The Queen of Spain presides over a working session in Los Angeles on the situation and future of Spanish in the United States

Queen Letizia chaired a working meeting at the Cervantes Institute in Los Angeles on Monday on the current situation and prospects for the growth of the Spanish language in the United States, on the eve of the official inauguration of the new centre, located at 3375 Barham Blvd. in the Californian metropolis. The session was attended by the Director of Cervantes, Luis García Montero, and the heads of the Institute's centres in the USA, located in the cities of New York, Chicago, Cambridge (Harvard University), Albuquerque and, from now on, Los Angeles. Juan Fernández Trigo, Secretary of State for Ibero-America, the Caribbean and Spanish in the World, and the Spanish Ambassador Santiago Cabanas also took part.  

Luis García Montero, who moderated the meeting, thanked Doña Letizia for her presence, as a sign of the traditional support that the King and Queen of Spain give to the institution that since 1991 has promoted Spanish and the culture of the countries that have it as an official language. The poet and professor of Spanish literature summarised the objectives of the new Instituto Cervantes centre, which is the first to be set up on the West Coast, and which "will be fundamental in expanding Latin culture and giving it prestige, being proud of the expansion of Spanish in the USA, but avoiding complacency".

The Secretary of State, Fernández Trigo, stressed that "Spanish is at a moment of success", but pointed out that despite the high birth rate of the Latino population and the migratory movements that help the number of Spanish speakers, we must be aware that these factors will not last forever and that we will have to work to ensure that "Spanish increases its scientific level and maintains its strength in the audiovisual sector". One of the objectives, he pointed out, is for "Spanish to become a co-official language in the USA".

Marta Mateo, head of the Observatory of Spanish at Harvard University, began the round of analysis by the Cervantes directors, and based herself on the studies they carry out with different sources (including the latest census, from 2020) to explain the current position of Spanish in the USA, with special attention to its dominance and use by different types of speakers, the educational panorama, translation, the audiovisual media and the media. He gave some figures: Spanish is the second most widely spoken language in the USA, where there is a "cultured" variety that coexists with others "more contaminated by English", there are 62 million people who declare themselves to be "Hispanic" - an increase of 533% in the last 50 years - and 56 million who speak Spanish. He also spoke of the economic and employment value offered by the growing Spanish-English bilingualism (80% of companies claim to need Spanish-speaking staff), the coexistence of Spanish and English throughout the United States and the development of the so-called 'Spanglish'.

The head of Los Angeles has advanced the two main lines that will determine its activity: the large presence of Mexico and Central America in it "because there is a fictitious division between Spain and Latin America" and the importance of the audiovisual industry where "the strength of Spanish is unstoppable".

The new venue aspires to become a meeting place for creativity in the Spanish language and the most visible place for the exhibition and debate of cinematographic and audiovisual creation in Spanish. In addition, the writer Luis García Martín (better known as Luisgé Martín) has advanced the special attention that will be devoted to the second and third generations of immigrants with "specific programmes for them to recover their cultural roots", as their relationship with the language is sometimes conflictive, given that for a long time Spanish has been a "shameful" language in this land. His aim is to "fill Spanish with prestige", he summed up.

Also taking part in the working session with Queen Letizia was Spanish-language film producer Ignacio Darnaude, a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences of Hollywood and Spain, who emphasised the "explosive growth of Spanish and Latin American films in the world of entertainment", as well as the "undeniable business figures" and "the pressure for the product generated by Hollywood to reflect the cultural diversity of the country". The producer believes that "we have a golden opportunity to unite and boost these forces, expanding Spanish and Latino culture in the United States and around the world with the help of what unites us: the Spanish language".

For his part, the director of the New York centre explained the great challenges that pan-Hispanism (coordination between Spain and the other Spanish-speaking countries) poses for Spanish, its teaching and its certification. Richard Bueno considers that the weight and "diverse unity" of Spanish is strengthened by the development of Ibero-American linguistic and intercultural networks, the use of technological resources and the new perspectives of the global world.

The director of the Instituto Cervantes in Chicago summarised the results of its activity, one of the basic pillars of which is its dedication to children and young people. Anastasio Sánchez highlighted the agreement with the CPS (Chicago Public School) to teach and implement the Institute's curriculum in the city's public and public schools, and the new programme called "Cervantes Puentes", to help and teach Spanish to the most disadvantaged students in the metropolitan area, with the aim of enabling them to obtain their Seal of Biliteracy at the end of high school.

 For her part, the headmistress of Albuquerque will explain the peculiarities of the school, which stem from the fact that New Mexico is the only bilingual state in the country. For this reason, although Spanish is taught, its work goes a step further: it offers programmes to improve reading and writing skills and cultural activities to help its Hispanic pupils learn about their cultural heritage. Silvia Grijalba summarised the work carried out in the extension that Cervantes opened in 2021 in the city of El Paso, where 80% of the population speaks Spanish. Under the name "Pride and Heritage", classes are offered to children and teenagers to help them improve their Spanish and learn about and feel proud of the culture of their ancestors. In short, so that speaking Spanish ceases to be a stigma.

Lastly, the director of the Spanish Trade Office in Los Angeles, Juan Luis Gimeno, said that Spain's main goal is to become an audiovisual "hub" that attracts filming by the big majors and the sale of content. The weight of Spanish creation is very present in films and television series, he pointed out, but there is a field yet to be exploited in the video game and animation sectors. 

The meeting concluded with a micro-debate on the influence of Spanish in the audiovisual sector, where the terms "Hispanic" and "Latino" are sometimes not synonymous, mainly due to a question of identity. 

Following Monday's working meeting, the press conference and opening ceremony will take place on Tuesday.

At 10am (Los Angeles time), the Queen will arrive to unveil a commemorative plaque, tour the building and sign the guest book. She will then preside over the inauguration ceremony, an event to which personalities from Latin culture have been invited.

The Secretary of State for Latin America and the Caribbean and Spanish in the World, Juan Fernández Trigo, and Luis García Montero will take part. A video will be shown with a message from the two-time Oscar-winning filmmaker Pedro Almodóvar (1999 and 2003), who will give his name to the Cervantes library.

The inauguration will also be attended by the Spanish Ambassador to the United States, Santiago Cabanas; the Consul General of Spain in Los Angeles, Juan Carlos Sánchez Alonso, and local authorities.

Submitted by José Antonio Sierra, Hispanismo advisor.