On September 16, José Luis Martínez-Almeida, Mayor of Madrid, visited the King Juan Carlos I of Spain Center (KJCC) at NYU for a special viewing of the exhibition “Illustrating Spain in the U.S.,” co-produced with the Spanish Embassy, Washington D.C., and engaged in a conversation afterwards about his initiatives and plans for Madrid with NYU faculty, students, and guests. The special tour and conversation were followed by a casual reception outdoors on the KJCC patio.

The Mayor of Madrid was visiting New York City to celebrate the 40th anniversary of Madrid and NYC as sister cities, and to attend the Teatro Real Gala at Carnegie Hall on September 15.

Antonio Merlo (Anne and Joel Ehrenkranz Dean of the Faculty of Arts and Science, Professor of Economics, New York University) and Jordana Mendelson (Director, KJCC) welcomed Mayor Martínez-Almeida to NYU and to KJCC. Dr. Christine Martínez (Postdoctoral Fellow in the Public Humanities, Spanish and Portuguese, NYU) gave the Mayor a tour of the show, and Dr. Sophie Gonick (Metropolitan Studies, NYU) and Natalia Aguilar Vásquez (Ph.D. Student, Spanish and Portuguese, NYU) led a conversation with the Mayor. Christopher Marte (New York City Councilman, District 1) gave the introductory remarks.

President Andrew Hamilton paid a visit at the reception afterwards to greet Mayor Martínez-Almeida.

In attendance were also Santiago Herrero(Spanish Consul for Cultural Affairs) and Ignacio García-Balaguer(Director General of the Teatro Real).