“Culture has a point of magic that makes us agree”

by time news

What deadlines are managed to complete the project of the Archaeological Museum in Córdoba?

First we need to have the project finished and then start the works. I calculate that it is reasonable that in 2024 we will have it. But I’m a bit cautious when it comes to setting dates, who else who least has ever done a work at home and unforeseen always come up. The project will allow the permanent collection to shine and that we can have space for temporary exhibitions. Until now we have the permanent collection where the temporary ones should be. If there is a museum where it was justified to double the space and give it the enhancement it deserves, it is the one in Córdoba. When one goes down to Andalusia, one finds in every corner a potential and a demand that is worth attending to. For example, the last time I came to Córdoba I saw the library and it is a temple. We have been stuck for a long time and it seems that now we are going to unblock the library project in Barcelona and I say that as long as it is like the one in Córdoba, I will sign.

I imagine that the opening period of the State Library is much shorter.

The work is finished. The City Council wants to do some things in the landscaping to finish off the job and we are in the process of furnishing it and putting in the material. I think we will have it before the end of the year. It is true that we assign the public libraries of the State so that they can be managed by the autonomous communities and we still need that last agreement with the Board to decide when it starts up.

For issues like this, is the relationship with the Board good?

Yes. I know that we are in an electoral campaign and that everyone is good and bad or black and white, but the truth is that I have met administrations of all colors and culture has a point of magic that makes us agree, too the awareness that we do not get everywhere. In Seville, for example, we are doing a very important operation with the Archaeological Museum, but they are not asking for an expansion of the Fine Arts as well. How do you want me to say no? What we have to do is agree and see how we share the effort and how long we can do it. the relationship is usually good with the institutions and it should be that way, we are all passing through, although sometimes we do not believe it. The only thing that justifies our work is leaving things better than how we found them.

We are in the city of the Mosque-Cathedral, I imagine you know the ownership debate, is that debate closed?

Now I will say, excuse me, a heresy: ownership, the truth, is not what worries me the most. What worries me is that we have effective, collaborative management mechanisms and in some places we have achieved good balances. This has been achieved, for example, in Granada with the Alhambra and the great monuments. I would like us to find a similar scheme here. Controversies about ownership make a lot of noise, but they give very few nuts, I am more practical in that sense.

When you speak of a scheme similar to that of the Alhambra, do you speak of a board of trustees to manage the Mosque?

Sure, I would like to, I don’t know if it’s possible. I usually get into gardens that don’t touch me. I like the idea that the State, the Bishopric, the city and the autonomous community are there, that makes us all co-responsible. We all have to be aware that whoever owns it belongs to Córdoba, Andalusia, Spain and the world. For example, they told me that the Segovia Aqueduct depends on the City Council, which we have to thank for how much care it takes, but there are things that transcend ownership. Between all of us we can give them good solutions and ensure that everyone does their part. I would like that, sooner or later, we find that operating scheme for the Mosque-Cathedral. But, of course, let’s enjoy it, heritage is a source of pride and enjoyment.

You have met in Córdoba with representatives of the cultural sector to talk about the Statute of the Artist, what does this meeting consist of?

It is produced to talk about the adaptation of our labor, Social Security and fiscal legislation to cultural activity, a sector with a lot of intermittency. I also wanted to listen to that sector because one of my obsessions is that culture does not end in Madrid and Barcelona, ​​but is in every corner of Spain. Every time I organize an outing I take the opportunity to have a meeting to explain and to collect.

There has been quite a bit of controversy with the Film Law, are the demands of the sector going to be collected?

When a cultural sector claims from the outset, I always tell it that it is right to demand more and ask the institutions for more commitment. But as for that law, we are in the most important support that has never been given to production. It marks a very important increase because all those who distribute content have an increased obligation to invest in production, going from 0.5 to 3.6. Spanish Television will also have the obligation to invest by law in production. Film production today is receiving the maximum support it has had in history and the law will determine its continued growth. But it is true that independent producers ask us to protect that creativity, and they are right. They are going to find satisfaction in the next Film Law that we are going to take to Congress before the end of the year. Here we have to balance the interest of the large digital platforms, that of private television and that of independent production.

When will the cultural bonus be ready? Do you understand the controversy that was generated by leaving the bulls out?

Bullfights have been left out, but so have fashion, crafts or gastronomy. Culture is a concept broad enough to fit many things. We have decided to prioritize from the point of view of investment in certain activities. There are those who say that having left the bulls out is saying that it is not culture, and it is not true. Bullfighting is part of cultural heritage because the law says so. But we have decided to put some things and not others. On the other hand, this is already in force. Any young Spaniard who turns 18 this year will have the possibility of devoting 400 euros to cultural spending for one year, from the time he receives the bonus. In a few days the possibility will be opened for companies to adhere to the program (bookshops, cinemas, promoters…). This is done with the idea that when we can distribute the bonus, which will be September, people will already know where they can use it. The cultural bonus is 400 euros that are divided into three sectors: 200 that can be dedicated to live culture, 100 for products and 100 for digital products. When we can distribute it, it will work as a money card. In Córdoba, 8,431 young people will benefit with a disbursement of more than three million euros.

There are those who have criticized this initiative for having enough electoral overtones.

Who says that thinks that people sell their vote? It makes me a little suspicious, have they ever bought votes? One thinks that because a young person is recognized a right, that young person will say “since Minister Iceta has given me this money, I am going to vote for him next time”, that is not the case. Sometimes we overmonetize things. What we want with the bonus is to promote cultural consumption habits and help companies in the sector. About who says he is electoral, I can only say that he thinks the thief that everyone is of his condition.

“About who says that the cultural bond is electioneering, I can only say that the thief thinks that everyone is of his condition”

We are in the middle of the electoral campaign in Andalusia, are you following the campaign closely?

Closely, not as closely as the citizens of Andalusia, but as a person committed to politics, I do follow it. Andalusians make a very important decision on Sunday, so we have to ask them to vote. We know that it will be tremendously hot and I ask that the intelligence that Andalusians have always shown of knowing how to use their time well be used to decide what is the best time, which experts say is first thing in the morning. Then they think about how the current government has managed and what the electoral programs of the parties offer. I, who am a person who believes in what is public, logically give my support to a program that will strengthen public services, economic recovery and employment. I am part of a Government that has had to go through very complicated situations, but we are celebrating the 20 million people with jobs in Spain, that half of the contracts that are being signed are indefinite when four months ago there were one in ten, that we are updating pensions, we have managed to sustain employment with the ertes, the support of Europe… I would like Andalusia to be avant-garde and push for the socialist project and I allow myself to ask the PSOE for a vote.

Do you completely rule out being the PSOE candidate in the Barcelona municipal elections?

Yes, totally. First because we have a very good candidate. It seems that it is thought that the candidates are improvised, that there is a kind of raffle in which one is and if you buy numbers they touch you, but it does not work like that. I have great respect for the work that is being done in Barcelona. Also, if the president sees it that way, I would like to continue working for culture for a long time.

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