In order to maintain support for the Association of Cultural Attachés of Iberoamerica in the metropolitan area of Washington DC, Virginia and Maryland, the Ambassadors of Colombia, Argentina, Guatemala and Portugal met to highlight the role of the organization and its task in promoting the culture of the 17 member countries in the United States.
At the meeting called by Colombia, the country that this year chairs the AACIA (for its acronym in Spanish), they mentioned the importance of culture as a soft diplomacy tool in the bilateral relations of its countries with the United States.
AACIA has been promoting customs, traditions, and artists of Latin American countries, Spain and Portugal for more than 40 years through flagship events that have consolidated it as a central tool for the countries that comprise it.
Thanks to the union of these countries and their work, it has been possible to consolidate alliances, collect funds and bring in key partners, strengthening relationships with central actors in the field of culture, art and education in the United States.
The Association permits member states get funds for special projects, far-reaching tools at the communication level and the management of soft diplomacy that supports difficult issues on the bilateral agendas of member countries.
This year, for example, flagship events include a film festival with a woman's perspective that will highlight the role and challenges of women in Latin America Portugal and Spain, a virtual raffle through which audiences from Washington, Virginia and Maryland will be able to access gourmet products and of high design brought from all countries, as well as a street art event in the city center, among others.
This year the AACIA is presided by Colombia, its vice president is Argentina, its treasurer is Guatemala and the secretary in charge is Portugal, that also presides the National Institutes of Culture of the European Union, which will surely allow sharing experiences with some countries of Europe
MEMBERS OF THE IBEROAMERICAN CULTURE DC BUREA
COLOMBIA: President ARGENTINA: Vicepresident
GUATEMALA: Secretary PORTUGAL: Treasurer
Francisco Santos Calderon
AMBASSADOR OF COLOMBIA IN THE UNITED STATES
He was vice president of Colombia (2002-2010) under the administration of Álvaro Uribe Vélez. He ran for mayor of Bogotá in 2015 with the candidacy of the Partido del Centro Democrático. He promoted democracy and citizen participation in public affairs with the creation of the Fundación Confianza Colombia.
In 1990 Santos was kidnapped by drug trafficker Pablo Escobar. After 8 months in captivity, he was released and created the first NGO in the world to fight against kidnapping. The Fundación País Libre promoted the Anti-Kidnapping Statute, the only law presented at a public request by collecting signatures in Colombia.
Between 2000 and 2002 he was forced to leave the country, due to threats from the guerrilla group Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC). He lived in Madrid, Spain, for two years, where he worked at El País, the most important Spanish newspaper.
In the 1980s he held various editorial positions at Colombia's leading newspaper, El Tiempo, including that of Nighttime Editor-in-Chief. Santos also taught journalism and international relations at the Central University, the Javeriana University and the Jorge Tadeo Lozano University, among others.
Jorge Argüello
AMBASSADOR OF ARGENTINA TO THE UNITED STATES
He was born in the city of Córdoba, Argentina, on April 20, 1956. Lawyer and politician, he assumed the position of ambassador on February 6, 2020 and will serve until 2023.
The ambassador began his political career in 1987 as a legislator for the City of Buenos Aires. He was appointed as a national deputy on two occasions: during the presidency of Carlos Menem in 1991 and during the presidency of Néstor Kirchner in 2003. While he was a national deputy, he also held the positions of president of the foreign relations commission and president of the Parliamentary Observatory of the Malvinas question. In 2018 he was secretary of state for the Malvinas issue in the province of Tierra del Fuego, Antarctica and the South Atlantic Islands.
Jorge Argüello has held various diplomatic positions as Argentine ambassador: to the United Nations (2007-2011); in the United States (2011-2012), and in Portugal and Cape Verde (2013-2015). In 2014 he created the Embajada Abierta foundation, a center for international relations and public policies. Jorge Argüello is a member of the board of the Argentine Council for International Relations (CARI).
He was a full member of the Center for Latin American Studies (CLAS) advisory board of the School of Foreign Services at Georgetown University, and an associate researcher at the Center for International Studies (CEI) at the ISCTE-IUL Portugal university. In addition, he was Director of the international relations and government career at the Universidad Argentina de la Empresa (UADE).
He has published 4 books: Who rules the world? The role of the G20 in the new world order; Urgent history of the United States. The superpower in its moment of decision; Dialogues on Europe. Euro crisis and recovery of critical thinking; and Buenos Aires, autonomous and decentralized.
Alfonso José Quiñónez
GUATEMALA AMBASSADOR TO THE UNITED STATES
He assumed the position of ambassador on March 13, 2020. He is a Lawyer and Notary graduated from the Francisco Marroquín University of Guatemala, with a master's degree in International Law from Georgetown University in Washington, DC, and with specializations in Foreign Policy from the University of Maryland and in Continental Security and Defense by the Inter-American Defense College in Washington, DC. He was a public affairs manager in a cement production company with responsibility for institutional relations issues.
He worked for approximately 15 years in the Organization of American States (OAS) in Washington, was the permanent representative of Guatemala to the OAS and minister counselor at the Embassy in the United States and counselor at the Embassy in Spain.
He is Professor at the Faculty of Political Sciences and International Relations of the Francisco Marroquín University; He is a member of the Board of Directors of the Pan American Development Foundation and of the Advisory Board of the Inter-American Foundation, both in Washington DC, United States. He was a member of the Board of Directors of the United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR) and of the Advisory Council of the Master in Comprehensive Economic Development Administration of the School of Economics and Business of the Catholic University of the United States
Sundays Fezas Vital
PORTUGAL AMBASSADOR TO THE UNITED STATES
He was born on September 27, 1958 in Luanda, Angola. Graduate in social and judicial sciences from the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. He also studied international trade at the Free University of Brussels. He assumed the position of ambassador on January 28, 2016.
He began his diplomatic career as an attaché in 1983 when he joined the Portuguese Ministry of Foreign Affairs. He has also been the representative of his country in international organizations such as NATO and the Western European Union. In 1996, three years before the transfer of sovereignty over Macao, he was appointed diplomatic advisor to the Basque Governor Joaquim Rocha Vieira. After his assignment in Macao, Ambassador Fezas Vital returned to Portugal to work in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs until he was appointed Consul General of Portugal in São Paulo in 2000.
In 2010 he was appointed Ambassador and in March 2012 he became the Representative of Portugal to the European Union, a position he held until he was assigned to the United States as Ambassador of Portugal.