Espacio Iberia
Talent in common
Since opening on the 17th of April, Espacio Iberia has welcomed dozens of guests with one thing in common: their infinite talent. Talent that has inspired all the people who have sat there to listen to them. In the last few weeks, big names from the world of art, music, or sport, including Suso33, Rozalén or David Villa, have been its stars.
Where can you find a role model of urban art, a football world champion, an internationally renowned flamenco dancer, two LGTBI activists during Pride Week or the people behind the image of a big musical star? The answer is Espacio Iberia. And what they all have in common, despite belonging to disciplines as diverse as art, sport, dance, literature, or music, is talent, talent in all caps. Who has visited Espacio Iberia in the last month and what topics have they shared with the audience?
An afternoon with Suso33 (11th of June)
One of the big names of urban art in Spain, Suso33, visited Espacio Iberia for a live painting session. He created a work of art live in front of dozens of people, who were even invited to take part. While painting with his spray cans, this artist from Madrid shared his thoughts on urban art and his own career, which begun four decades ago: from illegally painting trains in Madrid to having exhibitions in cities like Amsterdam. He also highlighted art as an essential tool for freedom of speech and offered many tips for budding artists.
A chat about football and talent with David Villa (12th of June)
The name David Villa brings one word to mind: goal. Or rather: goals. Because this striker from Asturias had an innate talent for scoring goals. This legend from the Spanish national team, is still the player who has scored the most goals on the team with 59 goals in 98 matches. During hist talk at Espacio Iberia, moderated by journalist Juanma Trueba, he shared the secrets that made him one of the best strikers in the world, just as he does every day with young people from dozens of countries through his international network of academies: DV7 Soccer Academy.
The artist Suso33 picked up his spray cans and gave a live demonstration.
David Villa, the Spanish national team’s all-time leading scorer, visited Espacio Iberia.
Judoka Niko Shera confessed his biggest dream: to win a medal in Paris.
Passion for hip hop brought together the musical paths of Rozalén and El Chojín.
Meeting the athletes on the Iberia Talento a bordo Team: Niko Shera (19th of June)
Just a few weeks before the start of the Paris Games, the judoka Niko Shera had a break from training to spend some time with fans of sport in general and judo in particular at Espacio Iberia. Despite the severe injury that kept him out of the competition for almost a year and changing category —from -90kg to -100kg—, this world champion in 2018 and 2021 is dreaming big. The goal is to get rid of the thorn in his side from Tokyo, where he had to settle for seventh place, and the feelings he shared with the audience are good: he recently won a bronze medal at the World Championships in Abu Dabi.
Rozalén and El Chojín: an intimate conversation between two big Spanish talents (25th of June)
When talent connects it grows richer. And that is precisely what happened to Rozalén and El Chojín last year, when they worked together and released a song (No es egoísmo) which combined the best of both their musical worlds. As expected, the song became a tremendous success and at Espacio Iberia they told the story of that creative process. Throughout her career, Rozalén has explored several musical genres, including hip hop —she previously collaborated with Toteking or Kase. O—, a range of tastes, concerns, and influences she shares with El Chojín and which the audience got involved with during their talk.
Dancing and living artfully: the confessions of flamenco dancer Jesús Carmona to journalist Carlos del Amor (27th of June)
Flamenco is in the blood of Jesús Carmona and, at the tender age of seven, he started training. With hard work and talent, he’s now one of the most well-regarded flamenco dancers in the world. In 2020, he received the Spanish National Dance Award for, in the words of the jury, “the depth of his creative work”. His creativity is born out of respect for tradition and turns his personal experiences into choreographies. Alongside journalist Carlos del Amor, who also delved into the artist’s human side, they went over a career seeking new challenges in pursuit of personal and professional growth.
How we have changed: the evolution of LGTBI Pride with Valeria Vegas and Paco Tomás (2nd of July)
During Pride Week, Espacio Iberia opened its doors to freedom, diversity, and vindication with two big names in LGTBI activism in Spain: Valeria Vegas and Paco Tomás. With them, the audience went over how an act that used to bring together a few people, has now come to gather hundreds of thousands. Among other things, we owe Valeria the biography of La Veneno which inspired the magnificent series by both Javis (Veneno) about her. Meanwhile, Paco, director of Wisteria Lane on Radio 5 —an LGTBI-themed programme—, was the creator of the docuseries Nosotrxs somos, which goes over the history of the LGTBI movement in Spain.
Travel around El Madrileño with Little Spain (4th of July)
What is the life of a musical star like El Madrileño really like? Cristina Trenas, Rogelio González, and Santos Bacana, at the head of the production company Little Spain, answered this question with the documentary Esta ambición desmedida, offering an intimate and accurate portrait, with its lights and shadows, of this artist from Madrid during his latest tour. At Espacio Iberia, where dozens of fans gathered, they reflected on the figure of El Madrileño and the dilemmas derived from his success: the image he communicates to the world, the weight of fame and overexposure in the era of social media, the boundaries that need setting between the public and private realms, etc.
On the 22nd of June, Espacio Iberia also welcomed, in collaboration with LEDU (Spanish University Debate League), the 23 Spanish candidates for the World Universities Debating Championship in Spanish which will be held at the University of Belgrano (Buenos Aires). During this event, this group of youngsters proved their talent with live speeches.
