From book presentations and literary talks to a conversation on verse and song with Jorge Drexler and a workshop on improvised rap in Spanish

The word and the Spanish language, protagonists of the RAE's cultural programme at the IX CILE

The word and the Spanish language, treated from different disciplines, are the protagonists of the cultural programme that the Royal Spanish Academy (RAE) has designed for the 9th International Congress of the Spanish Language (CILE), to be held in Cadiz from 27 to 30 March. 

Following the academic programme, various cultural activities will fill the afternoons for the enjoyment of the general public. From book presentations and talks to concerts and meetings of various kinds. 

On 28 March at 18:00, the "Crónica de la lengua española 2022-2023", an informative publication by the RAE and the Association of Spanish Language Academies (ASALE), published by Espasa, will be presented at the Casa de Iberoamérica. The annual publication reports on the work of the academies during the year and analyses the most relevant issues affecting the unity of the Spanish language in the Spanish-speaking world. The book also reflects how to deal with the changes that our language is undergoing, both in terms of lexis and grammar, and in this edition it includes several issues related to the theme of the Congress: " Spanish language, miscegenation and interculturality. History and future". 

Immediately afterwards, and also in the courtyard of the Casa de Iberoamérica, there will be a round table discussion entitled "Journalism, a pure literary genre". A reflection on the art of daily storytelling, which involves a direct exploration of language in many areas of life. Writers have filled the pages of newspapers with talent and journalists have enriched their chronicles, reports and interviews with poetic and narrative breath of height. Fernando Iwasaki, Jorge F. Hernández, Raquel Garzón, Antonio Lucas and Eva Díaz Pérez will talk about this in a debate moderated by Jesús Ruiz Mantilla.

Wednesday 29 March will be marked by the variety of cultural events on offer. At 18:00, the Baluarte de la Candelaria will host the presentation of the commemorative edition of " The Deep Rivers", by José María Arguedas, in an event in which the director of the RAE and president of ASALE, Santiago Muñoz Machado, and the academics Sergio Ramírez (Nicaragua), winner of the Cervantes Prize, and Marco Martos and Alonso Cueto (Peru) will take part. The work is the latest publication in the RAE and ASALE collection, published by Alfaguara, which began with "Don Quixote" for the IV Centenary, followed by "One Hundred Years of Solitude" (2007); "The Most Transparent Region" (2008); "Pablo Neruda. General Anthology" (2010); "Gabriela Mistral in Verse and Prose" (2010); "The City and the Dogs" (2012); "Rubén Darío. From Symbol to Reality" (2016); "The Beehive" (2016); "Essential Borges" (2017); "I the Supreme" (2017); "Rayuela" (2019); "Mr. President" (2020); and "Martí in his Universe. An Anthology" (2021). 

The meeting between Gonzalo Celorio and Juan Cruz will also revolve around Latin American literature, specifically the boom, at the Casa de Iberoamérica at 19:00.  At the same time, but in the courtyard of the Constitución 1812 building, a conversation will take place between Jorge Drexler and Ignacio García. The musician and the theatre director will talk about the importance of words in the compositional process, the power of lyrics in song, their relationship with poetry and the strength of Spanish on the global music scene. In short, the two-way relationship between song and verse since the dawn of time. 

On the same day, another way of using language will also be explored: improvised rap in Spanish, in an activity organised by FundéuRAE in collaboration with the Cervantes Institute, the Cádiz City Council, RedBull Batalla and the SGAE Foundation. A workshop on this discipline with the participation of artists Blon, MNak and NikiDMT, moderated by Queen Mary, will deal with everything that lies behind this artistic movement in Spanish, the importance of words and the handling of language when it comes to achieving the best improvisations, and many details and tricks that are used in competitions. It will take place on 29 March, at 20:30, in the pillared hall of the Baluarte de la Candelaria (Cádiz), and immediately afterwards, at 21:30, the courtyard of the Baluarte will host a RedBull Batalla de exhibición, with the three rappers. The show will also be presented by Queen Mary and will feature DJ Verse on the mixer.  

On the last day of the Congress, 30 March, the "Speakers" collection will be presented, aimed at those who are interested in everything related to the language. The aim of this series of informative books is to ensure that those interested do not stop at the threshold of technicalities, because language has the capacity to explain the most complex issues with clarity. It is not a question of avoiding complexity, but of refining the capacity for expression and communication, without subterfuge. This is one of the principles on which "Speakers" is based.  

On the other hand, for two days (29 and 30 March), the Baluarte will host a space for the presentation of books and academic publications. To round off the last day of the CILE, there will be a popular reading of the work of Javier Marías. 

Submitted by José Antonio Sierra, Hispanismo advisor. 

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