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us, and at the same time, a means to balance the inner life of each of us. In this respect, dance
is a discipline that unites body and soul perfectly; it unites complete control of technique with
sensitivity, the head with the heart, besides being a incomparable joy to watch for its audience. For
these reasons, we celebrate the fact that the Award for the Arts has been bestowed this year and for
the first time in its history upon two outstanding ballerinas, Maya Plisetskaya and Tamara Rojo.
Their life histories —Plisetskaya’s, one of maturity and total mastery, Tamara Rojo’s, one of
dazzling youth precociously brimming with outstanding success— speak of the same struggle: the
quest for perfection, the spark of genius, art converted into sublime movement and life.
Maya Plisetskaya is quite simply a legend of twentieth-century dance. Born in Russia, where
music and ballet have reached the highest pinnacles, her art has remained immutable thanks to
her iron will and extraordinary professional attributes despite
ideological strife and family sufferings, neither of which Maya
is a stranger to.
Tamara Rojo, prima ballerina with London’s Royal Ballet,
embodies something that was also aroused in Maya: the
enormous desire to pursue a vocation unflaggingly, the quest
for perfection and the will to work. The Award being conferred
uponher, the impact that thisAwardhas had, and the triumphant
international figure of Tamara are a stimulus for Spaniards and
are unquestionably the best foundation upon which to establish
a greater focus upon the art of dance in Spain.
Great art —and dance is a great art— knows no frontiers, it is true; yet it is marvellous to see it
blossom and flourish in all its glory in the artist’s home country.
We have all thrilled to the sight of a young sportsman born here in Oviedo who has not only
recently reached the pinnacle of his sport, but also, with each victory, proudly waved the flags of
Spain and of this land around the world’s major racetracks. To everybody’s joy, that person is now
the youngest ever Formula 1 World Champion: Fernando Alonso, our Laureate for Sports.
What stands out in his exceptional career in sport is his youth —he is also the youngest ever
Laureate in the history of our Awards— and above all, the care and selfless help of his parents and
closest family. The tenacity and the will to win which he has fostered since he was a child has led
him to the top in a tremendously demanding sport that is also so difficult to get into. Fernando
Alonso has combined his intelligence, bravery and work ethic in perfect synchrony with a team of
specialists of different European nationalities. Moreover, he has done so without losing his head or
his naturalness along the way.
Sport becomes a great example when it is done with self-sacrifice and bravery, as is the case
of Fernando Alonso. Our newly-crowned champion is one of a new generation of young Spanish
sportsmen who are at the forefront of their respective sports, and who are exercising a positive
influence on the habits of our society; a society that thrills to their victories with pride; one that
is infected by their optimism and hope, and one which is becoming ever more convinced that
constant effort, self-sacrifice are rewarded with the admiration of their rivals, of their fans and of
their fellow countrymen.
As Pope Benedict XVI has said, love —always a counterpoint to man’s pride— teaches us that
reaching true heights consists of lowering ourselves, and that when we look towards the poor and
the humble, when we ourselves are at our humblest, is when we are at our highest. This is how the
Daughters of Charity of Saint Vincent de Paul live, and this is why we acknowledge them with the
Award for Concord.
Poverty, disease, injustice and inequality are some of the most terrible ills that scourge a large
part of mankind. The staunch determination of all those of us not marked by these scourges is
required to do away with them, as is particularly the utmost dedication and charity of the noblest
of hearts. Such hearts are, in great measure, the hearts of the Daughters of Charity, who are there
wherever society most needs them, wherever in the world.
“However, the unquestionable success
as a collective that the Spanish have
achieved has not been the outcome
of improvisation or chance.”
21
st
O
ctober
2005
