Twinned countries

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

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).

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.