Study Spanish and discover the Spanish culture: 2012, Year of the Cultures in the Basque Country

Patxi López, the lehendakari (President of the Basque government) has announced a programme of cultural activities and artistic events which will commemorate the 75th anniversary of the bombing of Guernica. In accordance with the inclusive nature of the initiative, López spoke from the Hotel Carlton in Bilbao which had been the Civil War-era seat of the first Basque government, a coalition of all the democratic political forces of the time.

Among the first cultural events planned are two photography exhibitions: “The Mexican suitcase” and “War and Peace: a personal vision”. The first of these will be open to the public at the Bilbao Fine Arts Museum between 27th February and 10th June, and the second will open in Guernica on 23rd March and will subsequently tour San Sebastián, Bilbao, Eibar and Vitoria.

“The Mexican Suitcase” collection consists of three boxes of previously lost photos which reappeared in Mexico City in 1995, and which will be exhibited for the first time in Bilbao. The photos were taken by Robert Capa, David Seymour and Gerda Taro during the Spanish Civil War, and are of exceptional historical value; they are some of the earliest examples of modern war photography. The photos also carry political interest, because the photographers were also anti-Fascist activists. Of special interest to Instituto Hemingway is a never-before-seen portrait of our namesake, Ernest Hemingway.

Another important event is the memorial ceremony which will be held in Guernica on the 26th April, the exact date of the bombing, 75 years ago.The ceremony will remember the townsfolk who died that tragic day, and will be held in the hope that such an atrocity might never occur again.

At Instituto Hemingway, we believe that there is a lot more to learning a language than simply memorising its grammar. You have to live it, and that means getting to know the culture that surrounds it. Consequently, we create monthly timetables of cultural activities for our students which allow them to discover Bilbao and its culture completely free of charge. The events organised by the Basque government for “2012 Euskadi” represent a unique opportunity really to get to know the culture and recent history of both the Basque Country and Spain in general. We plan to make the most of them, so that our students might better understand contemporary Spain through an awareness of its history.

You can sign up for the cultural activities here in the Instituto, in the common room.