García Montero: “There is a millionaire elite that is using its puppets to tarnish the image of Spain”

The director of the Cervantes Institute, Luis García Montero, denounced this Friday that there is a “millionaire elite that is using its puppets to tarnish the image of Spain inside and outside.”

“That is, to make the work of the institutions that defend the image and pride of Spain abroad more complicated,” he stated, while emphasizing that those dedicated to culture are experiencing “complicated times.”

This was expressed at the Cervantes Institute, in the presentation of the National Plan for Cultural Action Abroad that seeks to project heritage and cultural and creative industries abroad.

Likewise, he pointed out that “the greatest wealth of a community is its culture” and recalled that societies recognize themselves not only for their material achievements, but also for what they decide to “create, conserve, share with the world and transmit in their own time in order to bequeath it to the future.”

The poet has also claimed contemporary Spanish creation and has highlighted the “extraordinary vitality” of areas such as literature, music, theatre, dance, cinema and the visual arts.

In the same way, he has indicated that “culture is not created by institutions, it is created by people” and has praised the daily work of writers, researchers, translators, artists, teachers and cultural professionals. At this point, he explained that the role of institutions must consist of “listening, accompanying” and putting themselves at the service of “creative energy” to guarantee “freedom, visibility and projection.”

“We need calm to think what we say before saying what we think and that is something that cannot be separated from cultural formation,” he noted in a reflection in which he warned about the “epidemic hysteria” of immediacy.

Along these lines, he has highlighted the role of Spanish: “Spanish is not only a language shared by more than 600 million people, it is a language of culture, a community, today a language recognized for the values ​​it transmits, for its role in multiculturalism and in the dialogue of civilizations.”

CULTURE AND ETHICS, “IN THE CENTER” IN FRONT OF TECHNOLOGY

The director of Cervantes has also addressed the challenges derived from technological transformation and has defended that “culture and ethics must remain at the center” of digital changes.

“Culture is the best letter of presentation of a country to the world, not as propaganda or as a showcase, but as an expression of its complexity, its creativity and its capacity for dialogue,” he stressed.