COMUNICATION

The European and Ibero-American Academy of Yuste Foundation inaugurated the course “Elio Antonio de Nebrija: From Extremadura to America” in Guadalupe today. The course is framed within the commemoration of the 5th centenary of his death, which is considered an event of exceptional public interest. (27/07/2022)

The director of Yuste Foundation, Juan Carlos Moreno, opened the opening ceremony stating that Nebrija is one of those Spaniards that is generally little known by the public. One of those “who have shaped our current reality and it is therefore our duty as a public foundation to reveal this and enable everyone to have access to his life and work”.

During his speech, Moreno explained that the essence of grammar is the organisation of the elements of a language and that it is exactly that which has made the organisation of human relations possible, especially in relations between America and Europe as they share the same language together with Portuguese. In this sense he added that at this time, more than ever, it is worth talking about grammar as “a vehicle element for human and peaceful relations, because nowadays the art of war has replaced the art of the word”.

In turn, the professor emeritus of the University of Extremadura and co-director of the course, César Chaparro, pointed out that as a novelty, compared to the other activities organised around the figure of Nebrija, this meeting in Guadalupe incorporates the vision of Europe and Latin America. He thus stated that “the intention is to analyse the presence of the grammar in Extremadura with the court of Juan de Zúñiga, touring northern and southern towns from Gata to Zalamea de la Serena with a very active teaching and research presence and, on the other hand, to delve into the presence of Nebrija on the other side of the Atlantic since the beginnings of the discovery, colonisation and evangelisation of new worlds and new people”.

Professor Chaparro ended his speech claiming the possibility that the content of these sessions and those of next year, which will deal with Francisco Sánchez de las Brozas, “el Brocense”, remain in a centre of interpretation of Renaissance humanism.

Then the deputy representative of Culture and Sports of the Provincial Council of Badajoz, Francisco Martos, spoke and stated that the legacy of Elio Antonio de Nebrija has generated “a way of understanding the world” and that his grammar has been of universal significance.

The representative took advantage of the opening to present a facsimile edition of the Introductiones Latinae dedicated to Don Juan de Zúñiga, a publication that has been coordinated by the secondary school teacher and associate researcher of the Autonomous University of Barcelona, Pedro Martín Baños. “I wish to mark the passion for culture that is felt in the Provincial Council of Badajoz, in addition to the dedication and effort that has been made from the institution in order to be included in the year of Nebrija and make the fact that today everyone in this area knows the figure of this historian, pedagogue and grammarian visible”, he said.

The vice-rector of University Extension of the University of Extremadura, Juan Carlos Iglesias Zoido, recalled that this course is part of the 23rd edition of the University of Extremadura’s International Summer-Autumn Courses, “a set of courses that seek to cover all areas of knowledge and achieve a connection between academia and society”.

Among the academics and experts who will participate in this event are Esther Hernández, from the Spanish National Research Council (CSIC); María Luisa Calero, from the University of Córdoba; Ascensión Hernández, from the National Autonomous University of Mexico; Teresa Jiménez, from the University of Alcalá; Lola Pons, University of Seville; José María Maestre, University of Cádiz; Nataly Cancino, from the University of Playa (Chile), Manuel Galeote, from the University of Málaga; María Luisa Calero, from the University of Cárdoba; Eustaquio Sánchez Salor, Manuel Mañas and Antonio Salvador, from the University of Extremadura, and Pedro Martín Baños, from the IES Carolina Coronado in Almendralejo.

The sessions, organised in collaboration with the Provincial Council of Badajoz, are part of the activities of the Holy Year of Guadalupe 2022 and count with the collaboration of the Town Council of Guadalupe, the Provincial Council of Cáceres, the Ministry of Culture and the Franciscan Community.