2010, and often visited the Cultural Centre, just before its remodelling and expansion. The Centre was an unmissable rendezvous for get-togethers, photo shoots, press conferences and chats on the terrace, looking towards the Cathedral; a meeting place, or just somewhere to relax and enjoy life; a place to take stock and find creative inspiration, a place for the unexpected, a place in which to dream. But the most interesting aspect of the Centre is its relentless artistic activism, based on understanding, exchange, syncretism and integration. For some, these might be just words, but for many of us they mean a lot. For artists, for all who are active in the field of culture, the Centre is a pillar, a solid foundation for our work: if there were no such exchange, if we were unable to soak up other influences, without that idea of integration, there would be no cultural and artistic life. And culture in Mexico is very important. It is part of everyday existence, in this city and throughout the country. Mexico is a cultural giant that subsists from ancestral and contemporary sources alike; and one such source is the legacy left by the tens of thousands of exiled Spanish Republicans, welcomed by the then President, Lázaro Cárdenas. Among those exiles were great names such as León Felipe, José Gaos and Remedios Varo, who disembarked from the Sinaia and other ships to a warm welcome from the Mexican Government, whose solidarity and humanitarian actions brought about a remarkable cultural enrichment, with the founding of schools, colleges and university faculties.

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Closing concert of the Week of the Author, in the CCSMx Auditorium, 2014

The Mexican people are open and highly appreciative of the cultural riches of others. This is true to the extent that they incorporate these contributions into their own culture in an exercise of symbiosis, in the sense of a relationship of mutual support between people or entities, to achieve a common goal. That is the atmosphere in the CCSMx: two countries conjoined by their art and culture. And by a degree of coincidence or synchronicity that some might term “karma”. If there is something that really characterises the Centre and the people who work there, it is that they are very much aware of the ground beneath them, for which they have profound respect. This sacred land was home to the successive bloodlines and cultures of the Anahuac. In the ancient valley of Mexico, they built the great Tenochtitlan and the pillar of Mexican civilization, the magnificent Templo Mayor. For those who have let Mexico into their hearts, who have absorbed her culture, her music, her artists and customs …. her exultant markets replete with the colours, flavours and smells of the countryside, her spicy cuisine with endless varieties of chili peppers, her native language, Nahuatl…. for those who have trod her streets, sang rancheras with the Mariachi in their taverns and sensed the heartbeat of their land…. for all those people, respect for Mexican culture in all its manifestations is something that is mystical, sacred, shamanic and close to magic. It is no surprise that the CCSMx Site Museum, attached to the Templo Mayor, houses archaeological pieces from the ancient Toltec, Olmec, Aztec and Mexican civilisations that once inhabited the ancient Anahuac. Over these years I have attended various conferences and meetings at the CCSMx; of them all, let me make special mention of a talk offered by Carlos Ann on the terrace of the Centre and his poetic discussion with the awardwinning Argentine poet Juan Gelman. I also recall one of the most rewarding

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collaborations during my period as Director of Music at the SGAE Foundation: the internationalisation project of the Week of the Author, which took place in Mexico in 2014, with Mexican and Spanish authors, and which culminated with a concert featuring new pieces resulting from that collaboration between artists of our twin countries, in the magnificent setting of the CCSMx Auditorium. Lastly, I would like to peek into the future, a future that is advancing towards coexistence but at the same time looks back towards the roots from which we came and which shape us as human beings with a common identity. Mexico and Spain are countries with an age-old culture that we must preserve, continue to investigate and admire in all its splendour. On this basis, we can transmit to the younger generation a world of opportunity, a world to live in with passion, with respect and with love for its culture. I hope and expect that the AECID will continue to strengthen ties of cultural union through centres such as the CCSMx, fostering international cooperation, research, creativity, diversity, integration, exchange and a sustainable environment. Thank you. Artist, composer, author and singer. Graduate in Contemporary French Literature (Université Sorbonne Nouvelle - Paris 3). Master’s Degree in Intellectual and Industrial Property Law (OBS Business School - Universitat de Barcelona).

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Isabel Muñoz Where other dialogues cannot reach

Photograph by Isabel Muñoz, part of the itinerant exhibition La Bestia (The Beast), inaugurated at CCSMx in 2010

Culture is a lens that helps us understand ourselves and our surroundings. It fosters dialogue and exchange, bringing communities closer together. Thanks to culture, bonds are created. The truth is, culture reaches where other dialogues cannot. And in this area, the AECID Cultural Centres are incredibly important. I have had the privilege of working with them in many countries. On more than one occasion, my project could not have been completed without their collaboration. In particular, I would like to thank the then director of the Cultural Centre of Spain in Mexico, Jesús Oyamburu, for his help when I took the train known as “The Beast” and witnessed the horror undergone by the migrants who ride on it to cross the great frontier, the one separating Guatemala from Mexico. When I took on this project in 2008, the freight trains carrying Central American migrants towards their American dream did not receive the media coverage we see today. Thanks to the involvement of Jesús, my photos and the short film made at the same time were presented in the main cultural centres of Latin America, and people started to become aware of what was really happening. Exhibitions were organised in major cities, and I was invited to talk about what I had seen and lived through in “The Beast”. All of this made a great impact on many people. One family was even reunited with one of their loved ones, Donar, who had become trapped, badly injured in some town along the way. They recognised him in a photo and were able to contact him. My experiences in this project were fundamental to my later development as an artist. And the same could be said of another project that I undertook in 2009, in collaboration with UNICEF, to celebrate twenty years of the Convention on Children’s rights. In this case, twenty rights were chosen and then illustrated with photos of children from twenty different countries. In this project, I was able to portray the lives of more than 100 boys and girls from the most remote regions of the planet. That colossal challenge kept me busy for several months, but the result made it all worthwhile. Again, Spanish Cooperation and the Cultural Centres of our embassies provided invaluable help, which enabled my photos to be seen in many countries. Not only adults, but also large numbers of schoolchildren visited the exhibitions, and their comments were followed up later in class. In my career, I have always tried to give a voice to persons who live unheard. And where one cannot reach alone, Spanish Cooperation and its Cultural Centres are there, providing invaluable support when it is needed. I am honoured to have been assisted by so many people and to be able to bear witness as a creator. Spanish photographer, winner of two World Press Photo awards and the 2016 National Photography Award. She has also been featured in the PHotoEspaña exhibition and was awarded the Medal of Merit of Fine Arts in 2009.

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Eugenio Ampudia Fruitful relationships

Intervention by Eugenio Ampudia titled dzzzzdzzzdzz, part of the exhibition El futuro no es de nadie todavía (The future does not belong to anybody yet), held at the CCSMx in 2016.

Our connection comes from a long series of fruitful relationships across Europe and Asia, but where AECID really helped establish my career was in Latin America. Perhaps my most ambitious cycle of exhibitions took place in Mexico and Colombia, curated by Blanca de la Torre, and it would not have been possible without the support of Spanish Cooperation. The exhibitions were held in museums and first-class art centres such as Parque Fundidora in Monterrey, the Contemporary Art Museum of Oaxaca (MACO), the Carrillo Gil Art Museum in Mexico D.F. and NC-arte in Bogotá, Colombia. Under the title El futuro no es de nadie todavía (The future does not belong to anybody yet), this was not just an ordinary itinerant exhibition; in each place, site-specific works were presented, in relation to the space and the context. This series of exhibitions received invaluable assistance from the Cultural Centre of Spain in Mexico City (CCSMx), under the direction of Carlos Ruiz, the Cultural Attaché at that time. In fact, the Centre functioned an auxiliary space for the project; a specific installation was created for the Centre’s entrance hall, and although this was independent of the display presented at the Carrillo Gil Museum, it served as an important introduction. Similarly, many visitors to the museum would subsequently come to the CCSMx to see the exhibition there. The display, given the deliberately unpronounceable title dzzzzdzzzdzz, consisted of an installation with a thousand white flags, each bearing the image of a fly, placed beside a bank of loudspeakers which emitted a constant buzzing, as of flies swarming through the Centre. The flags extended all over the entrance to the building, inviting spectators not only to enter, but to take one of the flags with them, thus making the artwork participative. But the role of the CCSMx was not limited to just providing a container for the project. In addition, it helped prepare important aspects of the exhibition’s production, as well as publicising the event and generating connections and contacts. All of these elements contributed greatly to the overall success of the project. In addition to this exhibition, on numerous occasions I had the opportunity to work with the Cultural Centres of Spain, throughout the continent, but especially in Central America. One such event was the exhibition Del texto a la imagen (From the word to the image) at the Cultural Centre of Spain in Buenos Aires, as part of the “Buenos Aires World Book Capital” programme. At that time, the Director of the Centre was Ricardo Ramón Jarne, who was not only an effective head of the institution but also an inspirational manager and an essential focus of cultural contacts and promotion.

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En juego (In play) installation by Eugenio Ampudia in the exhibition El poder de la palabra, curated by PROYECTOR / Videoart Platform. Lima, 2016

Another exhibition highlighting textual and communicative values was El poder de la palabra (The power of the word), curated by the team that was also responsible for the video art festival Proyector at the Cultural Centre of Spain in Lima. The last time I had the opportunity of collaborating with Spanish Cooperation was just a few months ago, at the Cultural Centre in Miami, headed by Ignacio Moralejo, where I presented a solo exhibition, curated by Blanca de la Torre. Titled La inmovilidad del movimiento (The immobility of movement), it was inspired by the great Spanish philosopher MarĂa Zambrano, and especially her work Los sueĂąos y el tiempo (Dreams and time). Our aim in this exhibition was to present a discourse on the relationship between dreams and time. Taking the view that falling asleep is a gesture defying the normal order of things, and therefore that dreams provide an opening into other imaginaries, the exhibition sought to re-read the history of art itself and to reconsider the spaces assigned to culture. Indeed, I believe this is the duty of our Cultural Centres: to intervene and to provide a platform for mediation and experiences, one that is both multifaceted and inclusive, scrutinising and showcasing the past, present and future of culture. Accordingly, the Cultural Centres must be managed by persons who are outstanding not only in their leadership, but also in their professional outlook towards cultural politics and programming, so that culture may be valued as it deserves. To my mind, the Centres must be supporters, facilitators and generators of synergies, as qualities necessary to their mission, and continue to be cultural and

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artistic ambassadors, highlighting Spanish and Ibero-American creation in the international scene and providing vital channels to extend our values further afield. After my very rewarding experience with the Network of Cultural Centres, my conclusion is that they should be viewed as active agents, as organic institutions that not only provide a place of encounter for the local, national and international communities, but also function as promoters, transmitters and active channels of communication for these communities. Cooperation, exchange and an ongoing critical perspective, open to dialogue and debateâ&#x20AC;Ś these are some of the areas the Cultural Centres must continue to support, whilst continually reconsidering their goals and acknowledging the achievements and strengths of the institution, adopting a propositional viewpoint and always seeking to advance and innovate, motivated by fresh challenges. Painter, sculptor, multimedia artist and exhibitions curator. Winner of the AECA Award for the best living Spanish artist at ARCO18 and winner of the ARCO-BEEP Electronic Art Award. His works have been exhibited internationally and form part of the leading Spanish collections of contemporary art.

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Icíar Bollaín Opening windows

Icíar Bollaín, director, actress and screenwriter

In setting out to write this text, reflecting on the aims and activities of the AECID, I recalled that often, during a post-screening Q&A session with the audience, someone would ask me if I thought that film had the power to change things, and if that was why I made films. I always gave the same answer: that changing things is too big an ask for a little movie, even if its story sometimes focused on a specific problem, suggested a way out and maybe even had a hopeful end. In Te doy mis ojos (Take my eyes), one of my films that has travelled the most with the AECID, the two characters set out, with a little help, on a path leading them away from violence – her from suffering it, and him from employing it. In the end, he gives up and becomes abusive again, but she continues on her path, breaks off the relationship and saves herself from the horror to which he had submitted her. When I wrote it, I never thought that the story of Pilar and Antonio, an individual story that spoke of a universal problem, could be an instrument to help change the situation. However, the film put a face and a voice on a problem that was then almost unheard of. Almost from the start, it became a tool used by professionals working to eradicate sexist violence, including judges, lawyers, therapists and police. To my surprise, the film also helped the women themselves, those who had suffered this type of violence, to become aware of its nature, to realise that the relationship they were in was in fact a circle, a spiral that did not end every time he begged their forgiveness, but would start again shortly afterwards, inexorably. And that there was nothing they could do to change it, except to break off the relationship. And this story, unfortunately, aroused echoes in all the countries we took it to, especially in Latin America, but also in Europe, in China and in Japan, where the authorities’ lack of attention had left women completely unprotected. También la lluvia (The rain, too) is another film of mine that has travelled far with the AECID. This story of filmmakers who want to show the history of Columbus from a less “epic” perspective brings to light an event that is still a focal point in activism against the excesses of multinationals: the Water War in Cochabamba, Bolivia. In 2000, the population fought back against a multinational that tried to privatise even the rainwater. This battle is especially notable because it was won, something that unfortunately does not happen very often. The film highlighted this victory, which was won over and over again, every time the film was shown, as its message of struggle and hope became widespread. Incidentally, the film reflected on the hunt for treasure, drawing parallels between the demand for water today and the allure of gold that attracted Columbus and his men; on the greed, abuse and injustice of the historic colonisers, who came in the name of God; and on that of today’s version, in the name of the Market.

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Even so, a film does not have the power to change things on its own; in my opinion, it is politics that makes the difference. But I do believe that one of the instruments that politics must employ to bring about change is that of culture. Because it is only through culture that people can thrive as equals. And there is no greater stimulant of abuse, inequality, corruption, racism or sexism than misinformation, the absence of guidelines, ignorance of our basic human rights and neglect of our past. In short, a culture vacuum. Films, as part of culture, can initiate the reflection that leads to change, because they have the power to stir, to move, they make us reflect, advance and open up. Due to the pressures of work, I have not been able to visit all the Cultural Centres to which I have been invited, to share workshops with local filmmakers and artists, to experience all the Agency’s activities at first hand. But on many occasions I have been able to attend shows or festivals supported by the AECID, in places like the Saharawi camps in Algeria, where the population would have been unable to see our cinema in any other way. In these camps, I have seen Saharawi women talking about the issues raised by Te doy mis ojos, and heard their ideas and proposals for eradicating violence against women. After more than thirty years accompanying these films and taking part in hundreds of talks, I am still impressed by the power of communication of cinema, how it transports our culture and our experiences, opening windows elsewhere so that others may not only see us, but breathe, be moved and become excited with us.

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Icíar Bollaín, with the actor Luis Tosar, during the filming of También la lluvia in 2010.

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And us with them. We recognise ourselves in what we have in common, and discover ourselves in where we differ. The AECID Centres, scattered across so many countries, open up thousands of windows every day that allow us to see each other, to get to know each other, to learn from one another, to appreciate what is important, the values that make us people, that extricate us from poverty, from violence and from abuse. I hope that the activities of the Agency will continue for many years to come, bringing and sharing culture, opening windows and driving change. Director, actress and screenwriter. Winner of two Goya Awards for best direction and best screenplay for the film Te Doy Mis Ojos (2003), she was nominated in the same categories for the films Mataharis (2007) and TambiĂŠn la lluvia (2010).

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Cristina Andreu With older eyes

Poster for Cuchillo de palo, directed by the Paraguayan film Renate Costa

I enjoy the sensation I sometimes get when I look closely around somewhere that is totally new, knowing that very soon it will become familiar and an important part of my life. I stop and wonder what I will see when that place becomes part of my life, rather than how I see it now, and try to keep this contrast in mind for the future. I remember perfectly the first time I entered the Juan de Salazar Cultural Centre of Spain in Asunción. Outside, the heat was asphyxiating and the humidity was extreme, due to the nearby River Paraguay. We went in and first I saw a space with pillows of many colours, and the doors leading to an auditorium. On looking through, although it was dark inside, it was obviously large. On a panel by the wall, I read the schedule of events for the Centre. Afterwards, we went though another door into a patio with a big tree in the middle, beautiful, sheltering. To the right, there were two rooms that looked like workshops. And at the back, a library, glassed in; the books were all in sight but it was a weekend and so the doors were closed. A bust of Don Quixote at the entrance. So many stories to be told, so many adventures to be lived, just through those transparent walls, making me forget about the heat. There was a staircase, too, rising somewhere. I returned to Madrid to finish the work that for the time being prevented me from remaining in that strange city, where the centre was empty at the weekend, and where life revolved around a shopping centre, named after Mariscal López. But I knew I would soon be back in Asunción, with its majestic trees in full flower. When I did return, I went to meet the director of the Cultural Centre, Myriam Martínez Elcoro, in her office, at the top of the stairs I had seen on the first day. First, there was a large room where an intern, a secretary and a clerk were working, and at the back there was Myriam’s office, decorated in blue, with wooden floors. I started going to the Centre to enjoy its numerous activities, and where Myriam was to be found from early morning until late at night. There were painting workshops, courses on the art of the Golden Age, seminars on the curating of exhibitions, on theatre improvisation, on writing. One-minute videos, in which women used the visual medium to speak of their needs and feelings. I joined in when I could, many people took part and the courses filled up quickly. The teachers were mainly from Paraguay, but also from other countries in Latin America or from Spain. I remember the screening of a Paraguayan documentary, Cuchillo de palo (Wooden Knife), which became one of my favourites and which I show my students every time I give a workshop on documentary creation. Renate Costa, the director, her parents, long divorced but back together again, the entire LGTBIQ collective, with the transsexuals who had been persecuted and jailed during the dictatorship, Renate’s whole family, her neighbours from when

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she was young, the general public… The cinema was packed, and when the film ended the audience cried and applauded for a long time. There were also very interesting photo exhibitions from which you could always learn something. I remember one in particular which moved me very much, which portrayed the triple frontier, between Brazil, Argentina and Paraguay. And then luck appeared, unexpectedly, as it had on so many other occasions throughout my life. The AECID in Madrid had asked each of the Cultural Centres around the world to make a short video, showing marbles rolling out of its doors into the city, which would all come together, forming an immense river of shared experiences. Myriam told me the Centre’s budget was sufficient to make that video and also one on the institution’s recent history, and asked what I thought about making a more ambitious film, describing everything the Cultural Centre did; not only in its own building, but also at other sites in Asunción and throughout the country. I was thrilled with the idea, as I already knew from experience that the best way to get to know a country is to work there. I teamed up with a photographer, Santiago Suárez, and once again I was extremely fortunate, we matched perfectly. The Cultural Centre, for the Paraguayans, is a space for creators, musicians, theatre people, photographers and many more. And all of them receive financial assistance and help in making their work known. Moreover, the Centre is the focal point of culture in Asunción, putting on films, drama, concerts, exhibitions… an unequalled range of activities. It was exciting to see the queues of people outside, waiting to see a new show. And these artists also took their art further afield, beyond the capital, into the hinterland of Paraguay. Young people rehearsed and performed their work. Schoolchildren and their teachers came to see and learn. The Juan de Salazar Centre has always been strongly committed to the people. During the dictatorship of Alfredo Stroessner it was a space of protection and refuge for many artists, who found in it a place where they could perform, observe and meet in an atmosphere of freedom. One of the Centre’s fundamental policies is that the artists chosen to showcase their art and culture should share it with disadvantaged people and places. So the shows and their authors go out to villages and towns, where the Centre also promotes courses and workshops on various subjects. On one occasion, I saw the male inmates at Tacumbú Prison, one of the most over-crowded and dangerous in the world, sitting peacefully, watching a Spanish film. On another, I was at the Buen Pastor prison for women and watched them listening and dancing to the music of the Chamber Orchestra of Asunción, whose first violin lent his instrument to one of the prisoners to show her how to play a few notes. I also watched a play, the winner of a university drama competition, presented at a reform school for minors, who laughed and interacted with the show. In our travels, we also went to the Chacarita, the shanty town beside the Paraguay river, an area where most children never go to school and have to steal to stay alive. This is a part of the city where no-one wants to even go near, but I was able to get there and see the show put on by the Centre, in a little house near the entrance to the district, where little children came to draw and to start to

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Cristina Andreu, Spanish film director

learn to read, where older people took courses in digital literacy, to help them live a different life, off the streets. This is the most palpable evidence that the money obtained and invested by Spanish Cooperation is really needed, and that when it is used by good professionals who really believe in what they do, then many, many things can be changed. Of course my way of thinking has changed since that first day in AsunciĂłn, just as I have changed, from being an outsider to being someone who belongs. Now, whenever I hear the GuaranĂ accent, I have the urge to sing. Today, with older eyes, I want to keep that final sensation, of being moved, feeling useful, knowing that we really can help, but that our help is there so that people can stand on their own feet and grow, knowing that we are only there to give them a hand when they need it. Spanish film director. President of the Association of Women Film makers and Audio-visual Media (CIMA).

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