The Cervantes Institute makes the leap to Hollywood

"Everything takes time, but everything comes," said the Madrid writer

a few minutes before

unveiled the inaugural plaque.

Los Angeles, the second most important city in a country with

will finally have a center for the Instituto Cervantes, a venue "as long-awaited as it is necessary" that aims to be a "great meeting place for the Hispanic world."

Both Martín, director of the Los Angeles center, and

, director of the

, are aware of the need to be in this part of the world.

The saying that in this city almost everyone speaks Spanish is not far from reality.

49.1% of the almost 10 million inhabitants of the most populous county in the country are Hispanic, according to data from the US Census, and a high percentage use Spanish on a daily basis.

It is heard in schoolyards, in

restaurant kitchens , in auto shops, on soccer fields all over the city.

And it's not just immigrants born on the other side of the border.

The sensation of the

in the United States is more than palpable with catalysts such as the phenomenon of reggaeton -with Bad Bunny and Rosalía as the greatest exponents-, and the growing interest of second and third generations of American Latinos to get closer to the roots and to the language of their parents.

If in the 70s and 80s it was something to be ashamed of, synonymous with second-class citizens, today speaking Spanish is considered an unquestionable advantage in the first world power.

"Being bilingual is a wealth, a marvel,"

.

"In Spain we are used to putting up with the nonsense of the Catalans who do not want Castilian to be spoken in Catalonia and the Spanish who offend Catalan."

Two will be the pillars of Martín's ambitious agenda.

The link with the cinema, on the one hand.

The library will bear the name of

Martín is confident that the director will travel to Los Angeles next year for its inauguration and that the cinema on the ground floor will serve to give more exposure to Spanish cinema.

The building, located behind the Universal studios and five minutes from

is owned by Santiago Pozo, a film producer and businessman from La Rioja.

The other big bet will be to establish bridges with the Mexican and Central American community, the majority in

.

Of the 4.8 million Hispanics in the city, 73% are of Mexican origin, 9.6% Salvadoran and 6% Guatemalan.

made it clear that the role of Cervantes will not be "a center of linguistic authority" but one of "respect for diversity", with Los Angeles "as a fundamental point of reference" when looking to the future.

In addition to

the inauguration was attended by the Spanish ambassador to the United States, Santiago Cabanas, the director of the Los Angeles Philharmonic, Gustavo Dudamel, and Mexican actors such as

, a way of demonstrating that unity among Hispanics that García Montero claims against "racist currents and classism that have tried to turn Spanish into a language of the poor."

It is quite the opposite.

According to the criteria of The Trust Project

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