Prince of Asturias Awards 1981–2014. Speeches

P rince of A sturias A wards 1981-2014. S peeches 9 The enriching variety of languages and cultures that constitutes Spain has a prominent place in the works of Professor Martín de Riquer, recipient of the Prince of Asturias Award for Social Sciences. Brilliant and devoted scholar born in Catalonia, his life has centred on the philological, critical and historiographical strands of literature —Castilian and Catalan, as well as Provençal and French— that have been his constant object of study, with research and teaching activities that have been inseparable for many years. The numerous studies that exist on Don Quixote and other aspects of Cervantes’ art would be seriously incomplete if it were not for the works of this outstanding researcher. Yet the passion for Cervantes is not the only one to be found in his work. Martín de Riquer has written decisive books on the lyrical tradition of the Troubadours, the legendary French romances, and the Valencian romance Tirant lo Blanc , in addition to editing and inspiring the rigorous publication of many classic texts that, devoid of modern impressions, were not easily approachable for readers. His Anthology of Catalan Poets , an omnibus compilation of Latin, Provençal, Hebrew, Italian, French, Castilian and Old Catalan verse, constitutes a corpus which will not easily be surpassed. Throughhis work,Martínde Riquer has expressed this European and universal knowledge—unbound by particular interests or borders— that we wish to highlight with this Award. If education has been the cornerstone of democracy since the Greeks, he shows us, with deep humanistic insight and a strong desire to share, that only knowledge makes us free and only instruction and study aggrandise and distinguish us. For all of these reasons, it is an honour to have him here with us today. The Prince of Asturias Award for Sports has been granted this year to the Spanish Marathon Team, made up of athletes Abel Antón, Martín Fiz, José Manuel García, Fabián Roncero, Alberto Juzdado and Diego García. Through their example, this admirable group of athletes reminds us that the primary aim of sports, which is today revealed as such a powerful and passionate undertaking, is to serve as a healthy stimulant for the young, who will always find, in the practice of sport, noble paths for their personal instruction. The fact that the members of this team are a group of friends reinforces the idea of sport as an activity that brings people together, and must never serve as an excuse for separation. Their virtues have borne exceptional fruit in the European and world championships of recent years, with a series of victories achieved during the past world championship in Athens. All expressions of sport are valuable, but it is perhaps the marathon that stands apart as the most devoid of means, demanding the greatest efforts by the athlete. We are talking of people who owe everything to their demands of self-improvement and self-knowledge. The work of these men confirms that ardently desired dreams are the only ones that come true. Guatemala, a country which has lived through bloody conflict for thirty years, with thousands of victims and displaced people and significant material damage, has this year been granted the Prince of Asturias Award for International Cooperation. This Award has deep significance for us, since none of what takes place in our brother- and sister countries on the other side of the Atlantic is foreign to us. The Firm and Long-lasting Peace Accords signed in the past month of December between the Government of Guatemala and the Guatemalan National Revolutionary Unity has meant the return to reason, which humanizes us, and a hopeful solution for this beloved people, as well as a sublime example of human potential in the arduous, sometimes painful, yet also hopeful road towards coexistence. We are also pleased and proud that our fellow compatriots have been in charge of the international military mission that has striven, first and foremost, to avoid clashes between the contenders and, ultimately, to achieve peace. The President of Guatemala, Álvaro Arzú, whom we “A democratic Spain, that of the last twenty years, ruler of its destiny, where every day we strive to defend that which Don Quixote defined as ‘the most precios gift which the heavens bestowed on humanity’: freedom.”