Last Friday, we held the fourteenth edition of the “Night of Sitges Awards” at Casino Prado Suburense. It was a joyful event that brought recognition to winners; it was also an event of complicity thanks to the union of efforts and initiatives, and also of trust in the future, notwithstanding our current situation. Because culture, in all its dimensions, is one of the features that best defines Sitges. Next, I'll reproduce the intervention I made at the closing ceremony.
"Councillors, awardees, representatives of organizations, good night everyone.
The event we have just experienced, the awards to the world of culture, is the best reflection of our collective reality. A reality that makes Sitges a town that loves culture. All this is possible thanks to the combined efforts of many individuals and groups who, during many years, have outlined a way to do things that those here today have inherited, but we also have the merit of pampering and building it every day.
I think that one of our main strong points is the ability to combine tradition with innovation. The preservation of older signs of identity, while granting room for innovation, but especially, we have accepted and pampered all those that found in Sitges a place to work for culture.
During this night, the disciplines that received awards were folklore, photography, music, painting, sculpture and literature. Most of these awards were made possible thanks to the initiative of promoters, organizations, families and people who believe in culture and wish to keep it alive.
And as the Alderwoman declared, our local Administration also believes in culture in all of their manifestations. We believe that we must take care of all those that promote it, but above all, we must place culture at the reach of everybody.
We are all going through difficult times-families, organizations and administration, we must advance with fewer resources. And probably, many of you gathered here think that culture is at risk in times of crisis.
But I want to tell you that we will work to avoid such trend in Sitges. And I am stating this because I understand that, although culture requires financial resources, in a town like Sitges we can continue our cultural advancement. It is quite obvious that we can always plan for the improvement of cultural facilities, offer a wider range of training courses or add more space to develop any and all cultural disciplines. But it is also true that we often waste what we have.
Therefore, it is just about time to optimize existing resources and make them available to everyone. This is something that has already happened. We will work to obtain resources that will allow us to improve both private and public facilities. The theater where we are tonight is an example. We will work with the aim of obtaining resources for the refurbishment of this wonderful theater.
We will pamper and preserve our cultural heritage. We will work as quickly as possible so we can enjoy our museums again. Our museums must remain being a cultural flagship for our entire nation. We will work for the recovery of other areas such as Can Falç.
But now, more than ever, we must work together to bring out the wisdom, talent and loyalty that transformed Sitges into a cultural reference.
Miquel Marzal, Joan Iriarte, Quartet Octavia, Victor Sicard, Yolanda Martín, Rafel Gascón, Hospital de San Juan Bautista, Mònica Zgustovà, Rosa Muntané and Bibioteca Popular Rusiñol: again, my sincerest congratulations, and above all, my special thanks for your help to bond the name of Sitges with the world of culture. "
