Iberian Regional Day 2018 at Natolin campus

Music, paintings, poetry, dance, theatre and gastronomy from the Iberian peninsula landed from 28 February to 2 March 2018 at the Natolin campus of the College of Europe, on the occasion of the Iberian Day(s) organized by the students coming from said region.

On Wednesday, the Iberian festivities began with an official announcement and the screening of A Gaiola Dourada ('The Golden Cage'), by the French-Portuguese filmmaker Rubén ALVES. 

The traditional dance from Seville (Andalusia, southern Spain) was introduced in Natolin with a Sevillanas workshop, and so were the Catalan traditional dances, with another workshop on Sardanes and Rumba on Friday. Both dancing activities were fully conducted and organized by the students.

An Iberian Art & Culture Museum, with pieces of art from different periods and some intangible patrimony from the peninsula, was open from Thursday. Early on Friday morning, all of the Natolin students of the Simone Veil promotion received a bookmark with a personalized poem in any of seven of the Iberian languages.

The restaurant served a breakfast based on rustic bread with tomato, and hot chocolate with churros, and a tasty lunch with cod, octopus and ratatouille. During dinner, the canteen became a traditional tavern – called La Simona in honor to the promotion’s patron, Simone VEIL– where the Iberian students served a variety of tapas to their fellow students and enjoyed the live music by the Portuguese singer and guitarist João DE SOUSA.

The main event of these festivities happened on Friday evening, when an Iberian Gala took place at the Auditorium Copernicus, consisting on a new concert by DE SOUSA and the live performance La Casa de Bernarda Alba ('Bernarda Alba’s House'), theatre play by Federico GARCIA LORCA. The act, carried out by all eleven Iberian students, was dedicated to the author and to all those "who suffered during and after the Spanish civil war". The Natolin choir was also involved in this Regional Day by singing three Iberian songs. The festivity came to an end with a party in the campus bar, with Latin music and some special cocktails.