Casa Árabe is paying homage to Arabist Pedro Martínez Montávez, thereby expressing and sharing its acknowledgment of the productive, masterful work that has been performed by Professor Martínez Montávez in the field of Arab studies, making him worthy of the Sheikh Zayed Award as Cultural Personage of the Year in 2008.
 
Pedro Martínez Montávez has authored numerous books and articles on the contemporary Arab world, its literature, culture and history, while at the same time reflecting upon the past and, in particular, the meaning of the experience of Al-Andalus. He has written histories of modern Arab literature and has prepared several anthologies. He has completed magnificent, pioneering translations of works by many of the finest Arab poets, including Nizar Qabbani, Yubran, al-Sayyab, al-Bayati, Adonis, Fadwa Tuqan, Mahmud Darwish, Saadi Yusuf and Salah Abd al-Sabur, as well as others. Amongst his many publications, the following are some of the most notable: Introducción a la literatura árabe moderna (Introduction to Modern Arab Literature, 1974, 1994), Ensayos marginales de arabismo (Marginal Arabism Essays, 1977), Exploraciones en literatura neoárabe (Explorations in Neo-Arab Literature, 1977), El poema es Filistin (The Poem Is Philistine, an anthology, 1980), Los árabes y el Mediterráneo (The Arabs and the Mediterranean, 1999), Literatura árabe de hoy (Arab Literature Today, 1987), El reto del islam (The Challenge of Islam, 1997), Al-Andalus, España, en la literatura árabe moderna (Al-Andalus, Spain, in Modern Arab Literature, 1992), Mundo Árabe y cambio de siglo (Arab World and the Turn of the Century, 2004), Pretensiones occidentales, carencias árabes (Western Intentions, Arab Lacks, 2008), Significado y símbolo de Al-Andalus (Meaning and Symbol of Al-Andalus, 2011). Throughout his career, he has been a member of many scientific and cultural committees and has contributed to many different media publications.

Pedro Martínez Montávez (born in 1933) studied his degrees in History and Semitic Philology at the University of Madrid, having earned his doctorate in the latter, within the Arabic and Islam Department. He has been a professor at the University of Ayn Shams, the University of Cairo and the Universidad Complutense de Madrid, as well as being a Department Head at the University of Seville and the Universidad Autónoma de Madrid. At present, he is a professor emeritus at the last of these universities.  He was the Rector of the U.A.M., having been the first rector ever democratically elected at this Spanish university. He was named Doctor Honoris Causa by three universities: those of Jaén, Alicante and Granada. He has been a president of the Association of Friends of the Palestinian People, the Association of Spanish-Arab Friendship and the Spanish Association of Arab Studies, as well as an honorary member of the Intercultural Spanish-Arab Circle. He has received several awards and prizes, including the Award for Solidarity with the Arab World given by the Association of Arab Journalists in Spain, and the Award of the “Jerusalem” Spanish-Palestinian Association. In 2008, he was awarded the Medal of Andalusia. In the year of 2014, he received an award from the Union of Palestinian Writers.