As the embassy of Spain celebrated its National Day in a well-attended event at The Ritz-Carlton Doha yesterday, Ignacio Escobar, Ambassador of Spain to Qatar, made it amply clear that his country is all set to woo Qatar with a hearty Spanish cultural extravaganza planned across a wide spectrum.
To mark the 400th death anniversary of Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra (1547-1616), regarded as the greatest Spanish novelist, the Spanish embassy, in co-operation with the Translation and Interpreting Institute (College of Humanities and Social Sciences, HBKU), is organising a lecture on “the influence of Islam and Moorish culture in the work of Cervantes and his masterpiece Don Quixote”. The lecture will be delivered by Dr Muhsin al-Ramli, a Spanish writer, poet, translator, and academic, at the Cinema Auditorium, Education City, Student Centre, at 6.30pm on October 20; it will be in Arabic with simultaneous translations in English and Spanish.
Preceding that is a treat for flamenco lovers as Recorridos Flamenco Dance Show by the Spanish dancer Elena ‘La Machana’ is sure to enthral a full house at the Katara Opera Theatre at 7pm on October 17. The entry to both the events — the lecture and the flamenco show — is free.
Having always considered himself to be “half-Arab, half-Spanish” due to his birth and having grown up in the picturesque city of Granada in Andalucia, Spain, Escobar admits to feeling pretty much at home here in Doha. As he spearheads a Spanish cultural feast towards the end of this year, Escobar spoke to Community at length about how and why this cultural exchange narrative would advance.

What are the cultural or other community events and programmes that the embassy has planned for the coming months?
The embassy is focusing its cultural activities around the Spanish language. Speaking the language is an important step to opening your mind and understanding a different culture. Spanish is spoken by nearly 500 million people from all continents, and is the world’s second most spoken language after Chinese. There is a high demand for Spanish classes in Qatar and we are focusing on developing the instruments to meet this demand. This implies supporting the public and private institutions that teach Spanish language and creating a cluster of Spanish teachers that can share experiences and material. These activities will be supported by the embassy through conferences, seminars, literary prizes, and film exhibitions, mainly aimed at the Qatari and the Arabs, as they are the main targets of the embassy’s cultural activities.

In what way would the Cervantes and the Flamenco events extend the Spanish cultural dialogue with the Qataris and the various expatriates of Qatar?
The link is clear: on the one hand, there is no need to elaborate on the rich Arabic past of Spain that has contributed to make my country what it is today; Al Andalus and the splendour of the Arab Culture are well known by Qataris and Arab expatriates alike. On the other hand, Cervantes is a reference in world literature and is best known for his masterpiece ‘Don Quixote’, and yet few are aware of his adventurous life and of the fact that he was held captive by Berber pirates in present day Algeria for five years. This gave the writer the occasion to know first-hand the Arab and Muslim cultures that are reflected in some of his works. As a matter of fact, the story of Don Quixote is the alleged translation of an ancient manuscript written in Arabic found in an old shop. The period in which the action takes place in Don Quixote is also a critical moment of Spain’s history, when the fight against the Protestant provinces of the Spanish empire pushed King Philip to seek support in the Catholic Church to the detriment of other religions. Today, in many parts of the world we are still experiencing fierce fighting over religious grounds, or should we say that religion is used again for political purposes.

Flamenco, too, has a fascinating story related to its origins. Doesn’t it?
Yes. Flamenco is an artistic expression that combines dancing, singing and playing. There is little knowledge on the origins of the gypsies, the people from who this form of expression has originated. Some say they came from Egypt, others say they came from as far as India. Needless to say, the Arab influences are definitely present. However, some dance steps and movements are clearly reminiscent of some traditional Indian dances, even though flamenco is executed at a faster pace. So, there can be some room for discussion about this with Arabs and Indians!

How do you find the interest and curiosity levels of Qataris and expatriates towards Spanish culture?
Qataris, in general, are interested in Spanish culture, in particular because of the Arabic and Andalusian past — Southern Spain is the area that is first visited in most cases. But Barcelona is another among the main destinations, perhaps attracted by the football team, a beautiful and friendly city, full of life and with many opportunities to find cultural activities, shopping, dining, etc. Many other Qataris have travelled to Bilbao, just to enjoy the extraordinary Guggenheim Museum and enjoy their world class cuisine.

What would you say are the cornerstones or the most essential elements of Spanish culture and heritage?
Defining culture is a difficult thing; defining Spanish culture is even more difficult. Spain boasts of six different climates and the same number of different mentalities. From the gay Andalucía to the severe Castilla, or from the green and rainy Galicia to the Mediterranean Cataluña, Spain displays a variety of interpretations of what it means to be Spanish.
We also protect our natural resources, as we are the first country in the European Union in the number of Biosphere Reserves and Natural Parks. Moreover, Spain is ranked third on the Unesco World Heritage list; my country has a total of 45 World Heritage Sites and a further 11 declared as Intangible Heritage (including flamenco). From Arabic or Jewish monuments from the Middle Ages to modern designs by renowned architects, you can find civil or religious buildings from every period in Arts History.
It’s home to many great painters such as Velazquez, Goya or the more modern ones, Dali or Picasso. But there are also other aspects of culture in which Spain excels, such as design, fashion, cinema, gastronomy, architecture, etc.
Another important aspect of what defines a Spaniard is solidarity: we have reached the number of 5 million volunteers, over 1,500 NGOs are active all over the world, and we continue to be, by far, the world leader in number of organ donations and transplants.
Sports is another aspect of culture in which Spain has a say: we love to practice sports, enjoy sporting events with emotion and intensity and are capable of producing, thanks to our successful model of sports management, champions in disciplines such as football, basketball, tennis, motorcycling, cycling, Formula One racing, golf, swimming and ice-skating, just to name a few.