Noticias
For the first time, the Italy-Mexico Prize recognizes the work of cultural and artistic personalities
November 22, 2017Diplomat, lawyer, historian and writer Rafael Tovar y de Teresa received a posthumous recognition in the 9th edition of the Italy-Mexico Prize, for his work as a cultural promoter and his role as Ambassador in Italy between 2001 and 2007, in addition to being the first Secretary of Culture of Mexico.
The award, created by the Italian Chamber of Commerce in Mexico (CCIM, for its acronym in Spanish) and made in collaboration with the Italian Embassy, was received by his four sons Rafael, Leonora, Maria and Natalia Tovar, and by his widow, Mariana García Bárcena de Tovar, on Tuesday night, November 21, to strengthen the bonds of friendship between the two countries.
The President of the Italian Chamber of Commerce, Alberico Peyron, stressed that this is the first time that this award is given to key personalities for the culture of both nations.
“Nine years ago we wanted to tell the stories of the people who, through their daily work, helped to strengthen the relationship between the two countries and we began giving awards to businessmen and business managers, but we realized that it was not enough and there were many stories we were not telling about the artistic and cultural world. In order to organize this event we asked for help from the experts, particularly the Italian Institute of Culture and the National Center for Arts (Cenart) to join the selection committee”.
On behalf of the secretary of Culture, María Cristina García Cepeda, the director of Cenart, Ricardo Calderón, celebrated this initiative of the Italian Chamber of Commerce, in the sense of recognizing art and culture with the Italy-Mexico Prize.
He said that Rafael Tovar y de Teresa was an outstanding promoter of Italian art and culture in Mexico, as well as of Mexican art and culture in that nation, and an exemplary public servant.
“Tovar y de Teresa is a good and very missed friend, an indispensable and irreplaceable guide in the professional field”, he added and whom he accompanied as minister for cultural affairs during his performance as Ambassador of Mexico in Italy, which was "one of the most enriching experiences".
Luigi Maccotta, Italian Ambassador to Mexico, said that we cannot talk about culture in Mexico without paying homage to Tovar y de Teresa,"a great intellectual man who promoted bilateral relations and always cared about encouraging our culture in Mexico”.
An example of this were the recent exhibitions Miguel Ángel Buonarroti, an artist between two worlds and Leonardo da Vinci and the idea of beauty, both displayed in Mexico City, and the exhibition of Frida Kahlo in La Scuderie del Quirinale, in Rome.
The statuette created by Italian designer Giogetto Giugiaro was also awarded to personalities from the fields of literature, visual arts, cinema and television: Italian writer, scriptwriter and translator Pino Cacucci; ethnologist and professor at the University of Rome La Sapienza, Alessandro Lupo; contemporary Mexican plastic artist Gustavo Aceves; and Mexican actress Verónica Castro.
Luigi Maccotta also read out the message sent by the President of the Italian Republic, Sergio Mattarella, who congratulated the winners of the world of culture.
“It is a significant initiative that allows us to further strengthen the value of the ancient and solid friendship that unites our peoples and our countries”.
Mexico,Distrito Federal
