The 10th International Congress of the Spanish Language has concluded in Arequipa without the usual announcement of the next host city in three years. Tensions between organizing institutions, such as the Royal Spanish Academy and the Cervantes Institute, have overshadowed the event. The Association of Academies of the Spanish Language issued a statement omitting the Cervantes and praising the RAE president.
The 10th International Congress of the Spanish Language (CILE) ended on Friday in Arequipa, Peru, without revealing the city to host the next event in 2028, breaking from the tradition of announcing it at the closing session. Eduardo Hopkins, president of the Peruvian Academy of the Language, alluded to the tensions during preparations: “Se debatía porque así se hacen las cosas. Se discute, no se impone”, referring to debates over details like dialogue tables or exhibitions.
The host selection requires consensus between the Association of Academies of the Spanish Language (Asale), comprising 23 academies including the Royal Spanish Academy (RAE), and the Cervantes Institute, typically favoring secondary cities. The clash between Luis García Montero, Cervantes director, and Santiago Muñoz Machado, RAE director and Asale president, appears to have prevented the announcement. Moreover, the candidate city must fund the event; the Peruvian government invested over four million euros.
Hours before the close, Asale issued a statement from which the RAE self-excluded, as Muñoz Machado declined to attend due to the deliberation's content. The text thanks authorities and institutions but omits the Cervantes Institute, co-organizer with the Peruvian government. It mentions King Felipe VI's support for strengthening the Spanish language and praises Muñoz Machado's “firme liderazgo intelectual y cultural”, unanimously backing his program.
Asale expressed satisfaction with deliberations on themes like mestizaje and interculturality, clear and accessible language, and digital cultures and artificial intelligence. At the closing, Francisco Javier Pérez, Asale's general secretary, quoted Andrés Bello: “La lengua la hacemos todos”, and noted that “los tiempos del purismo han quedado afortunadamente atrás”. Other speakers included Álvaro García Santa-Cecilia, Zoila Vega —who joked about the lack of seismic tremors—, Carmen Noguero, Alonso Ruiz Rosas —who proposed a congress on indigenous languages—, Hugo Rojas Flores, and Víctor Hugo Rivera. A prize to Arequipa schoolchildren was highlighted, with their favorite word being “calma”.
Despite the disagreements, the congress emphasized unity in the diversity of the Spanish language.