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INTERVIEW WITH LUCIANO ANTONIO MARTÍNEZ

Director of the Cervantes Institute in Rio de Janeiro

By Daniella Wagner

The largest four brothers and one sister, the Director of the Cervantes Institute in Rio de Janeiro, Antonio Martínez Luciano, was born in Alicante. He studied history at the Autonomous University of Madrid. This was just the first trip outside their region. In 1985 he moved to New York to work for an NGO that organized exchanges between American and English students.

When he entered the Instituto Cervantes in 1993, went to Manila as the first Director of the Institute in the Philippines, the only one in Asia at that time. In 1998 he returned to Madrid and worked in the headquarters of this institution, organizing cultural activities. Later he returned to New York to manage the restoration work of the center of Instituto Cervantes. Before arriving in Rio, Antonio was 2003 to 2008 in Morocco Director of Cervantes in Casablanca.

In the interview he gave to the insistent, Antonio spoke about the role of the Instituto Cervantes in teaching English on the importance of dialogue between cultures and what he scored on his experience around the world. He also stressed the loyalty of students from the Rio and found that awaits a date in the agenda of Prince Philip, patron of the Instituto Cervantes, to officially open the new headquarters in Botafogo.

What caught more attention of the cultures that have had contact?
Most interesting was my first destination in Cervantes, because before I was moved more by the Western world. In the Philippines, although it was a English colony, only the educated upper classes with the Dominicans and Augustinians, who were those who taught in English. As the monks did not want to be educated too the people and was a rural society, religious prefer to learn the native language. In the Philippines there are more than 100 dialects and the most common is Tagalog, a local language. Then, when it began envagelización, Tagalog incorporated English words. It is very interesting because three words is a word in English. For example, the numbers and the label associated with the act of eating. They had no plates, cups, knives, forks , all say they think it's in English Tagalog. They have 40 000 English words in Tagalog. English is not the official language, but the funny thing is that the entire Constitution, all legal books, law, laws in the Philippines are written in English. The last English colonies that became independent at the end of the nineteenth century, were Cuba and the Philippines.

From Casablanca to Rio de Janeiro, what significant differences between the two cities?
are two different worlds, two opposing worlds, two cultures, two ways of thinking. It's hard to say because curiously Morocco very close to Spain, but we divide the Strait of Gibraltar, which is 14 kilometers. But the cultural, social, economic, are huge. I think that's difficult to live in a Muslim country the day to day, everyday, because you have to respect certain customs, ideas that, if no-one is complicated. There are many things that have to do with, for example, the role of women in Arab society, which is not at the same level of equality of men. In Rio, there's all this nature, the beauty, culture. Although far from Spain, Rio is much closer to us than Morocco, which is close geographically, but culturally away.

How do you see the participation of the Instituto Cervantes in our community?
Rio is a city that has a great cultural tradition, a number of established cultural icons, for example, theaters, the Teatro Municipal, traditional cultural centers like the Centro Cultural Banco do Brasil, an entire cultural infrastructure. How space can work as Cervantes? I think that in a society, in a contemporary culture, we must work to break stereotypes. This is one of the most fundamental issues, many times the impression that Spain has a Brazilian, a carioca, is this culture of Beach, the Rio has the impression that English is to the traditions of the bulls ... this is not good. The Institute should always encourage dialogue, we should try to talk to different cultural views. We try our cultural activity is this dialogue.

The new headquarters

today What are the general activities of the Instituto Cervantes?
We are not an academic institution, we are a cultural center. You have to make a difference. The Institute's activities in general in all countries in the areas nonacademic activities; in Spain says formal education. The Institute can help, a professor who specializes in new technologies can provide a refresher course, a training course at a university on time. And, to the extent that the associations of teachers want, support their studies in English in their curriculum, with multimedia materials, with the DELE exams.

What is the orientation of the Cervantes Institute to teach English?
I think there is a broader view, because English is English to teach the standard. The advantage that English has the same grammar that can have words and accents. That's why so I think there are only two languages \u200b\u200bthat have this international, English and English. I think it is very important to bring the values \u200b\u200bof the cultures, peoples and countries that speak English. Not only do those activities to come from Spain. Argentine cinema because there is a very important and the best for the Rio is more interesting to know what makes the neighboring Uruguay. The Institute attempts to show the international, universal English.

is said that Brazil is now a countries where the study and use of English is growing fast. Is there statistical numbers on this? Yes
did a study on the development of English in Brazil last year that is published in the Yearbook English in the world , the Instituto Cervantes. Brazil is the country with the largest number of Instituto Cervantes in the world (currently nine).

How many students have the Cervantes de Rio de Janeiro?
The Rio Cervantes has little more than two thousand students, but always differentiate student enrollments, because a person can study various courses. It's funny and I think is interesting in many countries what happens is that many students starting in the early stages then after 30, 60 or 90 hours, give up. In Rio, the level of loyalty among students is very high compared to other schools. So I think these initiatives are important because they must find ways where they not only learn English in the classroom, but through the activities to study and learn English in other contexts.

How did the use of new technologies in teaching English? Do you think that helps in the development of students? How the Cervantes Institute applies?
The Institute has made a big investment in new technologies and equipment. ICT allows us to travel, have everything close, access to information, documentation, support for the lectures. Talk about a documentary, a film, a virtual tour, a dialogue ... I think that every time we move further through video conferencing in real-time communication. Now for example we try
all classrooms have computers for the teacher to work directly on interactive whiteboards. We must increasingly balance the use of the physical book with Internet, with blogs. Respect

blogs, How do you see the initiative of the persistent ?
is an initiative, a wonderful idea. I think it's one of the first blogs I've seen in the Institute is well done, it is fun and interesting, giving the opinion of people. I invite you to be more critical - they have to do that in Spain we like to be critical, constructive criticism - contributing ideas, invite others to participate ... I think it's an initiative that unites.

Cervantes Institute in 2003 began developing an extensive program of cultural activities. Can you highlight some of those?

I can talk about recent years, we have done since we arrived. exposure cartels Civil War in the National History Museum last year was interesting because besides showing a very important stage in the history of Spain while there was also an exhibition of photographer Pierre Verger, Andalucía in 1935, which was also a very direct view of life and poverty in Andalusia just the year before the war. Then I also think it was strange, so bizarre, this year's exhibition of photographs by Juan Rulfo, who is better known as Mexican writer. It was interesting for many Rio intellectuals because they knew this side of him as a photographer.

The headquarters is now at a five-story building, in Botafogo, with ample space for classrooms, library, auditorium, exhibition hall. How is the responsiveness of the community?
Headquarters was not officially opened yet, because the centers of the Institute are normally opened by Prince Philip, who is patron of the Institute. The center was only open for activities. It is slow work because there are many people who believe that the Institute is only in the center. Most interesting to me is that we have a showroom in the earthy because he spends a lot of people on this street. If you are 15 or 20 people a day, and the exhibition is 30 days, are 600 people who have come here, we have known a little. We must make a greater effort to diversify the students, students who have English. This summer we have courses for children. There are also agreements with companies and we want to develop it in Botafogo where many business centers, and at least three English companies.