The ‘Aragón, reino de la luz’ project, which aims to vindicate the Aragonese legacy in Spain, Europe, and among the Aragonese people of today, will have its first milestone in May 2026 with a major exhibition in Jaca and Huesca focusing on the birth of the Kingdom of Aragon ten centuries ago.
"We are going to bring the different ways of being Aragonese to the whole world," expressed the regional government president, Jorge Azcón, at the presentation of ‘Aragón, reino de la luz’ held at the Huesca Museum.
This project, he emphasized, goes beyond the legislative period, it is a "Community project" that "is a duty we have to the Aragonese who came before us" and to the Aragonese and Spaniards "of the future."
The main objective is to disseminate the history and "how the Aragonese have behaved in order to describe to the world the fundamental role that Aragon has played in what Spain and Europe are today." To achieve this, the regional government will allocate 15,290,000 euros until 2027, a "very important investment" that significantly surpasses the funding dedicated to similar purposes in previous years, as pointed out by the president.
"We want to make Aragon shine as what we are: a historical territory that was a County, a Kingdom, and a Crown. To turn history into an indelible legacy for future generations, a lever of knowledge to write the future of Aragon," he added.
Azcón also announced that ‘Aragón, reino de la luz’ will promote research and organize exhibitions and major events to discuss Aragonese history, heritage, and art, as well as the personalities that have stood out over the centuries. As an example, he mentioned the reenactment of the Coronation of the Kings of Aragon, held between February 7 and 9, which he described as "a real success" and will set the tone for recalling symbolic events.
CIVIL FIGURES
However, the project will not only honor the ancient monarchs, such as Sancho Ramírez, who will be the central figure of the first exhibition of the project, but also figures from the civilian sphere. The first ones to be honored will be filmmaker Luis Buñuel and librarian and philologist María Moliner, on the 125th anniversary of their births. "We are going to be proud of all the Aragonese who have contributed to the history of Aragon in all areas," he stressed.
Azcón also advocated for promoting various studies on the history of Aragon, the recovery of artistic heritage, the use of digital dissemination platforms, and the organization of major events, which are yet to be specified. All of this with an "ambitious" approach because "Aragonese people will only understand from the ambition we put into a project that tells us what we have been and what we want to be."
Similarly, the regional government leader highlighted "the behavior and way of life" of the Aragonese with their "particular way" of feeling Spanish. "That way of being has made it possible for us to be part of the construction of Spain, the seed of Europe, and what we understand as the Western world today," he asserted.
"It is time to say without complexes that we are proud of who we are, of being born in this wonderful land that is Aragon, and that our needs and demands are heard at the same level; not higher but not lower than the rest of the territories of our country. Aragon has the obligation to tell the story of what our own history is, and for that, there is no better narrator than the Aragonese themselves," he concluded.
THREE LINES
The Minister of Education, Culture, and Sports, Tomasa Hernández, detailed the project, which revolves around three main lines of action that are already being worked on: research, updating and improving heritage, disseminating that heritage, and promoting the history of the Aragonese through art, law, or science.
She framed ‘Aragón, reino de la luz’ within previous projects, such as ‘Aragón, Reino y Corona’ (2000) or ‘Corona de Aragón, historia y arte’ (2015), from which it draws inspiration, but she stated that she wants to go "much further" by not only promoting exhibitions but also research and dissemination actions, designed for "today’s Aragonese," but above all for those of the future. "The challenge is to provide the keys to understand the relevance of Aragon throughout history," she added.
Firstly, Hernández highlighted the need to delve into the knowledge of the material and immaterial heritage and to do so "away from any transient political burden." To this end, she announced a heritage rehabilitation program.
She also argued that Aragonese assets should "shine as they deserve" because "they are spaces that convey through their mere presence" and "elements of great symbolism," explicitly mentioning San Juan de la Peña and Santa María de Sijena.
Secondly, the minister mentioned that efforts are being made to improve access to information about heritage, and technological advances allow for the design of a digital platform for this purpose, as well as the creation of digital twins of the most representative examples, such as the monasteries of San Victorián or San Juan de la Peña.
FORAL LAW AND EDUCATIONAL MATERIALS
The regional official added that multidisciplinary research teams will be formed to delve into the history of Aragon, with a special focus on Foral Law, which she defined as "the most outstanding feature of the Aragonese character." In this line, she also mentioned the opening of the new museum space with the recovered assets from Sijena or the renovation of the Old Monastery of San Juan de la Peña.
Finally, she pointed out that another area of action will be educational centers, with specific materials to work in the classrooms around "many illustrious Aragonese people we can be proud of," such as Miguel Servet, Santiago Ramón y Cajal, María Moliner, Joaquín Costa, Andresa Casamayor, or Félix de Azara, among others.
NATION WITHOUT "NATIONALIST LEGENDS"
During the event, the emeritus professor of Medieval History, José Ángel Sesma, emphasized that history is "unique" and "does not repeat itself," and that the only thing we can do is not to repeat the mistakes of the past. "We are not guilty of our past, but we are responsible for our present," he added.
Therefore, he called for seeking the life paths of "the people who came before us," who "were able to establish a kingdom from the Pyrenean valleys and contribute to forming a powerful and diverse Crown that knew how to integrate into the world and guide a society towards the future, which is our present."
In any case, the professor urged to "avoid the mistakes that our ancestors could have made and, in fact, did make." "No one can usurp our history or deny our feelings of nationhood, but the defense must begin by stripping it of the tricks that have been introduced to distort it with nationalist legends forcibly transferred from recent times," he concluded.
The presentation was accompanied by musical performances by Carlos González, from Los Músicos de su Alteza, who offered a repertoire of Aragonese keyboard music, and Pilar Almalé, with songs related to the Kingdom of Aragon and its influence on various types of music. The event was attended by the President of the Provincial Council of Huesca (DPH), Isaac Claver; the Mayor of the city of Huesca, Lorena Orduna; the Government Subdelegate, Carlos Campo; and the Minister of Social Welfare and Family, Carmen Susín, among other authorities.