Luis García Montero to visit three Cervantes Institute centres in Morocco
The director of the Cervantes Institute, Luis García Montero, begins a working trip to Morocco on Monday 4 March, where he will inaugurate the new classroom of the Jacinto Benavente Spanish School in Tetuan and the new extension of the Aulario in Martil. This extension, attached to the Cervantes Institute in Tetouan, is located on the campus of the Abdelmalek Essaâdi University, in the neighbouring coastal town of Martil.
García Montero will thus begin a visit whose work programme includes the Cervantes Institutes in Rabat and Fez.
On Monday, García Montero will meet Zouhaire Lamrani, director of the Ecole Normale Supérieure (ENS) of the Abdelmalek Essaâdi University, in the city of Martil, to inaugurate the new extension of the Cervantes Institute in this university centre.
An agreement between the two institutions to cede the use of two university classrooms will make it possible to teach Spanish as a foreign language at the university's premises. After the signing, a reception will be held at Tetouan City Hall, where he will be received by Mustapha El Bakkouri, Mayor of the city, and the rest of the municipal authorities. In addition, the Director of the Cervantes Institute will visit the Jacinto Benavente Spanish School, where he will also inaugurate a new classroom.
The director of the Cervantes Institute will also sign a collaboration agreement with the Tetuán Asmir Association for Socio-Cultural, Economic and Sports Development, one of the most important social agents in the city. This first day of work will end with the presentation of the visual art, painting, poetry and music magazine "PintPoeS" in the auditorium of the Cervantes Institute. Francisco Oda-Ángel, director of the Cervantes in Tetouan; Clara Miret, artistic director of the new magazine, and Luis García Montero himself, who will present his unpublished poem "Genocidio", will take part in the event.
On Tuesday, García Montero will travel to Rabat, where he will visit the Cervantes Institute in the Moroccan capital and hold a working meeting with the directors of the institution's six centres in the country - Casablanca, Fez, Marrakech, Tetouan, Tangiers and Rabat - to analyse the situation of Spanish and the academic and cultural projects for the year 2024. The delegation will be received by Enrique Ojeda, Spanish Ambassador in the Moroccan capital.
The working trip will end with a visit by García Montero to the Cervantes Institute in Fez and its new, enlarged facilities, where she will hold a meeting with the centre's management team and staff.
He will then go to the Kacimi Gallery to visit the exhibition "Línea Sur-Norte. Contemporary cross-border artists" and meet with Fouad Mahdaoui, Regional Delegate for Culture, and Nadia Berrechid, Regional Head of Cultural Activities of the Moroccan Ministry of Culture. He will also visit the Al Quaraouiyin Library, which houses the ancient collection of Andalusian manuscripts, accompanied by Abdelfatah Bougchouf, its curator. The last day of the tour will end with a concert by Capella de Ministrers in the Borj Cheikh Ahmed bastion in the medina of Fez.
One and a half million people speak Spanish in Morocco
The Cervantes Institute is an institution of reference in Morocco due to the historical, cultural and economic ties with Spain. Spanish is of significant importance in Morocco, especially in the northern regions of the country, where it is widely spoken and serves as a bridge between the diverse linguistic and cultural heritage of the Alawi kingdom and the Spanish-speaking world.
Currently, almost 1.5 million people speak Spanish in Morocco, and 80,000 study it in formal education (secondary and university education). Moreover, as Spain is one of Morocco's main trading partners and a destination for Moroccans, fluency in Spanish opens up multiple opportunities in business, tourism and education.
Submitted by José Antonio Sierra, Hispanismo advisor.
