Winner of the National Translation Award in 1988 and a professor of Modern and Contemporary Arabic Literature at the Universidad Complutense de Madrid’s School of Philology, Arbós previously held various positions of responsibility at Spain’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and was director of the Cervantes Institute in Cairo, Casablanca and Rabat. A renowned translator of the works of Al-Bayati, Adonis, Ibn Battuta, Naguib Mahfuz and Mohammed Bennis, Federico Arbós is also remembered as a humanist and an good-natured man.

The event will begin with the presentation of Casa Árabe's Friendship Award to the Arbós family. After this, a series of the humanist’s friends and colleagues will be taking part in the homage, including: Ana Vázquez-Barrado, current director of the Cervantes Institute in Milan; Luis Miguel Pérez Cañada, director of the Toledo School of Translators; writer Clara Janés; Jaime Brihuega, a close friend and art historian; Ignacio Álvarez-Ossorio, in representation of the the Department of Arab and Islamic Studies at the Universidad Complutense de Madrid; and the Arabist and former professor at the Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Carmen Ruiz Bravo-Villasante. Likewise, the event will include online interventions by writers Adonis and Mohammed Bennís, with the participation of Arabic oud player Hames Bitar.

You can watch the event live on YouTube.