Lisbon, April 14, 2025 (Lusa) - The delegation of the Spanish regional government of Catalonia in Portugal will celebrate Sant Jordi on 23 April, World Book Day, with a talk on "Literature and Peace" at the Palácio Galveias Library in Lisbon.
"We wanted to combine the celebration of Sant Jordi with reflection on a strictly topical issue such as peace. And what better way to do it through books, to see how the power of words can influence the construction of peace?" said Rui Reis, delegate from the regional government of Catalonia, who will be inaugurating the event, in a statement.
The Day of Sant Jordi is an emblematic date in Catalan culture, coinciding with World Book Day, and is a deep-rooted tradition in society, according to which couples exchange roses and books.
To mark the date in Portugal, the delegation of the government of Catalonia has invited the director of the Institute of Political Studies of the Portuguese Catholic University, Mónica Dias, and the professor of Portuguese Philology at the University of Barcelona, Isabel Soler, joined by the cellist and musicologist, Anna Mora, to talk about peace, in a conversation moderated by the journalist Joana Haderer.
This conversation will be preceded by the presentation of a video about the Sant Jordi tradition.
At the end of the session, cellist Daniel Claret will give a concert with music from the repertoire of Catalan composers, such as Enric Casals, and international composers, such as Bach.
In keeping with Catalan tradition, roses and books will be offered to the audience, made up of Portuguese institutional representatives, members of the Catalan community and the general public, adds the organisation's press release.
The LeYa Bookshop and the Lisbon Library Network are joining this initiative, which aims to bring the Catalan tradition of Sant Jordi to Portugal, by making a special area dedicated to translations of books by Catalan authors available at the Buchholz Bookshop between 21 and 25 April.
Schools are also invited to take part in an initiative entitled ‘Poem in Your Pocket’, in which pupils and teachers from the Escola Básica Maria Pais Ribeiro - A Ribeirinha (Vila do Conde) hold ‘poetry duels’ - an exchange of poems read in Catalan and Portuguese - with the Institut Manuel Blancafort, a Catalan school from the municipality of La Garriga.
In a so-called act prior to the celebrations, the delegation of the regional government of Catalonia in Portugal is organising a reception at the Buchholz bookshop on the 22nd, during which a message from the president of the regional government of Catalonia, Salvador Ila, and the conversation "Overcoming Borders" will be streamed from the Palau de la Generalitat (seat of the presidency) in Barcelona.
To round off the week of celebrations, Casa do Comum is hosting Casal Català de Lisboa (CCL), an association of the Catalan community, which is organising a conference with translator and Universidade Nova de Lisboa professor Marco Neves.
Sant Jordi Day has been celebrated in Portugal since 2020, with initiatives organised by the delegation of the government of Catalonia.
On what is known as the Day of the Rose and the Book in Catalonia, also considered by many to be ‘’Saint Valentine's Day‘’, the streets and squares of Catalan towns are filled with stalls with roses and books. On that day alone, more than 1.5 million books and more than six million roses are sold.
AL/AYLS // AYLS
Lusa
