More than two months after his appointment, this is the balance of Toni Cantó as director of the Office of Spanish created for him by the Government of Isabel Díaz Ayuso: organize a two-week festival that will come to an end on the holiday on October 12, meet with diplomats from American countries, and promote the signing of agreements with the Royal Spanish Academy (RAE), the federation of Schools of Spanish for foreigners (Fedele) and the College of Architects of Madrid (COAM).
This will be detailed this Friday by the regional president, Isabel Díaz Ayuso, who will also underline during a ceremony at the Círculo de Bellas Artes the importance of turning the language into a tool to attract tourists, according to information obtained by EL PAÍS.
More information
Toni Cantó makes the americas
Madrid, cradle of the Spanish, but not of the chotis
Expelled from the electoral list of Díaz Ayuso for 4-M by the Constitutional Court, which considered that he did not meet the requirement of having registered on time in the region, the former deputy of UPyD and Cs was recovered for the project of the president to through the Spanish Office, which the opposition has unanimously considered as "a chiringuito". And not just the opposition. “The chiringuito is me. There is no other structure than me, ”he said.
Almost a quarter after his signing, the body lacks a website, maintains two staff members, and the professional agenda of its director appears practically free of appointments (there are less than a dozen). In contrast, Cantó's activity on social media is frenzied, focusing on defending the work of Díaz Ayuso and criticizing the Catalan independence movement. A workload that has allowed him to meet again with Albert Rivera, who once signed him for Cs from UPyD: the manager of the Diaz Ayuso Executive will be a professor of the leadership course that his former boss pilots at the Cardenal Cisneros Institute.
It is an honor to be part of the great teaching staff that @Albert_Rivera has set up for the postgraduate degree in management and political leadership at the Cardenal Cisneros University.
I will participate in the areas of public speaking and communication.
https://t.co/ccG2pl52zN
- Toni Cantó (@ Tonicanto1) September 9, 2021
And what exactly is Cantó doing in the Spanish Office?
"Identify opportunities to create wealth and employment around the Spanish language and cooperate in the promotion of Hispanic culture and art," according to the description signed in his hand by the exactor in the declaration of activities and assets to which he is obliged as a senior position, and which reflects that he will receive a salary of 75,000 euros a year for fulfilling that task.
After meeting with representatives of the embassies of Chile, Guatemala, Costa Rica, El Salvador or the Dominican Republic, this is the result of the efforts of Cantó, whose position depends directly on the Minister of Culture, Marta Rivera de la Cruz.
From September 28 to October 12, Madrid will organize the annual Hispanidad festival, with a program of about 80 activities, with 17 concerts, conferences and exhibitions, as well as the participation of more than 250 artists.
Thus, Ana Mena, Omar Montes and Yotuel will sound at the Wizink Center;
there will be entertainment shows, children's theater, dance and performances by Spanish-American groups in the capital;
and on October 10 an institutional act will be held with the presence of the Spanish-American diplomatic corps in Spain followed by the performance of the show
Mío Cid
, directed and performed by José Luis Gómez, at the Abbey Theater.
Agreement with the RAE
In addition, according to a source trusted by Díaz Ayuso, due to Cantó's efforts, an agreement with the RAE will soon be signed (which will make its resources and facilities available to teachers and students in the region); Fedele (to offer foreign students discounts on transport, cultural, artistic and leisure activities and enhance the image of Madrid at international fairs) and the COAM (which will provide spaces for cultural activities, will offer its experts as guides to accompany foreign students in cultural visits, and will join training agreements with American countries such as Colombia or Peru).
The Office of Spanish, says the Government, "will create financing lines for cultural projects in Latin America and will intensify the presence of its audiovisual production";
and it will underpin the commitment to "recover business and conference tourism, as well as attract international students who come to learn Spanish [Of the 140,000 foreign students in Spain who came in the last pre-pandemic year, only 18,000 chose Madrid]".
But none of that has happened yet.
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