The Instituto Cervantes Opened an Office in LA; This is Why It Is a Big Deal

On Tuesday, December 13th, the Queen of Spain, Dona Letizia of Spain, came to officially inaugurate the opening of the Instituto Cervantes in LA, alongside some big celebrities in the Latino world. Eugenio Derbez, Kate del Castillo, Gustavo Dudamel, and academics of the Spanish language like Barbara Fuchs from UCLA were present.

Why is this such a big deal, that even her Majesty left Madrid to come all the way to Los Angeles and partake in the opening, you might ask? Well, the main reason is the intent of preserving the Spanish language.

Here are some facts you might not know about Spanish:

• 42% of the population in LA speaks Spanish. Walk down just about any street in LA and you’ll see. Aside from Miami where Spanish is the unofficial first language, or NY with 1.87 million residents speaking it, I can’t think of a city with more Spanish speakers.
• The Instituto Cervantes is a worldwide nonprofit organization responsible for promoting the study and teaching of the Spanish language for free. In recent polls, first and second-generation Latinos said they wished their parents spoke to them in Spanish more. Here is an opportunity of doing it for free.
• With almost 500 million speakers, Spanish is the second most spoken language in the world.
• It’s a useful language to know if you are into traveling.
• Spanish is the official language of 21 countries. English is spoken in 112, French in 60, Arabic is third with 57, and in fourth place comes Spanish.
• The Instituto Cervantes supports “Hispanism” which is the study of the culture of Spain and Hispanic America.

“We knew we had to come here for many reasons,” said Luis García Montero, the Director. Firstly, to “consolidate our presence in the United States” and to vindicate our language. Also to give prestige to Spanish and defend the fact that we are a language with future prospects in technology, science, and artificial intelligence,” fundamental fields in which the city of Los Angeles plays a leading role.

For his part, the Secretary of State for Latin America, Juan Fernandez Trigo, the Caribbean and Spanish in the World insisted on the “symbolic and historical importance.” Its objective, said Juan Fernández Trigo, is to “make Spanish a first-rate language” in all areas, something fundamental in the American city with the largest number of Hispanics.

This Instituto Cervantes will pay special attention to the visual arts since it counts with an auditorium to watch Spanish Cinema from all the Spanish-speaking countries. So if you want to learn Spanish or enjoy good Spanish cinema and you are in LA, make sure you check the Instituto Cervantes.