<p>Jerez commemorates Europe Day this Friday, May 9th, with a symbolic, institutional, and cultural event that will take place in Plaza de la Asunción at 11:00 a.m., chaired by the Mayor of Jerez, María José García-Pelayo, along with representatives of the Governing Council of the #Jerez2031 European Capital of Culture bid. More than 800 schoolchildren from around twenty schools in urban and rural areas will participate. The event will be attended by students from around twenty schools in urban and rural areas that will achieve European Capital of Culture status by 2031. of legal age.</p>
<p>The event, organized by the City Council together with the Technical Office of the #Jerez2031 bid, includes an unprecedented performance of a flamenco version sung in Romani of the European Anthem (Ludwig van Beethoven’s Ode to Joy) by Luis de Perikín’s group and pianist Rosario Montoya, “La Reina Gitana,” while the European flag is raised. The text has been translated by writer and journalist Joaquín López Bustamante, a specialist in the language and culture of the Roma people.</p>
<p>Thus, the performance is also part of the commemoration of the 600th anniversary of the arrival of the Roma people to the Iberian Peninsula, an event that highlights their legacy and presence, and which in Jerez represents a living example of inclusion and cultural diversity. This event, which unites institutions, heritage, culture, and citizenship, will also feature the participation of students from the María Espejo School of Performing Arts and Communication and from European university programs.</p>
<p>Furthermore, this Europe Day commemorative event is part of the socialization and participation strategy of the #Jerez2031 European Capital of Culture bid to celebrate, from the south and with the entire population, especially the youngest, the values of inclusion, tolerance, and interculturality of the European project and to highlight the role of culture in the transformation and construction of a more just, prosperous, and inclusive society, using the flamenco model of coexistence in the city as a reference. More than 800 students from 6th and 5th grades of primary school, who will reach the age of majority in 2031, have been invited.</p>
<p>Europe Day is commemorated every May 9th in remembrance of the 1950 Schuman Declaration, considered the starting point of the current European integration project. In it, French Foreign Minister Robert Schuman proposed the creation of a European coal and steel community, laying the foundations for peace, solidarity, and cooperation among European peoples after the Second World War. With this symbolic act, Jerez joins the ranks of European cities celebrating the common European project, reaffirming its pro-European vocation through culture and the recognition of its diversity.</p>