For ten years now we are a bridge between the Spanish and the Bulgarian culture
Born in the Basque country he builds cultural bridges between Spain and Bulgaria...
Javier Valdivielso started his work for Cervantes Institute in 1998. He gained professional experience while working for Institute’s centres in several countries: in Morocco – Rabat and Casablanca, in Italy – Rome, in USA – New York and of course in Madrid. „For me Sofia turned out to be a gift, here I am already a director. I feel very well in Bulgaria. Spanish and Bulgarian people share special closeness. There is Slavonic presence, but one finds a Mediterranean sense, that is very close to us. It gives that additional closeness, even though our people are in the two end points of Europe.“
2016 was important for Cervantes Institute as it reached its 10th year. We met with Mr. Javier Valdivielso to talk about the achievements of the institute, about the events to mark the anniversary, about Christmas, which we expect...
- Mr Valdivielso, we are on the eve of the brightest Christian holiday - Christmas. Tell us how you celebrate it in Spain?
- We, the Spaniards, celebrate it in a way similar to that in every Christian country. Beyond the religious beliefs, the feast is part of the calendar of each family, part of the working calendar, as it is everywhere. All the family gathers for Nativity. The night of the fifth against sixth January however, when children receive gifts, is the most anticipated. During that night, according to the faith, the Three Kings bring presents to the newborn Jesus in the manger. That is why in Spain they give gifts to children. Of course, Santa Claus is very strong because of the advertisements. So there is a sort of battle between him and the Magi. But the Spanish tradition is very strong. And this battle is still won by Caspar, Melchior and Balthazar.
- Have you preserved some custom from the times before Christianity, as we did with the Yule log?
- Yes. I am from the Basque country and there we have such pre-Christian custom. It is associated with one character – a charcoal burner, who descends from the forest to bring gifts to the good children. It is called Olentsero. He is a pre-Christian, pagan image. He is connected with the celebration of the winter solstice and the rebirth of nature and the sun. He is usually depicted as an unkempt, old and ugly grandfather, symbolizing the past old days, after which the birth of the New Year comes, full of life.
- In 2016 Cervantes Institute in Sofia reached the age of 10. What are your achievements for that time?
- Cervantes Institute is a public cultural institution in Spain, with 86 centers around the world. In 2006 it opened in Bulgaria. And we have developed a very intensive program that I think is important for your country. We offer Spanish language courses, manage the whole process of the DELE exams, which certify Spanish language knowledge. We built a network across the country. We have a library - the richest in Spanish-language materials in Sofia. With our cultural program and our activities we try to be the connection to Bulgaria. For these years we have offered many meetings with writers, organised debates, presented all the arts, education, culture... The average number of our cultural events is 100 per year. I think we gave an opportunity for the Bulgarians to get closer to our culture - rich and extensive. We tried to be a bridge between Spanish and Bulgarian culture.
- The Spanish language is really liked in our country...
- The teaching of Spanish in Bulgaria in recent years has increased, especially in the system of public education. The desire to study Spanish in high school also grows. The same happens at the universities in Sofia, Plovdiv and Veliko Tarnovo. Therefore, we, as an institute open to the public, work with adults, children and adolescents in specialized courses.
- Have you got specific numbers to share?
- There are about 20 000 students who study Spanish in Bulgaria. At the Cervantes Institute in Sofia we have the capacity to enroll about 1000 - 1100 students annually. The most important fact is that secondary school students who choose to study Spanish become more and more. Bulgarian youths realize that Spanish is the second language of international communication. I think they have a very good English language training and when they have to choose a second language, a bigger number chooses Spanish. It is felt everywhere, including in Bulgaria. There are more than 500 million Spanish speakers in the world, they are the second largest community in the US, Spanish is the official language in 21 countries. The trend of its increasing presence will continue.
- Does this growth have a connection with the desire of young people to study at universities in Spain?
- There are Bulgarians who study in Spain. But young people know that if they go to study in England, for example, they will be highly appreciated if their second language is Spanish. Of course, not to exclude Bulgarian.
- Talking about the language let us touch literature as well. Your initiative "Cervantes in Club Peroto" is really very interesting and successful. Tell us more about it.
- The project aims to help boost the translation and publication of Spanish and Latin American authors in Bulgaria. The market for their books here is very important. And we want to help. We try to make a bridge between the Spanish writers who come to present their books here and the Bulgarian writers. As there is the opposite problem: not much Bulgarian literature is published in Spain, Bulgarian authors are not translated. We are not the determinative factor, but we can give a boost for this situation to improve. For us Bulgarian literature is very important, it is part of the European one.
- Who were the authors presented this year and who will be presented next year? How do you select them?
- First we identify what Spanish authors will be published in Bulgaria and then begin to work with the publishers to help them with the dissemination of the books. This often involves an invitation from us to the Spanish author for a visit. For example, such is the case of Ignacio Martínez de Pisón, who recently presented in "Club Peroto" his book "Judgment of Tomorrow", with the participation of the Bulgarian writer Alek Popov.
We also work on topics. We recently developed the topic of journalism with the famous Spanish writer and journalist Alfonso Armada, who spoke with Elena Yoncheva.
We have different projects for next year. For the first time Martin Casariego, whose book will be presented in February will be in Bulgaria. In March there will be a meeting related to the theater. Juan Mayorga, a very important Spanish playwright will be here and will talk to the interpreter Neva Micheva. We want to work on educational models between Spain and Bulgaria, on the topics of urban society, European Union, etc. For example, on 8 December this year we presented the book "Who Rules in Europe", by the lecturer and political scientist José Ignacio Torreblanca. Unfortunately he could not come, but we organised a discussion in “Club Peroto” with professor Lazar Koprinarov from the South-West University "Neofit Rilski" in Blagoevgrad.
- Bulgarians follow Spanish cinema with interest. What to expect there?
- In May and June each year we organize a Week of Spanish and Ibero-American cinema. Last year we changed the pattern of presentation. Before all the films - all with Bulgarian subtitles, appeared in one cinema, and now we already work with four theatres.
In the small hall of Cervantes Institute Sofia, each Wednesday we offer monthly thematic films. We showed the female presence in cinema /female directors/, the Colombian, Argentinean, Spanish contemporary cinema, Carlos Saura... Our theater is open to all, free and subtitled in Bulgarian.
We participated in"Cinemania" this year, where two or three Spanish films were presented. During the Week of Spanish cinema non-commercial cinema can be seen.
- Now Bulgarian movies successfully take part in festivals in Spain as the one in San Sebastian...
- Yes. A few days ago the Bulgarian film Glory won first prize at the International Festival of youth cinema in the city of Gijón. There is an expansion of Bulgarian cinema at the moment, there is a very significant leap in its quality and the participation in festivals.
- And what are the events related to music?
- The Bulgarian audience knows mainly commercial Spanish music. There is interest, of course, in other rhythms such as flamenco. We try to support non-commercial artists and music in order to create a kind of network in Europe and make these artists better known. In this sense, this year for the first time we organized a festival for new music from Spain and Latin America - "Ole". We organised three concerts of three very young performers. They do not sell CDs in Bulgaria, nor have participated in concerts here, but have an incredible musical level. Next year, in October, we will organize the second edition of this festival.
We have other musical projects. In February we are partners for the concert of the famous violinist Ara Malikiyan in the National Palace of Culture. I believe that this project will surprise pleasantly the Bulgarian audience.
We work in all directions of culture. At the moment there is a wonderful exhibition of Luis Bassat - contemporary Spanish art, organized jointly with Fotofabrika Foundation and Square 500.
- Which do you think was the most important event, which marked the 10th anniversary of the Cervantes Institute in Sofia?
- The music festival "Ole". Its topic was 10 years Cervantes Institute in Sofia. We analyzed the results and decided to make it an annual festival of new music from Spain and Latin America. This was the culmination of the celebration of our tenth anniversary.
Finally I want to say that we are very grateful to Bulgaria for allowing us to work here during these 10 years. We really give it friendship, closeness, opportunity to explore our language, our culture. But the most important thing is that here we find institutions that accept us, that are open to us and allow us to work. Therefore, the cultural bonds between Spain and Bulgaria are very positive. That is why we expect many projects and initiatives in 2017.
Photo: Diplomatic Spectrum
