Benigno Pendás (Barcelona, 1956) is embarking on a monumental project: writing a biography of freedom, nothing more and nothing less. It will take you six volumes. “I admit it’s ambitious, but it satisfies me and amuses me,” he says. These books are intended to be a dialogue with a cultured reader. A couple of years ago it premiered with an approach to the Renaissance and now it touches on the 17th century in ‘Baroque: the great book of the world’ (Tecnos), an era that asks to be approached free of prejudices. «The Baroque lends itself very much to an interpretation either absolutely positive and favorable or to the complete opposite: to denigration as a radically complicated, extravagant, theatrical, bombastic art… Neither of the two things is entirely true. “I think we have to find the middle ground.” That is the task of the historian.—Where do we have to go to find those beginnings of political freedom?—A little bit everywhere. But it is clear that culture has enormous expansion in all countries. France creates the State of culture, precisely what is still maintained in these times: culture as a State operation. The Spanish culture of the 17th century, the Golden Age, is formidable. There is Velázquez, who although he lives in the Baroque I do not consider him a Baroque painter, there are Cervantes, Shakespeare, Bach… the geniuses of the time. The culture of freedom is everywhere.’Biography of freedom (II). Baroque: the great book of the world’ Author Benigno Pendás Editorial Tecnos Price 43.95 euros Number of pages 504—How has the conception of culture as a State operation reached our time?—It seems to me that it has aged poorly. Among other things, because I believe that the State and culture must follow different paths. It is one thing to support, encourage or favor culture, but in no way should the State direct culture. And in 17th century France, just as the economy was directed, with mercantilism, culture became a State operation: theater, painting, etc. Over time that was surpassed by the more individualistic idea, more of freedom, of the great genius of romanticism. But especially in statist models, and still a little in France, it is still thought that culture is an image for the greatness of the State. It just can’t be. Culture only lives in a regime of freedom, of competitive creation, of search for new ideas. Some succeed and others fall by the wayside, but that is the risk that is inherent to freedom.—Do you think that those currently in charge of the Ministry of Culture have that drive to want to direct culture from the Government?—The French tradition , which moves to Spain, has a certain sense of direction. Without entering into current political debates, there are certain things that should not be part of state policy, such as the issue of decolonization. History is what it is, for better and for worse. Rereading history from a specific ideological perspective is a mistake. I’m not saying it’s being done that way, but I think we have to avoid that drive and desire to direct. Culture without freedom does not exist. It is the quality of the product itself that makes it succeed or fail. Velázquez spent a lot of time out, but then he recovered and was surely recognized as the best painter. Cervantes did not have great recognition during his lifetime, but on the other hand, ‘Don Quixote’ very soon became a popular book in Europe. Directing is never good in human life, and of course culture is the pencil of freedom by nature.—I ask the question because the current minister said he was going to use culture as a weapon.—That is what I think It is foreign to the very essence of culture, which is the freedom of the creators. This also has to do with a certain postmodern idea that connects a little with the Baroque. To some extent, the postmodern is a poor imitation of the Baroque without its creative greatness. It’s a bit of a ‘happening’, the occurrence of the moment, a certain frivolity. What was genius in some baroque authors, here becomes something that passes very quickly because it has no consistency. And there is a certain danger in this, that we magnify works that are purely circumstantial or secondary and that history will certainly take away.—You mentioned Cervantes before. Is ‘Don Quixote’ a book about freedom?—’Don Quixote’ is also a book about freedom. Don Quixote’s utopias and his desire to build an idyllic world and be the great knight can only be explained from a creative consciousness that arises from his inner freedom. I always consider that among the three or four best pages in the history of political thought are those of the Barataria Islands. When Sancho leaves after only ten days, relieved, he says: Let me recover my old freedom and let your graces remain with God, I never want to be governor again.—There is a current topic that is related to the Baroque: decolonization.— Spain in the 17th century has been a victim of all these prejudices as an already decadent society, but the monarchy ends the century still being a great power. The word monarchy included the Spaniards of both hemispheres. Baroque America is an exciting cultural phenomenon. Spain is the one who carries that culture, who provides those magnificent churches and those impressive civil buildings that are in many American cities.—Are these decolonizing speeches that we are witnessing unfair?—It seems to me that they are biased. They are a unilateral vision of a reality that is more complex, that has many positive elements: the cultural ones above all, a language that identifies 600 million people, the first universities that were born in American territory, which long predate Harvard, the art, music, etc. The story is what it is, it has the good and the bad. It cannot be told unilaterally because it precisely prevents us from freedom of criticism, which is having our own opinion on various issues. Imposing a story is something that always goes against freedom.
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