J.oaquín de Arístegui turns three years old in November Ambassador of Spain in Colombia. “It has been very intense because being a diplomatic representative of my country on Colombian soil is a great privilege,” the official told EL TIEMPO, when taking stock of his diplomatic mission so far.
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And for the year 2025, an even busier semester is predicted for the bilateral agenda. Spain, for example, will accompany the 20th anniversary of the Hay Festival in Cartagena in January. Then, in April, they will be the guests of honor at the Book Fair.
Furthermore, on July 29 of next year, Santa Marta will celebrate 500 years, recognized as the oldest city founded by the Spanish in America, an anniversary that already provokes all kinds of historical reflections on how it should be approached. “The message we want to send is one of respect and tribute to Colombia,” Arístegui noted.
What is your balance in these almost three years that you have been Ambassador in Colombia?
They have been three very intense years because being the Ambassador of Spain in Colombia is a great privilege. Particularly, in the last year of Iván Duque’s mandate and the first two years of President Gustavo Petro, there has been a robust bilateral relationship, and I would highlight three chapters, especially in cultural, commercial and cooperation matters.
How much is the commercial impact of Spanish companies in the country?
After the pandemic, the commercial dimension between Spain and Colombia not only had to be preserved but strengthened. Spain has more than 1,000 registered companies and exceeds 31,000 million euros of stock in this country. We are also the second largest investor in Colombia and there has been a calendar of visits and important business meetings. It would highlight key sectors such as infrastructure, communication, banking, insurance and education. All this confirms that Colombia is a strategic market for Spanish companies. It is a place where you can work very well due to the qualifications of all professionals, which makes the country an investment platform for Spain throughout the hemisphere.
How many jobs does this Spanish commercial presence in Colombia generate?
We are proud to say that Spain provides more than 155,000 direct jobs. In the end, companies are here legitimately to make a profit, but all of this also has a key social effect. All citizens of this country know of the good work of Spanish banks, the weight that Telefónica has and the efforts that Spanish companies make to help close the digital divide and improve communication in all territories of the country.
Tell us about the cultural efforts…
Colombia and Spain have known how to work together as fundamental pillars of an Ibero-American and pan-Hispanic community that works in Spanish, speaks in Spanish and enjoys Spanish. In these last three years, both countries have been able to take great advantage of this cultural component. For example, I think the projection of culture through the programs of Spain as a guest country at the Teatro Mayor Julio Mario Santo Domingo, in Bogotá, is very notable. or our presence in the latest editions at the Hay Festival, in Cartagena, or in Jericó (Antioquia).
What can you tell us about the areas of cooperation between both countries?
Spanish cooperation is one of the oldest and most consolidated in the Community of Cooperators and Donors, but that should not prevent it from always being valued. The Spanish Government is very proud of the collaborators throughout the country in support of women, in aiding migration and in health matters. Peace is also a transversal element of the Spanish political presence and cooperation. Spain’s position to help Colombian men and women achieve reconciliation is evident. I don’t want to leave out the security part, which is handled discreetly, as it should be, but it is still relevant. In recent years, the cooperation between the Spanish security forces with the Ministry of Defense and the National Police has been very successful.
How has your relationship been with Gustavo Petro’s government and how have you found harmony?
It is a close relationship, as it has always been. Colombian-Spanish ties are strong and productive, and to a certain extent are not conditioned by ideological situations. I could see it during Duque’s mandate and more recently with Petro’s inauguration. Currently, our governments have an element of progressive ideological proximity where there are very convergent agendas. What has been done very well with the government of Gustavo Petro is to keep that channel perfectly protected and preserved. Proof of this is that the first country in Europe that (Petro) visits is, precisely, Spain. All this is also leveraged with civil society. In the Colombian case, there are half a million people working in Spain and who contribute every day to the prosperity and well-being of my country. This also helps relationships remain at a very high level.
Let’s talk about the 500 years of Santa Marta, considered the oldest city founded by the Spanish in America. Recently, there was debate because the Ministry of Culture considers July 29 to be a date to commemorate, rather than celebrate. What do you think about that?
I don’t enter Colombian debates. What I would say is that Santa Marta is a very beloved and important city for Colombia and for the Ibero-American community. I hope it is understood that, for the Spanish, Santa Marta is part of our history and we are going to accompany that date if they propose it to us. These occasions should serve to reflect on the past, the present and project the future. We did so when the fifth centenary of 1492 was commemorated because it was an opportunity to see our relationships in a different way. That has to happen with Santa Marta. Our Chancellor says that we are as European as we are Latin American and that is manifested on these occasions. We are facing a progressive and broad perspective in which I believe we can commemorate and recognize which family we belong to and analyze the present to try to find new things in favor of the people, especially the Samarians, who are the main protagonists of that date. It is an immense opportunity for a reunion without excluding anything. What I do tell you is that if you look for us in the controversy, you will not find us.
Is there already any plan in which the Spanish Embassy is included and will participate?
We, specifically, went to Santa Marta to listen to the largest possible representation of Samaria society. We were with the mayor’s office, universities, businessmen, civil society and religious leaders. The intention was to listen and understand what the citizens’ expectations are. There is a lot of hope and enthusiasm and I think there is room for all sensitivities and expectations.
We offered the possibility of collaborating with many projects that are already beginning to take shape. All this has been done in full coordination with the Foreign Ministry and the Ministry of Culture. The time will soon come when we will sit down to understand what the expectation of the National Government is to know how we can contribute.
Will there be any special visits for that date?
We hope that the visit of the training ship Juan Sebastián Elcano, first cousin of the Gloria ship, will be confirmed. We do not have the details, but the message we want to send is one of respect and tribute to Colombia. We also have a long calendar that begins in January 2025, which begins with the Hay Festival and continues throughout the semester with the Book Fair, where Spain is the guest country of honor.
Regarding October 12, the date of the National Day of Spain and the arrival of Christopher Columbus to America, there was controversy in Mexico over the exclusion of King Felipe VI from the possession of Claudia Sheinbaum. Why do you think the legacy of Spain in America is beginning to be discussed?
I believe that this debate is not beginning and multiple intellectuals and academics have made extraordinary efforts, which is something absolutely legitimate because it is a reality that is part of both sides of the Atlantic. This has been discussed even before 1992 and a job of historical honesty has been done.
In the Ibero-American sphere there is much work to understand the common legacy and the shadows that every human enterprise inevitably produces, which must logically be regretted. Any debate that takes place in the future must take place understanding our reality.
How?
The first thing to do with our history is to learn it, then we have to accept it and then debate it. The order cannot be reversed because we enter the world of populism. We Spaniards are an old and ancient people, the result of a history and we have assumed it. That applied to October 12, which is the day when we celebrate our identity, the message we want to send is that we do not understand ourselves without America. Today we will thank Colombia for being a great Ibero-American country. This year it will be in Cartagena, in the Santo Domingo convent, because we want to celebrate the twentieth anniversary of the founding of the Spanish Cooperation Training Center in this country. There is much more that unites us.
We know that Spain is taking steps to inaugurate a Cultural Center in Bogotá…
When I arrived in 2021, it never ceased to surprise me that a Latin American cultural power such as Colombia did not have a (Spanish cultural) center. There were certain economic situations that did not allow it, but we were able to unblock that project. That is the great far-reaching avant-garde cultural project that Spain has had in the last decade. It is proposed that it be located in the La Candelaria neighborhood, in the convent of the Agustinos Recoletos, which is a wonderful building. My aspiration as ambassador is that we have the best cultural center of Spain in America.
What will Colombians in Spain be able to see at the Book Fair (FilBo) 2025?
The FilBo audience is very demanding and voracious about reading. In addition to bringing literary news, conversations and debates, more than 100 writers will come and we will emphasize that binational community. Many Colombian writers have lived in Spain and vice versa.
We will also have a specific space on Santa Marta so that the public understands why this quincentennial is so important. I cannot reveal many more details about the pavilion, but what I can tell you is that Spain is going to make one of the largest investments that an honored guest has made in the history of FilBo. We hope that the event can be inaugurated by His Majesty the King together with the President of the Republic of Colombia as host.
CARLOS JOSÉ REYES GARCÍA
INTERNATIONAL DEPUTY EDITOR
THE TIME
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