Prince of Asturias Awards 1981–2014. Speeches

2 O viedo | C ampoamor T heatre | 29 th O ctober 1987 Your Royal Highness, listen to what I am going to tell you, what I have come to tell you and bear in mind that no other desire moves me but the truth I owe to myself and the loyalty I owe to you. Yours is the title of this ancient Principality of sailors and miners, of agricultural and livestock farmers, of men of industry and commerce, of literary men, of noble men and commoners, this Principality which is today our host. I am sure that, as a Prince of Asturias Laureate and discerning the sentiments of my more worthy and justly recognized companions, the other Laureates, it is my duty to express gratitude for your presence here and your patronage in the name of all. We are grateful not only for the Award we receive, but also for the fact that the Tirians who command and we Trojans who obey and think and work and do what we must and believe we can, for better or worse, are capable of meeting together with honest heart and will, to celebrate a joyful event: the concord that alone will be the salvation of us all. My words are of peace because nothing better subjugates war than moderation in judgement and bearing. Seneca required of those who find their delight in thought moderation even in suffering. Our corner of the world needs a revolution; but not a revolution of demagogy and bloodshed, but rather of profound economic, social, cultural and humanitarian change within a genuinely democratic framework. The entrenched Latin American crisis will not be solved within an exclusively national framework. Close cooperation between our twenty countries and effective coordination with the many countries in other areas of the globe facing similar difficulties will be needed. It will be necessary, indeed essential, for the two great mother nations, Spain and Portugal, who well understand that what is at stake is not only the material well-being of Latin Americans, but also our joint spiritual heritage, to lend their support more in a spirit of solidarity than of cooperation. The timely incorporation of both nations into the European Community will mean that they can pursue their historic role with newfound vigour, and act as a bridge between Latin America and the Western world, helping the latter to understand the problems of the former and to contribute to solving them. The point here is that nobody any longer doubts that the world is becoming ever more interdependent and that only the well being of the entire world’s peoples can guarantee real world peace. Do we not, therefore, have a right to expect and even to demand the contribution of the world’s countries to the full development of those of our countries that are most underdeveloped? I am, of course, well aware that my pro-Latin American approach does not suffice to commit powerful countries from other areas to the development of our region; it is only natural for them to pursue other interests. For this reason, our governments must inspire respect; they should deserve the aid they request; they should show that they are not like the vessel of the Danaïds 1 . In other words, our subcontinent, which is neither willing nor capable of begging, should make a great national effort, just as so many other member countries have already done, to consolidate democracy; true democracy that strengthens its economy with wise, honest management of its taxes and improves social conditions by respecting the rights of the vast gamut of men and women. We should never ever forget that development is not just material progress. 1 Reference to the fifty daughters of Danaus, who killed their husbands at their father’s behest and were condemned for their crime to the endless task of filling a bottomless vessel with water. Camilo José Cela — Prince of Asturias Award for Literature 1987 Javier Pérez de Cuéllar — Prince of Asturias Award for Ibero-American Cooperation 1987 Javier Pérez de Cuéllar was Secretary-General of the United Nations from 1982 to 1991. — Excerpt from the speech given on the occasion of receiving the Prince of Asturias Award for Ibero-American Cooperation on 29/10/1987. Excerpt from the speech given on the occasion of receiving the Prince of Asturias Award for Literature on 29/10/1987. Laureates. Excerpts