The Diplomat
The Instituto Cervantes in Frankfurt will host today, September 26, European Day of Languages, a recital in which five poets will read their works in Spanish and in the co-official languages of Spain, Galician, Catalan and Basque, as well as in German. The evening is part of the upcoming celebration of the Frankfurt International Book Fair 2022, where Spain is this year’s Guest of Honor.
Frankfurt takes the witness of Paris, Berlin, and Naples, which hosted in 2019, 2020 and 2021, respectively, the events with which the Cervantes Institute joins this European Day “that celebrates cultural diversity in the old continent, and encourages collaboration between institutions to promote multilingualism,” as reported by the Institute in a press release.
Under the title Todas las voces la voz. Poesía en español, catalán, euskera, gallego y alemán (All voices the voice. Poetry in Spanish, Catalan, Basque, Galician and German), the event will feature the participation of the four Spanish poets Rosa Berbel (Estepa, Seville, 1997), who will recite her verses in Spanish; Yolanda Castaño (Santiago de Compostela, A Coruña, 1977), in Galician; Sònia Moll (Barcelona, 1974), in Catalan, and Castillo Suárez (Alsasua, Navarra, 1976), in Basque, together with the German poet Safiye Can (Offenbach am Main, 1977), in German.
The recital will be presented by the director of the Instituto Cervantes, Luis García Montero, and the Director General of Books and Reading Promotion, María José Gálvez; the director of the Institut Ramon Llull, Pere Almeda; the president of the Consello da Cultura Galega, Rosario Álvarez; the director of the Etxepare Euskal Institutua, Irene Larraza; and the head of Press of the Department of Culture of the city of Frankfurt, Aino Kelle, will take part in the event. The director of the Instituto Cervantes of Frankfurt, Ferran Ferrando, will introduce the poets who will be the protagonists of the reading, who will have two interventions and will recite two poems in each one.
Adopted in 2001, the European Year of Languages, the European Day of Languages is an initiative that pays tribute to the linguistic diversity of Europe, a continent with 24 official languages and some 60 regional or minority languages, in addition to languages from other parts of the world. This commemorative day, established by the European Commission and the Council of Europe, is celebrated every year on September 26 and represents 800 million citizens in 47 countries. Numerous institutions and associations with cultural and linguistic interests, as well as universities and schools, are involved in the initiative.
