Mar Ezcurra, Orihuela’s Councillor for Culture, and Aitor Larrabide, director of the Miguel Hernández Cultural Foundation, presented the Hernandiana Spring, a complete cultural program that includes fifty events “to honour and remember the poet Miguel Hernández in the year which is the 80th anniversary of his death.”
This program, which began on Thursday, includes exhibitions, conferences, book presentations, concerts, children’s workshops, guided tours, poetry recitals, debates… all related to the Hernández.
“We return to the Hernandian corner, where the house where our poet lived is located, now converted into a House Museum, to publicise this wide and varied program that aims to “remember his life and work and put it even more in value, render it a tribute to the town’s poet from his town, the one who saw him born and grow”, explained Mar Ezcurra, who has stressed the importance of these acts that “will energise all sectors of the municipality, attract visitors, spread life and work of the most universal Oriolano and they will show the sense, worthy and deserved tribute that the Oriolanos and Oriolanas owe to Miguel Hernández”.
The Hernandiana Spring begins with the opening of the exhibition “Miguel Hernández. Vida y Obra”, installed in the hall of the La Lonja cultural centre. On Friday, the exhibition “Miguel Hernández, between José Caballero and Pablo Neruda” was inaugurated in the Miguel Hernádez exhibition hall and organised by the Department of Culture, the Miguel Hernández Cultural Foundation and the Caballero Thomas de Carranza Foundation. An important exhibition on Miguel Hernández will also be exhibited at the Orihuela Costa Town Hall.
As for concerts, there will be a performance by the Orihuela Symphony Orchestra (OSO) on March 31 at the Diocesan College of Santo Domingo, a performance by the Band of the Orihuela Professional Conservatory of Music, on the esplanade of Playa Flamenca, on the Orihuela Costa, on April 23 and a performance by the singer María Sabater at the Miguel Hernández House Museum on March 28, the day Hernández died 80 years ago.
This special day we will also have school visits to the House Museum, where they can hold workshops related to the poet and a guided tour. A school activity, in which the Department of Education led by Antonio Sánchez has participated and which will last until Wednesday, March 30. “What better tribute than to fill your house with boys and girls,
The writer José Luis Ferris will present his new biography of Miguel Hernández, entitled “Pasiones, cárcel y muerte de un poeta”, on May 12 at the La Lonja municipal auditorium. Italian, Gabriele Morelli, will present his new work entitled “Hernández en el corazón” on May 5, also at La Lonja.
On March 26, the poet Magdalena Sánchez Blesa and the singer and actress María Faraco will perform a poetry recital in homage to Hernández at the Rincón Hernandiano and on May 21, Rosa Cuadrado and Natxo Vidar will recite Hernández in their new work “Sketches de Nueva York” at La Lonja. At the Teatro Circo Atanasio Die, on April 21, Emilio Gutiérrez Caba will perform an emotional poetry recital entitled “Dejadme la esperanza.”
Within this spring program in homage to Miguel Hernández, the 1st Debate Conference “Vigencia de Miguel Hernández 80 años después” will be held, in which scholars of the poet such as José María Balcells Domenech, José Luis Ferris, Álvaro Giménez, José Carlos Rovira will participate, along with the poet José Luis Zerón, José Rayos and Vicente Pina.
Some interesting conferences that will take place on May 19 in La Lonja and have been organised by the Miguel Hernández Cultural Foundation and the Viento del Pueblo Sociocultural Athenaeum.
“In addition to all this cultural programming, they make up the Primavera Hernandiana, a new edition of Encounters with Poetry with a dozen participants; a new edition of Los Murales de San Isidro, which will be held on May 6, 7 and 8, World Poetry Day, which will be held next Monday, March 21, Book Day with theatrical performances of works by authors of the Golden Age in squares and historical buildings of the city; the Path of the Virtual Poet and the children’s program of the María Moliner Library in homage to Miguel Hernández”, announced Mar Ezcurra.
For his part, the director of the Miguel Hernández Cultural Foundation recalled that, following the tradition of both institutions, the illustration for this program of the Hernandiana Spring of 2022 has been made by the Orihuela artist Manuel Sola, who has painted the fig tree of the Miguel Hernandez’s house.
Larrabide has highlighted “the variety of acts and their quality” and has celebrated “that in Orihuela they continue to unquestionably support Miguel Hernández”. In addition, the director of the foundation that bears the name of the poet has highlighted the collaboration of the Jaén Provincial Council, which has donated 3 works for the exhibition “Miguel Hernández between José Caballero and Pablo Neruda”.
Likewise, and “to bring the poems of Miguel Hernández to the street”, the Department of Culture has made cloth covers for the balconies and windows with verses by the poet that can be collected in the Department of Culture in the coming days. It will also decorate the main cultural buildings with poems by Miguel Hernández and his image for March 28.
“I just want to invite all citizens to participate in this tribute to Miguel Hernández and attend the events organised to continue celebrating Miguel”, concluded the Councillor for Culture of Orihuela.
