Roots and wings

A eulogy to roots, which determine our identity, our character, our unique way of being in the world. But also, a eulogy to wings, which allow talent to take flight. This is what Iberia proposes in its latest campaign: Roots and wings. Inspired by an aphorism of poet Juan Ramón Jiménez—penned more than 100 years ago—and framed within its Talento a bordo initiative, the airline defends how our roots—our culture, our language and our role models of yesteryear and today—nourish talent. When this talent flies far beyond our borders, it does so with those roots in its bag, making them grow tall and strong, enriching them and encouraging us all. This is how this poet’s words reflect the way Iberia understands and supports talent.

“Roots, and wings. But
Oh, let wings take root,
and roots take flight”
Juan Ramón Jiménez, 1916

In recent years, Iberia’s commitment—through its Talento a bordo initiative—has been to give Spanish talent wings, both in general and to some names from the world of culture, sports and innovation in particular. Among them, we find the protagonists of the Roots and wings campaign—Dabiz Muñoz, Teresa Helbig, Hugo González de Oliveira y Rozalén—, who perfectly illustrate that talent that, through deep roots, succeeds when it takes flight.

• Dabiz Muñoz, at the head of DiverXO, is one of the few Spanish chefs who can boast managing a restaurant with three Michelin stars. Always at the forefront of gastronomy, he won The Best Chef Awards for three years in a row (2021, 2022 and 2023). His wings, which took him from his hometown of Madrid to London to work at restaurants specialised in Asian cuisine and around the world in search of inspiration, have been key during his formative years. Those same wings also brought him back home to Spain, ready to become a role model of world gastronomy.
• Teresa Helbig has not only succeeded in Spain, where she won the National Fashion Design Award in 2023, but also in places like Paris. With Iberia’s support, on the 7^th of March 2024, she presented her 1832 Sur Mer collection in the French capital. A dream come true for this designer from Barcelona, who was accompanied by the person who introduced her to the world of needle and thread, her mother. From her workshop in the neighbourhood of Eixample, this designer shares her Mediterranean style with the world. Furthermore, since 2022, she is the creator of the Iberia uniforms; the first woman to follow in the footsteps of Manuel Pertegaz, Elio Berhanyer and Adolfo Domínguez, among others.
• Dreams sometimes await us thousands of miles away. Leaving behind his roots, Hugo González de Oliveira flew to the United States in 2018 to make his dream come true: to become one of the best swimmers in the world. Something he finally achieved at the World Championships in Doha held in 2024, where he won the gold medal in the 200 metres back already as a member of the Iberia Talento a bordo Team. With a Spanish father and Brazilian mother, Hugo’s roots spread across different parts of Spain, from his hometown of Palma de Mallorca to San Javier (Murcia), where his father taught him to swim at the tender age of three, to Rivas-Vaciamadrid (Madrid), where his family finally settled down.
• Rozalén grew up in Letur (Albacete), a village in the Segura mountains for which she flies the flag. Her roots lay in the narrow streets of that village, but also in the neighbourhood of Fátima in Albacete, where she joined a group of serenaders at the age of seven, playing the bandurria [a stringed instrument similar to the mandolin]. But her roots are also the people who taught her her first songs, like her mother and grandmother, or the priest who encouraged her to sing in public. A winner of the Premio Nacional de Músicas Actuales in 2021 and, more recently, of the Best Artist of the Year Award by Spain’s Academia de la Música, her wings reach South America, where she also has a devoted audience.

The roots and wings of these four talented Spanish names appear in several ways throughout the campaign’s advert. In the case of Dabiz Muñoz, in the chickpeas that make up one of his most acclaimed fusion dishes: his Hong Kong-Madrid stew. In the case of Teresa Helbig, in the garments made at her workshop in the neighbourhood of Eixample which are later admired thousands of miles away. In the case of Hugo González de Oliveira, in the hours upon hours of training far away from his loved ones to climb to the top of the podium. And, in Rozalén’s case, in the songs inspired by the manchegas songs she used to hear in her village, and which are now hummed by crowds at her concerts.

With Roots and wings, Iberia illustrates its commitment to Spanish talent. Because, as the campaign slogan goes: “Always alongside our talent so that our roots take flight.”