Queen Letizia started her week with a quick, one day trip to Senegal to officially open the newest branch of the Cervantes Institute.
Upon landing in Dakar’s Blaise Diagne Airport on Monday, 13 December, the Queen was welcomed by the country’s First Lady, as well as the two Ambassadors.
She then travelled to the new Cervantes Institute building, where she was welcomed by, among others, the Senegalese Minister of Culture and Education and the Director of the Cervantes Institute.
Once inside, the event started with a musical performance for guitar and voice that was in a fusion genre between Spanish and Senegalese traditional pieces.
It was then time for the speeches, which were given by the Director of the Cervantes Institute, the Senegalese Minister of Culture and Education and the Secretary of State for Latin America and the Caribbeans and Spanish Around the World. The speech portion of the event was concluded by another musical performance, this time by ACHIDA’s Spanish students.
There was then a debate focused on the growth of interest for learning the Spanish language and, more in general, Spanish culture in the country, held by a Spanish teacher and a university professor and moderated by the Director of the Cervantes Institute in Dakar.
The academic portion of the event was concluded by yet another musical moment, this time by band DEM DIKK.
Queen Letizia was subsequently given a tour of the new facilities, including a multimedia classroom and the library, as well as a look at the exhibition “Illustrated.”
She then signed the Book of Honour and uncovered a plaque commemorating her visit before holding a meeting with everyone present.
Her Majesty left the Cervantes Institute to take part in the lunch that the President and the First Lady offered in her honour, before making her way back to the airport to catch a flight for Madrid, where she is expected to take part in a reception for the Spanish delegation at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games.
The Cervantes Institute is a Spanish entity that promotes the Spanish language and culture around the world. Both King Felipe and Queen Letizia maintain regular meetings with executives and officials from the main branch in Spain.
The Institute in Dakar was opened 11 years after the inauguration of the Cervantes Classroom in 2010; the C\classroom, which will continue to operate alongside the new facility, has received a visit from Queen Letizia in her previous trip to the country in 2017.
From the looks of the royal agenda, the reception to Tokyo athletes seems to be the last item on the calendar for the royals, who will then be able to enjoy the Christmas holiday as a family since Princess Leonor has made her way back to Spain from Wales, where she has been studying at UWC Atlantic.
