MADRID, Spain.
On the evening of October 28 the guidebook "Covadonga and its natural environment. The story in time" was presented at the Asturian Center of Madrid.
The mayor of Cangas de Onis, José Manuel González; the Abbot of Covadonga, Fr. Juan José Tuñón Scale; journalist Diego Carcedo; the archivist of the Historical Archive of the Teresian Association, Isabel Martínez Santa María de Unza; and former Minister Gustavo Suárez Pertierra participated in the presentation.
"A very special work that combines nature and culture, history, transcendence and spirituality," said the President of the Asturian Center in Madrid, Valentin Martinez Otero. "It is intended as a guide for those who visit Covadonga, where the ‘little and gallant Lady’ is present, as Asturians call Our Lady," he added.
Fr. Juan José Tuñón appreciated the accomplishment of this book which is "a work that has been done in collaboration. It is an example of that spirit of collaboration which the Canons envisioned as they thought of pilgrims, tourists, and institutions that want to know Covadonga more deeply."
He said the publication combines "nature, history and spirituality, characteristic features of what Covadonga stands for and that “it manages to convey in everyday language without losing the value of necessary data and references, with great pictures."
He highlighted the figure of St. Pedro Poveda, "who has projected Covadonga into the world through the Teresian Association". He also underscored the opportunity to distribute the book as we approach "the great event in 2018, which will mark thirteen centuries since what is known as the Battle of Covadonga that gave rise to the Royal Site, a century since the Canonical Coronation of the Santina, of the anthem to Our Lady, and of the declaration of the Mountain of Covadonga, today Picos de Europa, as National Park." He concluded by saying that "Covadonga is a place that creates bonds and a desire to return."
Jose Manuel González, Mayor of Cangas de Onis, reviewed the richness of its council and stressed "the poetic vision that is manifested in the guide, which helps interpret the places that are presented."
Isabel Martínez Santa María co-author, with Maria Asunción Ortiz, of the chapter on Saint Pedro Poveda, stressed that "the Canons (in Covadonga) were builders. Poveda, as a member of the group accompanied pilgrims and learned from them and with them to recognize the meaning of something ‘unique.’ It was there that he began his project of building the kind of “education that the times demanded." He began his education circles that were key to his idea and later Work. Poveda was a man of action, "it is by doing that one moves on and makes progress,” she said.
The context of those years was polarized and there was a cultural awakening. There was resistance and struggle. Poveda’s option was constructive, of dialogue, participation and solidarity. His option was for education in all its dimensions, rural and urban, in all formal and informal settings ...
As a member of the Teresian Association, she recalled that "La Casina", as the house of the Association in Covadonga is known, dates back to 1930, and is a reference point with a deep sense of the origin of the Work founded by Saint Pedro Poveda. Covadonga is a spring that protects our development, she concluded, not without thanking Covadonga Carcedo, member of Asociación Asturias Actual, promoter of the publication and dissemination of the guide.
Journalist José Manuel Diego Carcedo spoke about the institutional silence maintained for years about the Royal Site of Covadonga and its history and the need to reverse this situation because "it brings together all the conditions to become a center of religion and tourism in Spain." He also recognized the beauty of the natural environment of the region which he considered "a true paradise."
Gustavo Suárez Pertierra, Education Minister during Felipe Gonzalez’s tenure and Chairman of the Elcano Royal Institute, said the publication "is not just a guide, it is erudite and friendly. A call from Asturias to people to come to Covadonga and its environment." He also added: “we live in a complex and increasingly urban society. We have seen a change in values, lost many certainties, and tensions between modernity and tradition are present. In this context Covadonga is a friendly reference within the global situation, transformed into a platform of traditions and religion, enlarged with the father figure of Fr. Poveda who began designing his project in Covadonga."
The event ended with a beautiful projection of photographs of the Royal Place and the Shire. At the end, the large audience continued to share in the friendly and cordial atmosphere that had been set, with food and Asturian cider.
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