On the day of the Princess of Asturias Awards ceremony, there are many different types of people in Oviedo: people in suits, state police officers, accredited journalists and bagpipers. A helicopter flies over the city center and the afternoon is dedicated to the monoculture of the awards ceremony. There are also a plethora of so-called princesses: the curious people who stand outside the Reconquista Hotel during the week, trying to experience the magic of meeting someone they saw on TV in person. Although it does not rain as much in Asturias as is believed outside, the day of the ceremony turned out to be a day of gray and Orbayu gusts, with the luck that the rain narrowly spared the entrance to the Campoamor Theater of the royal family and for the indigo carpet. In attendance were King Felipe VI, Queen Letizia, Princess Leonor, Infanta Sofía and Queen Emeritus Sofía, who watched the event from the traditional box to the right of the stage, while the rest presided.
Already at the ceremony, Meryl Streep, winner of the arts, said that “empathy is the beating heart of acting talent,” in a soulful, magnetic, very theatrical speech that captivated the audience, full of personalities and authorities, with bated breath. The actress exuded compassion during her stay this week in Oviedo, dancing to the rhythm of the bagpipes, lying on the sofa during her meeting with Antonio Banderas or attending a performance by acting students in Gijón. At the ceremony he advocated interpretation as an act of empathy. According to him, since we are babies and cry just because we see another person crying, we lose our ability to put ourselves in other people’s shoes. Self-interest, ideology or distrust arise.
The Japanese writer Haruki Murakami received the Princess of Asturias Prize for Letters this Friday at the Campoamor Theater in Oviedo. Chema Moya (EFE)
“So we come to this sad moment in history,” the American added, also referring to the assassination of Federico García Lorca and how the character Martirio in “The House of Bernarda Alba” (during her college years Streep starred) (a montage of this text) laments the repetition of tragedies. “Empathy can be a radical form of rapprochement and diplomacy and is also crucial in other areas of activity. I hope that in our increasingly hostile and volatile world we can establish our other rule that all actors are taught: the most important thing is to listen,” concluded the actress. While the war in Ukraine was the focus of the gala last year, this year the situation in Gaza, perhaps less intense and more shrouded, has overshadowed some interventions. Numerous flags and banners flew in solidarity with the Palestinian people at the traditional republican protest gathering in the nearby Plaza de la Escandalera, whose whistles and boos were overshadowed by the parade of bagpipe bands from across the region.
A gala with remarkable failures
Although the ceremony is celebrated annually according to a similar pattern, this year there were some special features. Most notably, two of the winners died between the announcement of their awards and the award ceremony. This is the case of the Italian essayist Nuccio Ordine, winner of the Communication and Humanities Prize: his sister and her partner traveled to Oviedo to attend the ceremony. Also the French academic and MEP Hélène Carrère d’Encausse, winner of the Social Sciences Prize, whose son, the writer Emmanuel Carrère, came to collect him. Interestingly, the author had received the Letters Award in 2021, so this all sounds familiar. One of the Science and Engineering Research winners, Jeffrey Gordon, was unable to attend due to the sudden death of his wife.
Princess Leonor during her speech at the gala of the 43rd edition of the Princess of Asturias Awards at the Campoamor Theater in Oviedo this Friday. Chema Moya (EFE)
Felipe VI congratulates the Princess of Asturias after her intervention. Ballesteros (EFE)
The American actress Meryl Streep, winner of the Princess of Asturias Award for the Arts, during the gala this Friday.Chema Moya (EFE)
The winners of the 43rd edition of the Princess of Asturias Awards, this Friday at the Campoamor Theater in Oviedo. Ballesteros (EFE)
King Felipe VI during his speech at the 43rd Princess of Asturias Awards ceremony this Friday. Ballesteros (EFE)
Haruki Murakami, Princess of Asturias Prize for Literature, this Friday in Oviedo.Juan Carlos Rojas/LaPresse (LP_SPAGNA)
A moment from the 43rd edition of the Princess of Asturias Awards, this Friday at the Campoamor Theater in Oviedo. Chema Moya (EFE)
Princess Leonor welcomed Kenyan athlete Eliud Kipchoge, winner of the Princess of Asturias Sports Prize, during the awards ceremony this Friday. Ballesteros (EFE)
American actress Meryl Streep, winner of the Princess of Asturias Prize for the Arts, during her speech at the awards ceremony this Friday.Chema Moya (EFE)
The winners of the Princess of Asturias Award for International Cooperation for the Medicines for Neglected Diseases Initiative, during the gala this Friday.Chema Moya (EFE)
King Felipe VI, Leonor de Borbón and the President of the Principality of Asturias, Adrián Barbón, during the gala of the 43rd edition of the Princess of Asturias Awards, held this Friday at the Campoamor Theater in Oviedo. Ballesteros (EFE)
King Felipe VI presides, together with Queen Letizia, Princess Leonor and Infanta Sofía, at the 43rd Princess of Asturias Awards Ceremony at the Campoamor Theater in Oviedo. Chema Moya (EFE)
King Felipe VI and Queen Letizia upon their arrival at the Campoamor Theater in Oviedo to preside this Friday at the 43rd edition of the Princess of Asturias Awards.Paco Paredes (EFE)
The President of the Princess of Asturias Foundation, Ana Isabel Fernández, during her speech at the awards ceremony this Friday at the Campoamor Theater in Oviedo.chema Moya (EFE)
King Felipe VI and Queen Letizia upon arrival at the 43rd edition of the Princess of Asturias Awards, this Friday at the Campoamor Theater in Oviedo. Ballesteros (EFE)
The Queen Emeritus, Doña Sofía, during the gala of the 43rd edition of the Princess of Asturias Awards at the Campoamor Theater in Oviedo.Chema Moya (EFE)
The Royal Family received the winners of the Princess of Asturias Awards in an audience this Friday at the Reconquista Hotel in Oviedo.Chema Moya (EFE)
This year’s literary laureate, Japan’s Haruki Murakami, did not speak at the event, perhaps due to his well-known shyness and aversion to public events. Although he did not address the elites gathered here, he learned the basics of literature on Wednesday in Gijón at an event with the reading clubs of public libraries. And he didn’t look too uncomfortable. Curiously, Murakami is a famous marathon runner, as is, on another level of inquiry, Eliud Kipchoge, winner of the sports award. The Japanese were probably particularly interested in the Kenyan’s speech.
“You know? Running is not just physical exercise. “Running is a tool that has the power to unite us,” said Kipchoge, who displayed no small amount of positive thinking. A marathon is a common celebration in which… The origin or skin color of each individual doesn’t matter. According to the Kenyan, anyone who manages to finish a marathon is capable of anything. He doesn’t celebrate his victories with parties and champagne. “I like to go back to my training camp in Kenya and plant a tree “, he said, “for once the goal is reached, the moment of glory is fleeting.” But the joy that comes from growing a tree lasts for many lifetimes.” Unlucky was that the runner was just before his Departure for Asturias had to break his record by his compatriot Kelvin Kiptum.
Felipe VI Speaks to Princess Leonor after her intervention at the Gala.Ballesteros (EFE)
The Princess of Asturias, almost of age
And another peculiarity: the Princess of Asturias, Leonor de Borbón, who gave her first public speech on the same stage in 2019, appeared this time shortly before coming of age (she will turn 18 on the 31st and, as she explained, the Constitution sign) and shortly afterwards swear in the flag at the General Military Academy of Zaragoza. “I can tell you that I am very aware of my duty and responsibility,” he said in his speech. His father, King Felipe VI, denounced the “heartbreaking suffering” caused by the war in the Middle East and called for the defense of a peace based on “mutual guarantees of respect and security.” He recalled that the International Cooperation Prize was jointly awarded in 1994 to Israeli Prime Minister Isaac Rabin and Palestinian Authority President Yasir Arafat for their efforts to promote peace in the region. Regarding national politics, the king appealed to the “responsibility” of politicians and warned that the solution to Spain’s problems must come “from unity and never from division,” an idea that drew the greatest applause of all. Due to a minor wrist injury, the king wore a black bandage on his left hand.
French writer Emmanuel Carrère upon his arrival at the gala to receive the Social Sciences Prize from his mother Hélène Carrère d’Encausse.Paco Paredes (EFE)
Luis Pizarro, executive director of the Drugs for Neglected Diseases Initiative (DNDi), an award-winning international collaboration organization, spoke of millions of invisible and forgotten patients, often with diseases for which there is no cure. “They are too poor for their diseases to be of interest on this side of the world,” he denounced. Traditional pharmaceutical research does not see them as a lucrative market from which to make profits. Chagas disease, mycetoma, leishmaniasis, sleeping sickness… The number is staggering: 1.6 billion per year, according to the World Health Organization. Another award-winning initiative, this time with the Concord Prize, is Mary’s Meals, a non-profit organization based in the Scottish town of Dalmally, whose aim is to provide children in schools with a daily meal. The Scientific and Technical Research Award was accepted by biologists E. Peter Greenberg and Bonnie L. Bassler (Gordon was absent for the reason stated above) for studies of the human microbiome and communication between bacteria.
After listening to the Anthem of Asturias, performed by the Bagpipe Band of the Royal City of Oviedo, the winners left the stage and exited the theater through the central aisle, accompanied by the El Xarreru parade. The royal family is expected to end their annual tour of the principality on Saturday with a visit to this year’s model town of Asturias, the municipalities of Arroes, Pion and Candanal, in the council of Villaviciosa.
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