CCS Lima

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

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

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

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4 (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

The Centre’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 Peru’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

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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 Centre’s history, for several reasons: the Bicentennial of the Independence of Peru (1821-2021), the 25 th 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, después, ahora (Before, after, now), the artist Sixe Paredes decorated the Centre’s side wall and exterior gallery in 2017.

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.

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

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

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.

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

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/