The Diplomat
The Organization of Ibero-American States for Education, Science and Culture (OEI) and the Union of Ibero-American Capital Cities (UCCI) have presented the guide Próceres de Iberoamérica en Madrid (Heroes of Ibero-America in Madrid), which includes the passage through the city of historical figures such as Simón Bolívar , José de San Martín or José Martí.
The book covers routes and itineraries through various points in the city of Madrid related to the heroes, presents the statues or commemorative plaques dedicated by the city in their memory and includes a wide range of historical curiosities.
During the presentation, which took place on March 21 at the Casa de América in Madrid, the secretary general of the OEI, Mariano Jabonero, pointed out that this guide is proposed “as an accompaniment for walkers to discover a diverse, but with a common history.” For Jabonero, these links are reflected in the fact that today “we are a community of more than 600 million Spanish speakers around the world in which Spaniards only represent 6%, a sign that we share a living culture on both sides of the Atlantic.”
For her part, Almudena Maíllo, general secretary of UCCI, highlighted that “the guide is an aid, it is a point of view, to understand much of our present as a region based on knowing the steps of some of the most important leaders in Latin America. ”. “Culture is a fundamental pillar for sustainable development and at UCCI we are supporting investment in cultural industries,” she added.
The guide begins with a presentation of the historical context of Madrid at the beginning of the 19th century that the heroes knew and that played a fundamental role in their historical trajectories, and focuses on relevant aspects, such as the influence of the Enlightenment or the role of the Cortes of Cádiz, which resulted in the promulgation of the first Spanish Constitution with the participation of American deputies.
Likewise, it presents curious data that allow us to better understand the biographies of heroes such as Simón Bolívar, José de San Martín, Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla or Bernardo de O’Higgins, and develops two itineraries around strategic points in the city of Madrid, such as the Parque del Oeste or the Atocha Natural Sciences Museum, where it is currently possible to appreciate the different tributes and recognitions that the city pays to these personalities.
The guide arises as the continuation of the first joint editorial project between the OEI and UCCI published in 2023 and titled Artistic, botanical and historical routes of Ibero-America in Madrid (Retiro), with which it wanted to highlight the valuable role of the city of Madrid as a point of historical and cultural meeting of Ibero-America and with the vocation of “Ibero-American capital”. Currently, one in four inhabitants of the city of Madrid is of American origin or ancestry.
The OEI is, since 1949, the first intergovernmental organization for South-South cooperation in the Ibero-American space. Currently, it has 23 member states and 19 national offices, in addition to its General Secretariat in Madrid. With more than 650 ongoing projects and more than 400 active cooperation agreements, the organization has contributed to the drastic reduction of illiteracy in Latin America, with an average of more than 12 million direct beneficiaries in the last five years.
For its part, the UCCI is an international, local, non-profit association that brings together 29 cities in Latin America, including the capitals. The UCCI was founded in October 1982 with the purpose of promoting links, relationships and exchanges between Ibero-American capital cities, promoting economic and sustainable development and contributing to the democratic strengthening of local governments in Ibero-America.
