Casa Amèrica Catalunya

Casa Amèrica Catalunya is a Catalan cultural foundation headquartered on Carrer de Còrsega in Barcelona. Its stated mission is to generate, promote, disseminate and exchange knowledge about the cultural, economic and historical realities of the countries of Latin America, in order to strengthen and broaden relations between the Ibero-American community and Catalonia. It presents itself as a descendant of the Casa de América de Barcelona founded in 1911 and as the heir of the Institut Català de Cooperació Iberoamericana (ICCI). The foundation organises its activity around five preferred areas: audiovisuals, literature, exhibitions, debate spaces and conferences. It also maintains a Documentation Centre with a library, video library and documentary archives. Each academic year it manages 225 scholarships for students from around the world convened by the Spanish Agency for International Cooperation (AECI), and it allocates funds to support collaboration projects for development in Latin America. Its public programme is strongly event-driven. The official website lists concerts, literary walks, film cycles, exhibitions and talks — for example a tango and folklore concert by Santiago Arias and Gustavo Cabrera, a literary route through the Gràcia district with Álex Chico, a cycle of Latin American women filmmakers organised with the Mostra Internacional de Films de Dones, a concert by Vinícius Muniz adapting J. S. Bach to the viola caipira, and an exhibition on the Infrarrealista literary avant-garde. These activities are presented in Catalan and Spanish and are aimed at a broad Barcelona audience as well as the Latin American diaspora. The organisation's roots reach back to the Americanist societies founded in Barcelona in the early twentieth century, including the Sociedad Libre de Estudios Americanistas (1910) and the Casa de América de Barcelona (1911). After the Spanish Civil War the work was continued by the Instituto de Estudios Hispánicos de Barcelona (IEHB), founded in 1948, which in 1968 became the Instituto Catalán de Cultura Hispánica and in 1979 the Institut Català de Cooperació Iberoamericana. In 2005 the ICCI adopted the name Casa Amèrica Catalunya. In 2011 it received the Creu de Sant Jordi, one of Catalonia's highest civil distinctions. Today Casa Amèrica Catalunya functions as a meeting point, cultural programmer and documentation centre rather than as a commercial enterprise. It is a foundation, and its funding and governance are not detailed in the available sources. Its brand identity is tied to Barcelona's historic Americanist tradition and to contemporary cultural programming that connects Catalan and Latin American artists, writers and thinkers.

The foundation traces its origins to the various Americanist societies founded in Barcelona at the beginning of the twentieth century, such as the Sociedad Libre de Estudios Americanistas, created in 1910, the Casa de América de Barcelona, inaugurated in April 1911, and the Instituto de Estudios Hispánicos (IEH) founded in 1948. The Casa de América de Barcelona, which in 1927 changed its name to the Instituto de Economía Americana, was the longest-lasting and most prestigious of these, promoted by Francesc Cambó and Rafael Vehils i Grau. It was associated with the Union of International Associations of Brussels and shortly before the 1929 crisis it formed a Superior Patronato de Cámaras y Asociaciones americanas that even received the support of the President of the Generalitat de Catalunya, Francesc Macià. However, after the Spanish Civil War it faded away due to the exile of its promoters, and its importance was assumed by the Instituto de Estudios Hispánicos de Barcelona (IEHB). The Instituto de Estudios Hispánicos de Barcelona (IEHB) was inaugurated on the occasion of the commemorations of 12 October 1949, at the initiative of Manuel Fraga Iribarne, who at the time managed the Instituto de Cultura Hispánica in Madrid, an entity that organised the Juan Boscán poetry prize. This new entity was directly oriented by the Franco regime and among other activities it promoted: in 1952, the inauguration of the Colegio Mayor Hispanoamericano Fray Junípero Serra, which hosted Latin American university students; it developed summer courses with the University of Barcelona; it founded the Federation of Ibero-American Students in Barcelona; and in 1960 it fostered contacts between Catalan and Latin American businessmen through the Conversaciones Comerciales Iberoamericanas. In 1968 it changed its name to the Instituto Catalán de Cultura Hispánica, catalanised in 1979 as the Institut Català de Cooperació Iberoamericana. In 1980 the Casa de América de Barcelona was domiciled at the headquarters of the ICCI. In 1980 the ICCI coordinated the first travelling exhibition for America on the reality of Catalonia, while also organising the First Meeting of Catalan Casals, thereby promoting Latin American culture in Catalonia and at the same time maintaining relations with Catalans in America through conferences, debate sessions, meetings and film cycles. More recently it has also managed the scholarships in Catalonia of the Spanish Agency for International Cooperation (AECI). In 2005 the ICCI adopted the name Casa Amèrica Catalunya. In 2011 it received the Creu de Sant Jordi. Today Casa Amèrica Catalunya operates as a cultural foundation with a Documentation Centre, a library, a video library and documentary archives. Its programme spans audiovisuals, literature, exhibitions, debate spaces and conferences, and it manages 225 AECI scholarships each academic year as well as funding for development collaboration projects in Latin America.

• 2011

  Awarded the Creu de Sant Jordi.

• 2005

  ICCI adopts the name Casa Amèrica Catalunya.

• 1980

  Casa de América de Barcelona domiciled at ICCI headquarters; ICCI coordinates first travelling exhibition on Catalonia for America and organises First Meeting of Catalan Casals.

• 1979

  Institution catalanised as Institut Català de Cooperació Iberoamericana (ICCI).

• 1968

  IEHB renamed Instituto Catalán de Cultura Hispánica.

• 1960

  Conversaciones Comerciales Iberoamericanas launched to foster business contacts.

• 1952

  Colegio Mayor Hispanoamericano Fray Junípero Serra inaugurated.

• 1949

  Instituto de Estudios Hispánicos de Barcelona (IEHB) inaugurated on 12 October.

• 1948

  Instituto de Estudios Hispánicos (IEH) founded.

• 1927

  Casa de América de Barcelona renamed Instituto de Economía Americana.

• 1911

  Casa de América de Barcelona inaugurated in April.

• 1910

  Sociedad Libre de Estudios Americanistas founded in Barcelona.

A non-profit cultural foundation and meeting point for Catalan–Latin American exchange, rooted in Barcelona's historic Americanist tradition.

• KM Amèrica

  A programme or initiative listed on the official website.

• LATcinema Fest

  A Latin American film festival organised or promoted by the foundation.

• Biblioteca

  Documentation centre with library, video library and documentary archives.

• Publicacions

  Publishing activity of the foundation.

• Exposicions

  Exhibitions on Latin American culture and history.

1. 1Home - Casa Amèrica Catalunyaamericat.barcelona
2. 2Casa Amèrica a Catalunya - Wikidatawikidata.org
3. 3Casa Amèrica Catalunya - Viquipèdiaca.wikipedia.org