The city of Arequipa, Peru, in a Julio Del Carpio (Hay Festival) panoramic image
Spain has offered Peru to have the ninth International Congress of the Spanish Language (CILE), scheduled for March 27-30 in Arequipa, begin in Cadiz and end in the Peruvian city, given the Andean country’s political and social instability they informed sources of the organization. Just three months after the event, Spain has presented this proposal, a plan B that would consist of dividing the congress venue due to the government crisis resulting from the fall of Peruvian President Pedro Castillo and the riots that are taking place in the streets these days across the country. The major event on the state, problems and challenges of Spanish, which brings together academics, philologists, writers and artists in a Spanish-speaking country every three years, is going through uncertainty, but a decision is expected to be made “in the coming days”, according to the same sources . It is impossible for the meeting to be held virtually.
The above sources add that the State Department is in talks with Peru and that the Spanish government would support Congress with economic support and infrastructure to avoid spending on the Lima government. From there, the culture department of the Federal Foreign Office explained to this medium: “We are in talks with the responsible authorities and will inform you as soon as possible”, reports Renzo Gomez. After President Castillo’s failed suicide coup on December 7, which led to his arrest and the appointment of Dina Boluarte as his successor, Peru plans to hold elections in April 2024.
More information
This movement from Spain followed the urgent call for a plenary session at the Royal Spanish Academy (RAE) this Thursday at 11:00 a.m. by its director Santiago Muñoz Machado to deal with the issue, according to sources from the institution. . In the Academy’s previous plenary session on December 15, the director already raised the matter, a scholarly source explains. That day, Nobel laureate and academic Mario Vargas Llosa, who attended the session, took the floor to admit that given the current circumstances, “it was not feasible to hold the congress for security reasons,” adds the same source. A particularly significant voice given that the author of “Conversation in the Cathedral” was the personality who insisted his hometown host the convention.
In addition, “the plenary session of the RAE approves the option of Cádiz”, a city with a special connection with America and where on March 19, 1812, the first liberal Spanish constitution was promulgated, with an important presence in these courts. of the citizens came from the still American colonies of Spain. Another issue to consider is the theme of the congress, whose motto is the Spanish language, racial miscegenation and interculturality, “a delicate matter,” adds the same source, in a country experiencing an escalation in protests.
Outside the doors, the RAE refers to the words of its director Tuesday during the presentation of the Spanish language dictionary update. “The Congress is taking place and there are no plans that it will not be held, apart from the country’s political instability. The situation is delicate and the Peruvian government itself might decide not to celebrate it; or even the academies in general with which we are in contact”. However, the final decision will depend on what the representatives of the Peruvian and Spanish governments agree on. What the world’s 23 language academies say is important, but not decisive.
With regard to the organization of the CILE, it should be explained that it is promoted by the Instituto Cervantes, in charge of foreign affairs, and the RAE, which is responsible for the scientific program together with the other 22 Spanish-speaking institutions. It is therefore an agreement of a political nature between the host country, which is responsible for the organization costs, and the Spanish government via Cervantes.
In fact, on November 11th, the award ceremony of the Congress took place in the city of Arequipa itself, in the presence of, among others, the director of Cervantes, Luis García Montero, and the director of the RAE; alongside the Mayor and the President of the Peruvian Language Academy. On that day it was announced that in March writers such as Sergio Ramírez, Héctor Abad Faciolince, Gioconda Belli, Santiago Roncagliolo, Jorge Volpi or Martín Caparrós would be there. A total of more than 250 lecturers and speakers. Likewise, it was recalled that the honorary presidency would consist of King Felipe and President Castillo, who are in prison today.
Demonstrators in support of former President Castillo in Arequipa, December 16. DIEGO RAMOS (AFP)
The Arequipa Congress has already suffered a delay as it should have taken place in 2022. What is now weighing on the new decisions is security, because as is usual with these appointments, the king will be present along with other authorities. So far, the social outburst in Peru has caused nearly thirty deaths in the protests that followed the fall of Castillo, for which the country’s prosecutors are seeking 18 months of preventive detention.
For all these reasons, the Spanish organization has shown the availability of the Cádiz City Council to co-host the Congress, since it has already been working on its candidacy since 2020 in order to decide on the 2025 Congress. “It is desirable that this could be held in Peru because it would mean that this country regains democratic normality,” explains Francisco Cano, Councilor for the Presidency and Heritage of the Cádiz City Council and President of the Casa de Iberoamérica in this city, this newspaper.
However, the City Council limits that for the occasion, Cádiz would be the framework for the celebration of “the program prepared by Arequipa” with the agreed round tables and speakers, and not with its own proposal that the candidacy of Cádiz works on – supported by Flamenco and carnival, hallmarks of the city – and which he presented in Madrid in November. This candidacy was promoted by the Cádiz Press Association and supported by the Diputación, the City Council, the Junta de Andalucía and other institutions such as the Senate.
Cano assures that “the city is prepared and will provide the organizers with spaces for the development of the sessions, as well as the administration and logistics to welcome the congressmen”. Thus, the Palacio de Congresos de Cádiz, the Casa de Iberoamérica, the ECCO cultural space and other infrastructures dependent on the University of Cádiz, allied with the City Council in the candidacy of Cádiz, have previously blocked the dates of the end of March 2023 the possibility , that the appointment of the Spanish language finally reaches the Atlantic city.
Should the Congress take place in Arequipa instead, it would traditionally be at the closing ceremony on March 30th when the successor is announced. Besides Cádiz, San Millán de la Cogolla (La Rioja) is another candidate. Since the first edition in Zacatecas (Mexico) in 1997, the following venues have been Valladolid (2001), Rosario (2004), Cartagena de Indias (2007), Valparaíso (2010), which was held online due to the earthquake, Ciudad de Panama (2013 ), San Juan de Puerto Rico (2016) and Córdoba (Argentina, 2019).
All the culture that suits you awaits you here.
Subscribe to
Babelia
The literary novelties analyzed by our best critics in our weekly bulletin
GET IT
Subscribe to continue reading
Read without limits