A celebration of Spanish language

The DIA E or Dia del Español is a festive commemoration which takes place on the Saturday closest to the June solstice, and aims to celebrate the Spanish culture and its speakers.

Come summer solstice, the city will witness the celebrations of Dia del Español (DIA E), which brings the Spanish culture to life. It is to promote Spanish language and speakers that one day in a year is celebrated as Dia E or E Day.

A scene from the play The Altar of Wonders which will be staged as part of the day-long celebration DIA E.

“We will celebrate this day in collaboration with all the Latin-American Embassies by organising a mela in which we showcase the variety of cultures and traditions linked by a common language,” says Jesus Clavero Rodriguez, cultural director, Instituto Cervantes. “Moreover the people who attend the event can also learn their first words in Spanish. Spanish language is spoken by more than 500 million people in the world and is the second language in the world in terms of number of speakers,” he adds.

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The Spanish and Latin American lovers in the city can look forward to a day-long event where cultural programs for all age groups are planned. The opening of the mela in the morning will kick start the day. This will be followed by an exhibition, a poetry-reading and storytelling session, a lucky draw, a guitar recital by Aditya Naugain and a Tango workshop too. In addition there will also be a short film festival by students of Delhi University.

The Altar of Wonders and The Widowed Pimp are the two plays which will also be performed as part of the celebrations. The former exposes the nature of the racial and ethnic prejudice in society whereas the latter is the tale of Trampagos, a pimp, who mourns the loss of his best prostitute that marks the loss of his income.

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In the evening, a DJ session of Latin music will provide a befitting climax to these celebrations.

CATCH IT LIVE

WHAT: DIA E

WHERE: Instituto Cervantes, Hanuman Road, Connaught Place

WHEN: July 2

TIMINGS: 11am to 6.30pm

NEAREST METRO STATION: Rajiv Chowk on Blue Line