LA ODISEA DEL ESPAÑOL
A Multi-Media Education and Outreach Project
Featuring Internet, Print, Television, DVD and Radio
“Ellos se llevaron nuestro oro, pero nos dejaron el suyo:
el idioma.”
“They took off with our gold, but they left us theirs: the language.”
--Pablo Neruda
Such was the power of 15th century Spain that it is acknowledged with
every word spoken by nearly a half-billion people alive today. Spanish
– a cultural thread that links people from Patagonia with people
in the Bronx – is the official language of dozens of nations on
four continents, and the unofficial language of enclaves, large and
small, in every part of the world. It can be heard in neighborhoods
of today’s teeeming cities: New York, London, Moscow, Istanbul,
New Dehli, Peking, Manila. But it crops up in unexpected places as well.
It is the second-most common language spoken in city of Calgary, and
in the tiny Norwegian hamlet of Salemkirken.
Spanish
is the trace marker not only a bygone empire, but also of the widely-divergent
cultures that emerged as the empire receded. How did Spanish become
the state language of Mexico, of Argentina, of African Equatorial Guinea?
Why did it take hold in the Spanish colony of Cuba, but not in the Spanish
colony of the Phillipines? Why is it growing so steadily in North America?
And, in an age of globalization, what role will Spanish play?
These questions form the basis for an important outreach and broadcast
project being developed by Colombian filmmakers, Citurna Productions,
Bogota; Florentine Films/Hott Productions, Massachusetts; and WETA Washington,
DC. The Spanish Odyssey will be an exploration, global in scope, of
one of the richest and most fascinating histories of all time. The project
will give voice to many distinctive cultures -- and the language that
unites them all.
The Spanish Odyssey will present a rich tapestry: the great stories
-- both fact and myth -- that have shaped the language, art and lives
of millions of people for over a millenium. The education project will
include a two-hour film, presenting the signficant elements in la historia
de Espanol: the history of conquest and rebellion, the intermingling
of language and culture, and the ongoing role that language plays in
our lives.
