Residencia de Estudiantes

The Residencia de Estudiantes, literally the "Student Residence", is a one of the original Spanish cultural centers in Madrid, Spain. During the first half of the twentieth century, the Residence was a prestigious cultural institution that helped foster and create the intellectual environment of Spain's brightest young thinkers, writers, and artists.

Notable Guests

The Residence's influence was particularly strong from its foundation in 1910 until the outbreak of the Spanish Civil War in 1936. During this time, many Spanish artists and writers, members of the Generation of '98 and Generation of '27, visited, studied and lectured at the Residence, including Federico García Lorca, Luis Buñuel, Salvador Dalí, José Ortega y Gasset, Rafael Alberti, Dámaso Alonso, Luis Cernuda, Miguel de Unamuno, Antonio Machado and Ramón del Valle-Inclán, and other innovative thinkers such as Marie Curie and Albert Einstein.

Spain's "Silver Age"

The first decades of the 20th century in Spain are known as the "Silver Age" - a period of rich intellectual expansion of ideas, when words and images gained a new power of expression, both artistically and politically. The Residencia de Estudiantes was one of the most important institutions of the time because it allowed the great thinkers of the time to come together and fulfil their enlightened ideas. The intellectuals at the Residencia de Estudiantes also began an institution known as "tertulias" - groups of artists and writers who would gather together daily, during day or night, at cafes, bars and houses to discuss their ideas and opinions.

The Spanish Civil War indicated an end to this intellectual period because many artists and writers were exiled from the country, and censorship increased under the dictatorship of Francisco Franco.

Today

Nowadays, the Residencia de Estudiantes is one of the most prominent cultural centres in the city of Madrid. It hosts concerts, conferences and exhibitions. The Residencia de Estudiantes is also inhabited by around 20 young outstanding artists and researchers, which keep alive the historical legacy of this place.

References

*Morales, Manuel Delgado. "Introduction". "Bucknell Review" (Bucknell Univ., Lewisburg, PA) (45:1) [2001:2] , p.13-18.
*http://www.ucm.es/info/hcontemp/madrid/residencia%20estudiantes.htm

External links

*http://www.ucm.es/info/hcontemp/madrid/residencia%20estudiantes.htm
*http://www.residencia.csic.es/english/english.htm