The CEU CEFAS Institute of American Studies held the seminar “Hispanidad in Peru: An Opportunity for a Shared Future” in Lima, in collaboration with the Universidad Peruana de Ciencias Aplicadas (UPC). Throughout the day, various academics from Spain and Peru delved into key moments of viceregal history and encouraged participants to reclaim their true history and counter the Black Legend.

The institutional opening ceremony featured addresses by the Spanish Ambassador to Peru, Alejandro Abellán; the Director of the CEU CEFAS Institute of American Studies, Consuelo Martínez-Sicluna y Sepúlveda; and the Dean of the Faculties of Contemporary Arts, Humanities, and Education at UPC, Mauricio Novoa. All of them underscored the importance of strengthening university cooperation and promoting an intellectual framework that fosters rigorous study of Hispanidad and its value as a unifying element of identity and shared development.

The various sessions addressed topics such as the Hispanic Monarchy, Derecho Indiano (Colonial Law), viceregal Baroque art, the historical processes of the Viceroyalty of Peru, and the contemporary geostrategic role of the Hispanic community. The second day included the screening of the documentary “Hispanoamérica. Song of Life and Hope”, followed by a discussion. For her part, the Director of the CEU CEFAS Institute of American Studies, Consuelo Martínez-Sicluna y Sepúlveda, particularly highlighted the legacy of Isabella I of Castile, not only for her defense of the legal protection of Indigenous peoples, but also for her role in the construction of a new continent united by a shared language and faith.

The seminar also featured contributions from the Secretary General of the CEU CEFAS Institute of American Studies, Eduardo Puig de la Bellacasa; the Head of the Institute’s International Outreach, Yilian Ayala; José María Carabante, Professor of Philosophy of Law at the Complutense University of Madrid; Avanza País congresswoman Adriana Tudela; Peruvian entrepreneur Diego de la Torre; and the Director of PROLIMA (Planning, Management and Recovery of Lima’s Historic Center), Luis Martín Bogdanovich, among other experts.

As part of this visit to Lima, the Director and the Secretary General of the CEU CEFAS Institute of American Studies also took part in the international congress “Trasciende Perú,” organized by the Universidad Peruana de Ciencias Aplicadas. Both addressed the moral crisis of the West and how this is also an issue affecting the concept of Hispanidad and the entire region, as part of the Western world.