On October 9, 5:00 PM, in the Plaza del Sol (Spain Pavilion), we will share two universal symbols of peace: Picasso’s Guernica (HD projection) and Pau Casals’s The Song of the Birds (UN, 1958).
A short event (15 minutes) to affirm, together, the universal value of peace.
The Osaka Kansai Expo is approaching its closing day. During these months, the Expo has been a magnificent space for meeting and coexistence between people from many countries. All the pavilions have collaborated fraternally to honor Japan’s generous invitation.
At the same time that, under the protection of the Grand Ring Road, we have experienced a time of peace and cooperation here, outside, in many parts of the world, humanity continues to suffer the scourge of war and violence.
Before concluding, we at the Spain Pavilion would like to share with the entire Expo community two universal works of our 20th-century culture, symbols of peace and hope: Pablo Picasso’s Guernica, which will be projected in a giant high-definition reproduction, and Pau Casals’s Song of the Birds, performed before the United Nations General Assembly in 1958.
We invite you to join us for this event on October 9th, at 5:00 PM, in the Plaza del Sol of the SpainPavilion.
Historical context of the event
Guernica – Pablo Picasso (1937) Guernica was painted by Picasso for the Spanish Pavilion at the 1937 Paris International Exposition, in the midst of the Civil War. The work was inspired by the bombing of the Basque village of Guernica by German and Italian air forces, allied with Franco, and immediately became a universal symbol against the barbarity of war. Since then, Guernica has not only represented a Spanish tragedy, but a global warning about the horrors of violence against civilians.
El Cant dels Ocells – Pau Casals (1958, UN) Pau Casals, one of the greatest cellists in history, went into exile after the Civil War and never returned to live in Spain during the dictatorship. In 1958, he performed the Catalan folk song El Cant dels Ocells before the United Nations General Assembly, where he presented it as a hymn to peace and fraternity among peoples. Years later, in 1971, he received the UN Peace Medal and premiered his United Nations Anthem there, commissioned by the organization itself.
Both works—Guernica and El Cant dels Ocells—born in contexts of war, exile, and suffering, have become universal symbols of peace and human dignity. At a time when violence once again threatens coexistence, Spain, through the Osaka Expo, seeks to invoke the power of culture to restore peace.
AloJapan.com