King Felipe Participates in the Inauguration of the VII Congress of the Spanish Language in Puerto Rico
Their Majesties King Felipe and Queen Letizia traveled to San Juan, Puerto Rico to participate in the Inauguration of the VII Congress of the Spanish Language.
This is the first time that the Congress has been held in the United States or one of its territories. King Felipe highlighted in his speech, “It is truly in this last space, in the universal space, where the Spanish language and all of the cultures linked to it can, in today’s globalized world, make its biggest contributions. To begin with, and as I already mentioned, contributing to guarantee global cultural and linguistic diversity starting with the cohesion and strength of the very “territory of La Mancha.” He finished by saying, “I think the best tribute we can pay to Miguel de Cervantes on this 400 anniversary, as Rubén Darío requested, is to follow the ideal spirit of Don Quixote: dialogue of languages and cultures united in brotherhood for the word that makes us humans.”
The King and Queen also attended a round table titled, “Tradition and creativitiy: Cervantine lessons.” They also visited historic sites in San Juan such as Santa Catalina Palace and San Juan Castle. Finally, they visited the San Juan Museum where they visited special exhibitions titled “Quijotes por el mundo” and “La lengua y la palabra. Trescientos años de la Real Academia Española.” Earlier in the day, King Felipe met with the Governor of Puerto Rico, Alejandro Javier García Padilla.
The International Congress of the Spanish language came about in order to create and promote new perspectives around the Spanish language. It is a universal form of reflection about the situation, problems, and challenges facing the Spanish language. Additionally, it intends to enliven the feeling of shared responsibility between governments, institutions, and citizens in the promotion and unity of the language. The congress unites writers, academics, experts, and professionals from around the world.
