arts

American independence was an event of great historical and political significance that led the way towards our modern western democracies. But little has been said about the contribution of Spain and Hispanics to this event, which was decisive for the colonists' triumph. Between 1775 and 1781, the Hispanic monarchy sent more than 3 million pesos (3 trillion dollars at the current exchange rate) in weapons, blankets, uniforms and loans to George Washington's army, as well as thousands of soldiers and sailors from Spain and from its American territories to fight alongside the rebels. Now, Unveiling Memories, a book and a website promoted and sponsored by Iberdrola, are coming out with the aim of recovering this shared Hispanic and American history.

The Basque artist Darío Urzay is not hiding his concern over the impact of COVID-19 on the world of culture in general, and on the art world in particular. Nevertheless, he paints an aura of hope and he certainly believes in artists' capacity for survival: "Things are always going on in our heads and sometimes a sheet of paper and a pen are all we need to start something."

Alicia Peral was beneficiary of the Iberdrola - Museo del Prado Scholarships for Training and Research in Restoration in 2013 and 2015. Today she is part of the Restoration Department where she once worked as a trainee.

For Rafael Lozano-Hemmer, the relationship between art and technology in the 21st century is nothing unusual. His works, which border on theatrical and performance art and make use of projections, sensors and communication networks, deal with this dichotomy and appeal directly to the observer in search of the answer to the question: How much does technology tell us about ourselves?