HE King On Tuesday, April 11, he defended “civic virtues” as “the essence of democratic life”. Spain, “Although it is a fact that a lot has changed in our 200-year history, our hopes as a nation have not changed.”
“The issues may be new in their particular development, but they evoke universal and enduring moral foundations. In short, while it is true that much has changed in our 200-year history, our hopes as a nation have not changed: together in a country where open, tolerant, deeply supportive, and civic virtues are the essence of our democracy. live”, the monarch stressed during a speech Perform at the Ateneo de Madrid.
This kings of spain Presided over the opening ceremony of the Bicentennial of the Ateneo de MadridA cultural institution that opened its doors in 1823 under the protection of Queen Governor María Cristina, after the Spanish Athenaeum was closed in 1820. Various Spanish cultural and political figures were present at this meeting.
Before his intervention, a musical performance with the cajon and the host of the show, Miguel Rellán on this occasion invited the monarch to play this instrument again. just as he did a few weeks ago at the Language Congress in Cádiz. “I think it’s something I’ll carry with me for the rest of my life,” replied the King, laughing as soon as he stepped onto the stage.
Felipe VI reviewed some of the “great universal social and political challenges”He talked about his adoption. new technologies. “This raises debates that we need to collectively respond to. Today’s societies demand new rights and freedoms and face challenges that cannot be overcome without the aid of science, culture and thought.”
Likewise, the King, who is a quota member of the Ateneo, demanded that this institution be one of the institutions that “offer the light” to Spain and “take on the task” of facing these challenges. “The civic values embodied in our Constitution today, such as freedom, solidarity and equality, were and still have a privileged place for reflection and development at the Ateneo de Madrid”, pointed out.
In 1884, Antonio Cánovas del Castillo and King Alfonso XII inaugurated the Ateneo’s current headquarters on Calle del Prado. Luis Arroyo, president of the Athenaeum, actors Miguel Rellán and Leire Martín, and humanist and Athenaeist Emilio Lledó also attended the event.With musical interventions by Trio Arbós.
“The light, the light of knowledge, the brilliance of our arts, letters and sciences, as a metaphor for the most dignified human aspirations, has returned, providing hope and understanding in the darkest moments,” said the Sovereign.
The king reviewed the history of the Ateneo, which “symbolized the collective desire of Spanish society for progress and development”. “Thus, we remember a history that, in all its bright and dramatic circumstances, is also the history of Spain,” he confirmed. Actually, He remembered one of the maxims of the Athenaeum: “there is no real freedom without public enlightenment”.
Felipe VI cited some of the “most prominent” Ateneo members: from doctor and thinker Gregorio Marañón to Manuel Azaña, president of the Second Republic, including the first woman admitted to the institution, Emilia Pardo Bazán, among others.
A century-old library
The visit ended with a tour of the ‘Two Centuries in Search of Light’ exhibition in the institution’s library. Since its inception, the Ateneo de Madrid Library has housed the works of Spanish thinkers that led to successive generations of 1998, 14 and 27, who passed from Modernism to literary avant-gardes such as ultraism.
Exceptionally and on the occasion of the Bicentennial commemoration, The library is open to the public for the “Two Centuries Seeking Light” exhibition.
An exhibition presenting the history of the Athenaeum: from the electoral system with the black and white balls of the writer Mariano José de Larra, who was its first member in 1836, to the development of the members’ files with reviews of old photographs of their rooms, handwritten documents relating to its members, bibliographic and artistic funds or collections as bizarre as 19th-century glass plates.