Celebrating books, roses, and Spanish music in the capital – Times of India

In the Spanish tradition of Sant Jordi, also known as St George’s Day, a man gives a rose to a woman in exchange for a book. This unique tradition marked the second edition of Books & Roses on World Book Day (April 23). Organised by the Spanish Embassy in collaboration with the Neemrana Music Foundation and India Habitat Centre, the event celebrated the day with a special twist – those who bought books were given roses in return.

Understanding zarzuela
“Zarzuela is like an opera in Spanish music. It is a story that is sung and acted, with some scenes that are spoken. In this case, we spoke them in English twice or thrice during the performance so that the audience can understand, but the songs were all in Spanish. We used two Spanish languages – Castellano and Catalan – because the Sant Jordi festivity is a Catalan tradition, where the woman offers a book to the man, and the man offers the rose. That is why we had a lot of songs about the rose. We love this genre, it is very lively, the fact that there are scenes, and we can do it in English makes the whole thing more accessible for the audience,” shared Aude Priya Wacziarg Engel, Managing Trustee of the Neemrana Music Foundation.

Jose Maria Ridao Dominguez, Ambassador of Spain, shared, “We started with this tradition last year. It involves giving a rose in exchange for a book. The wonderful singers of the foundation are engaged in promoting classical, western music, opera and zarzuela from Spain and we recognise their work.”