María Victoria Atencia defined herself as a simple person, born in the war during a time of change. A child, she said, who has been “influenced at every stage by the power of nature.” The poet reviewed her life, stating that, thanks to reading and finding certain authors, she was able to discover that her passion was writing. “I felt words that wanted to come out, a voice that during my life has told me whether to stay or go on”, at that moment was when he decided to write his first sonnet “Sazón”, with which he connected and understood the poets he had read. He also shared with those attending the event that some of his poets of reference had been San Juan de la Cruz, Quevedo and his countryman Juan Ramón Jiménez.
The author stated that she has always written for the enjoyment of the people and not with the aim of achieving recognition or categorization of her poetry. He also shared his experience as an airplane pilot : “From above, nature is extraordinary. Seeing the vineyards, the rivers of Malaga, was something special. I fell in love with the skies of my land”.
In the afternoon, at Casa Árabe’s headquarters in Madrid, María Victoria Atencia was honored by great figures of poetry in a moving ceremony enlivened by the lute player Hames Bitar. The coordinator Mohammed Dahiri, after welcoming the participants, gave the floor to the professor and poet Manuel Gahete, who defined poetry as “the language of love, of resilience, which unites us in fraternity”, and then gave way to the official inauguration of the event by the representatives of the three institutions: Cristina Juarranz (Casa Árabe), Jumaa Alkaabi (FICRT Foundation) and José Manuel Lucía Megías (UCM).
“Poetry is the protagonist on this day for its contribution to culture and interrelationships,” said Cristina Juarranz, assistant director and programming coordinator of Casa Árabe, who also took the opportunity to thank the collaboration between the three institutions.
The president of the FICRT Foundation, Jumaa Alkaabi, defined poetry as a “symbol of identity in history and among the peoples of the world. Poetry gives words the power to coexist. The president thanked María Victoria Atencia for “having astonished all the poets of the world by contributing an enormous value to culture, thanks to her creativity and way of expressing feelings”. Finally, he linked the organization of such events with the objectives of the FICRT Foundation: to promote world peace and coexistence in society. “The FICRT Foundation encourages and supports initiatives for constructive cooperation between cultures and religions,” said the president.
José Manuel Lucía showed his gratitude to the organizers of the event for “helping to fulfill the dream of getting poetry out of the classroom”. Fraternity unites people, “even of opposing ideas, because we are brothers with whom we can dialogue and poetry is a place where we can be twinned,” said the vice dean, who also congratulated the FICRT Foundation for “creating stimuli and meeting places”.
After the opening remarks, it was the turn of the poets. María Victoria Atencia began by reciting four of her poems, with which she managed to capture and dazzle the audience. He sincerely thanked both the organizers and those who attended this tribute. Raquel Lanseros then recited her poems “La loca más cuerda”, “Amor propio” and “La contracción del Big Bang”.
Luis Alberto de Cuenca showed his emotion for participating in this tribute, in a place close to where he played in his youth: the Aguirre schools, and, after praising Atencia’s poetry, he recited “El abrazo”, “Tan lejos, tan cerca” and “Amanecer eterno”.
Mohammed Achaari, poet and former Minister of Culture of Morocco, dedicated his poems in Arabic to the attendees: “Migrant Pictures,” “Lesson of Bitterness,” “A Wild Sweetness,” and “A Mirror in the Dark.” The last three are included in his collection of poems “El jardín de la soledad”. The poet also decided to recite Hassan Najmi’s poem “Little Woman”.
María Ángeles Pérez López interpreted her poem “Maps of the bird’s imagination”. He also thanked Maria Victoria for having been “a poet who opened new opportunities for women to dream, to dream of forging their own paths.”
Manuel Gahete closed the ceremony by reading a poem he wrote when he found out he was going to be a father.
Among those in attendance were: League of Arab States Ambassador Malek Twal; former League of Arab States Ambassador Bashar Yaghi.