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The Whisper from Hafez’s Tomb

May 08, 20177:00 p.m.
MADRID
Casa Árabe Auditorium (at Calle Alcalá, 62). 7:00 p.m. Free entry until the event’s capacity is reached.
In Spanish.

Patricia Almárcegui is the author of this multifaceted project which includes poetry, social action and contemporary art.

The event, organized by Casa Árabe with the cooperation of Casa Asia, will include participation by writer and Comparative Literature professor Patricia Almárcegui, the project’s creator, with attendance by Pedro Villena, the General Director of Casa Árabe, and Teresa Gutiérrez del Álamo, the director of programs at Casa Asia Madrid.

“El murmullo de la Tumba de Hafez” (“The Whisper from Hafez’s Tomb”) came about as a project with conferences and a documentary in which Almárcegui explores Iran’s relationship with poetry, through the mystical poet Hafez. This visual record, which shows the way in which poetry is experienced in Iran, demonstrates the value of and need for language as a medium for cultural relations, and the need to fight for the poetic act as an act of knowledge and rebellion.

The documentary, which lasts approximately 18 minutes, takes us to the mausoleum of Hafez Shirazi (1325-1389) in Shiraz, Iran. There Almárcegui takes a sound record of the Farsi language verses by the famous poet, recited by various visitors at the mausoleum. It also includes a summary of interviews with over ten researchers and specialists on Eastern and Western poetry. Likewise, it shows the visual scene and sounds in today’s Iran, allowing for a closer look at the little-known symbolism in Eastern art.

The project was completed after Almárcegui’s two-month stay in Iran, thanks to the Endjavi Barbe Art Project and ACE/PICE (Spanish Cultural Action, Ministry of Spain) scholarships which she received.
The Whisper from Hafez’s Tomb