Princess Leonor defends democracy and warns against “totalitarianism” | Princess of Asturias Awards

The emotion of hope in the face of skepticism and discouragement. Princess Leonor, who for the first time after her coming of age and by the legacy of the King, has been given the mission to guide the delivery of the Princess of Asturias Awards on behalf of the King, made not only a tribute to the values of effort, dedication, and excellence of the awardees but also a song of hope this Friday. Princess Leonor, who spoke at the ceremony after Joan Manuel Serrat, the Princess of Asturias Award for the Arts, moved some to tears with his emotional performance of "Aquellas pequeñas cosas," also referenced several verses from the works of the Catalan singer-songwriter as the centerpiece of her speech. She began with a line from "Els veremadors," which says: “Around September, before the cold arrives, buy your ticket for the train of hope,” representing all those who must leave their homes to improve their lives. From there, she emphasized that “the emotion of hope is the feeling that shows us that things can improve, that there is always a crack where the light can enter.” After highlighting what the awardees have in common and labeling them as “extraordinary” people, she again drew on Serrat's creativity, recalling the need to be “a supporter of living,” a phrase from “Cada loco con su tema,” which Leonor mixed with the verses: “From time to time, life tunes in with a brush, our skin tingles, and words fail to name what is offered to those who know how to use it,” from the song “De vez en cuando la vida.” And that was not all, as to conclude her speech and her wish that “hopefully all of us find reasons and opportunities and buy that ticket for the train of hope,” Leonor resorted to the optimism of the song “Hoy puede ser un gran día” and sang: “Fight for what you want and do not despair if something goes wrong. Today can be a great day, and tomorrow too.” Princess Leonor's speech preceded that of the King, who for the first time entrusted his daughter with the mission of forming her own list of awardees, just as he began to do in 1981 when, at 13 years old, he attended the first edition of the awards that year, which honored the life and works of José Hierro, María Zambrano, and Jesús López Cobos, among others. Over more than forty years, the King, as he himself acknowledged this Friday, has met “remarkable men and women, from nearby and distant places, with incredible trajectories and achievements,” which have allowed him to have “continuous learning.” From that memory of four decades shared, year after year, with so many awardees, the King highlighted that they all agree on the need that “at the center of any discourse, action, or decision, whether in the economic, social, political, or artistic sphere, must always and inevitably be the person.” The King took the opportunity to warn that “history alerts us to the serious risks of polarization, of denying the other because of their convictions or beliefs, because they think, pray, or vote differently.” He emphasized that “it is an obligation of institutions, but also of citizens, to fight against anything that separates us from that integral respect we owe to the dignity of every human being.” For the King, “defending the dignity of a person also means protecting and promoting the regime of rights and freedoms.” In a ceremony that, as the Princess of Asturias began by saying, “celebrates the best version of life,” the King did not forget the conflicts ravaging the world, causing “death and desolation” in the Middle East, in Ukraine, in Africa, and in so many places ravaged by “open conflicts and systematic violations of human rights.” To conclude, the King referenced the writer and poet Henry David Thoreau, who believed that “every man has the task of making his life worthy, even in its smallest details,” convinced of the “nobility and dignity” of the task of “showing, recognizing, and celebrating the potential of every human being.” Yesterday's ceremony at the Campoamor concluded differently from previous editions, as in Princess Leonor’s process of growth, she also is tasked with leading future ceremonies. Instead of the King, it was she who closed this edition of the awards and opened the call for next year. The president of the Asturian Congress, Francina Armengol, the Minister of Education, Vocational Training and Sports, Pilar Alegría, the Minister of Culture, Ernest Urtasun, and the Minister of Science, Innovation, and Universities attended the ceremony at the Campoamor theater, as did the president of the PP, Alberto Núñez Feijóo, who was accompanied by the president of the Junta de Andalucía, Juanma Moreno Bonilla. This year’s novelty, after years of absence from the head of the Generalitat, was the presence of Salvador Illa, who attended in his triple capacity as President, Catalan, and a devoted admirer of Joan Manuel Serrat.