Blog del Instituto Cervantes de Londres

The director of Instituto Cervantes, Luis García Montero, visits London and Oxford from Thursday 27th to Saturday 29th February, with an agenda that includes a tribute to British Hispanist Sir Paul Preston, the participation in the round table: Futuro: English & Hispanic Culture After Brexit and a meeting with the British Council, as well as his attendance to the 50th Anniversary celebrations of the Spanish Sub-Faculty of the University of Oxford and the signing of a memorandum of understanding with Magdalen College.

García Montero’s visit will begin on Thursday 27th with a breakfast with teachers of Spanish for Foreigners (ELE) in the library of Instituto Cervantes in London. At 11:00am, he will hold a meeting with the CEO of the British Council, Sir Ciarán Devane.

The director of Instituto Cervantes will have lunch with creators, academics and Latin American cultural guests. In the afternoon, García Montero will visit the offices of Instituto Cervantes in London, where he will have a tour of the facilities and hold meetings with the staff, as well as with the area directors with whom he will inform about the agreed agreements.

Roundtable: «Future: English & Hispanic Culture After Brexit»

In the evening, García Montero will attend the round table discussion: Futuro: English & Hispanic Culture After Brexit» the Cervantes Theatre. The Ambassador of Spain to the United Kingdom, Carlos Bastarreche, will introduce the evening, attendees of which include the Ambassador of Honduras to the United Kingdom and the Dean of the Latin American Ambassador Group, Iván Romero.

Next, the director of Instituto Cervantes will take the floor and he will deliver a spoken tribute to British Hispanism. The round table will be moderated by the correspondent of newspaper El País in the United Kingdom, Rafa de Miguel, and will have the following speakers: the director of the English National Ballet (ENB), Tamara Rojo; the Ambassador of Ecuador in the United Kingdom and novelist, Jaime Marchán; former United Kingdom Ambassador to Spain, Simon Manley; the director of the Institute for Modern Languages Research (IMLR), Catherine Davies; the president of the Society of Spanish Scientists in the United Kingdom (CERU), Rocio Gaudioso; and the researcher of the Elcano Royal Institute, Ignacio Molina.

The event will end with a recital of love poetry in Spanish in an homage to the recently deceased Hispanist Trevor Dadson, by the associate director of Cervantes Theatre, Jorge de Juan. 

At the end of the round table, García Montero will attend a dinner with Spanish and British businessmen in the United Kingdom, including the president of the Spanish Chamber of Commerce in the United Kingdom, Eduardo Barrachina, and Spanish personalities working in the City.

Paul Preston’s legacy

British Hispanst Sir Paul Preston will speak with the press on Friday February 28th, in the library of Instituto Cervantes in London. At 10:30a.m. the tribute will begin, in which the outstanding historian will deliver his legacy to the Caja de las Letras of Instituto Cervantes. Although this is the second donation to the Caja de las Letras from a Hispanist, it is the first donation to be given outside of the building in Madrid itself.

Sir Paul Preston will sign two copies of the assignment document and the director of Instituto Cervantes will keep the bequeathed item in a red briefcase and give Sir Paul Preston the symbolic key and the copy of the assignment document for five years. 

Following the ceremony of the Caja de las Letras, they will hold a public conversation about Preston’s outstanding career as a historian.

García Montero’s visit to Oxford

On Friday February 28th, García Montero will say a few words and participate in a poetry recital in the framework of the 50th anniversary of the Spanish and Portuguese Sub-Faculty of the University of Oxford.

In addition, García Montero will hold a meeting with the professor and promoter of the Madariaga Series, Juan Carlos Conde, on Saturday 29th at 9:00am. Then, both will visit Magdalen College, where the signing ceremony of the collaboration memorandum between Instituto Cervantes and Magdalen College will take place, with the presence of its president, Sir David Clary.