Mariano Rajoy claims that Cervantes Institute is "a key institution for the international projection of our country"

Cervantes Institute Headquarters, New York (United States)

President of the Government Rajoy stated that "the importance of Spanish culture in the United States has not come about by chance", but rather is due to the "many and very important" ties that unite our two nations, because, among other reasons, there are 49 million Spanish speakers in the United States, which makes Spanish the second most widely spoken language in the country.

The President of the Government mentioned the symbolic value of 2016 for universal literature, since two key dates have been commemorated: the fourth centenary of the deaths of Miguel de Cervantes, "a symbol of the grandeur" and universal nature of our language, and of William Shakespeare, "the benchmark par excellence of Anglo-Saxon literature".

According to Mariano Rajoy, this "coincidence" serves to "recall the ties" between our two cultures, literatures and languages and clearly shows that the United States is "the clearest example of Hispanic and Anglo-Saxon co-existence".

Cervantes Institute

The President of the Government praised the work of the Cervantes Institute in promoting Spanish around the world. In his opinion, this is "our great foreign cultural brand" and "a key institution for the international projection of our country". He cited the fact that there are currently 21 million people learning Spanish around the world, as being highly significant.

Pool Moncloa/Diego CrespoIn this regard, he explained that the Cervantes Institute, which held its 25th anniversary this year, offers, in addition to language learning, "a wonderful projection of literature, cinema, art and thought centred on our language: Spanish".

Mariano Rajoy pointed out that the presence of the Cervantes Institute in the United States is well established, with headquarters in six cities. "The aim is clear, for Spanish to continue gaining ground in the United States as a language of the future, of opportunities and of culture".

Jorge Luis Borges

According to Mariano Rajoy, the exhibition, entitled "The visual universe of Jorge Luis Borges", organised on the occasion of the 30th anniversary of the death of the Argentinean writer, offers "a novel vision" of his works. Jorge Luis Borges, he said, is the "author of one of the great literary works of our time" and left us "a legacy brimming with originality that revolutionised literature in the Spanish language".

In addition to underlining that "the work of Jorge Luis Borges is inseparably related to Spain", the President of the Government pointed out that the Argentinean writer received the Cervantes Prize in 1979, "our highest literary award". Mariano Rajoy concluded his speech by recalling the "singular reading of Don Quixote" that Jorge Luis Borges made when he received this award. "The hero is this nobleman who tasks himself with something that he occasionally achieves, that of being Don Quixote".