Spanish Cooperation Cultural Centres
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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
