E
n 1713 Nation the Academy Spanish language, at the proposal of distinguished Spanish academics. Its constitution was approved by the Royal ID of the Sovereign Felipe V. Century and a half later, the Americans, now called Latin American – since the Americans appropriated the term – proposed to create corresponding American academies; Thus, in 1875 the Mexican Academy of Language (AML) was born.
Against what could be thought for its age, it continues “alive and place” and this year celebrates renewed and with great vitality its 150 anniversary. Currently, the institution and university professor Gonzalo Celorio, who has brought New Savia, despite the difficult times he has had to overcome: in 2019, the AML suffered the reduction of more than 80 percent of the subsidy that the Secretariat of Public Education (SEP) received via via (SEP). Then, the pandemic came that further limited the possibility of action of the corporation.
To hold, the Academy sold a property of its property in Coyoacán and had to market some of the works of art that it had in possession and that were acquired in previous six years, including Carlos Mérida, Dr. Atl and Jorge González Camarena, which were acquired by the Kaluz Foundation.
As if it were not enough, they faced a difficult litigation to recover their old headquarters in the street of maidens. Fortunately they managed to have the support of some foundations to have the resources to rehabilitate it.
Now the beautiful house of the eighteenth century, after several years of works has recovered its ancient splendor. In Baroque style, it looks an elegant facade coated with wine color, with beautifully carved quarry frames on the cover, balconies and windows. Inside there are two courtyards; The main, generous dimensions, is surrounded by quarry columns that support the second floor and the stately white marble staircase emerges.
With a sober and beautiful furniture, it already works full, with its extensive library with a collection of 50 thousand volumes, the Plenary Room, an auditorium for 100 people, reading room and the offices for the work of the commissions.
Here the celebrations for the Sesquicentennial of the AML were held, which completed a couple of days ago, with six tables of conversation in which the vast majority of number academics and several of the corresponding ones in the country participated, in addition to other activities that will run throughout the year.
Concepción Company, deputy director, explained that a fundamental objective is to publicize the public, to society, what is the academy, what worries him, what conductive threads has, as well as analyze the past, present and future of the organization.
The AML, said its director, “is not a tax or authoritarian institution in linguistic terms, as sometimes it is thought. It respects the normal use of speakers, although also struggled for the best use of the enormous wealth of the Spanish language in our country and I would like this to also be present in the national education system.”
Celorio gave the good news that a Spanish school dictionarywhich will above all will be useful for students of basic and upper secondary education. It also prepares a dictionary built from scratch on contemporary Spanish.
On some occasion we publish on these pages a chronicle entitled “Tell me how you speak and I will tell you who you are” about The Mexican Dictionaryone of the most interesting and enjoyable works published by the Academy. It is the fruit of a job that lasted more than 10 years. It brings together about 11 thousand terms, slogans and meanings. It is surprising to know the enormous wealth of exclusive vocabulary of Mexicans who have integrated into the Spanish that we speak and how our idiosyncrasy reflects.
At the end of the visit we went to eat alms, in Allende 3, which offers delicious Mexican food made with traditional techniques and a contemporary touch. It is called by the colorful Tezontle wall of the seventeenth century, which was made with alms of the poor who could only give stones.
The dishes are changing per season; Now we entertain ourselves with river toast, the Veracruz Gazpacho and the black octopus. With coffee, a fair churro.
