The city of Ouro Preto located in the Brazilian state of Minas Gerais was designated a national historical monument in 1933 under president Getúlio Vargas (1930–1945, 1951–1954) (the National Institute of Historical and Artistic Heritage of Brazil was also created under Vargas in 1937), and it became part of the UNESCO World Cultural Heritage in 1980. The territory of the future state was covered by forests and inhabited by Indian tribes. The Portuguese settled the area closer to the coast and discovered gold deposits in the late 17th century. Gold ore was covered in black iron oxide, hence the name of the future city — Oro Preto, which became home to the Portuguese, Indians who had lost their lands and black slaves who had been brought from Africa and worked in the mines. A unique national style evolved in Vila Rica de Oro Preto, the capital of the Portuguese captaincy, as majestic temples and administrative buildings that were built combined the Baroque and Rococo styles. A prominent Brazilian architect and sculptor Aleijadinho worked in Oro Preto. The city’s wealth fostered a sense of national identity. In 1789, a group of rebels led by Tiradentes began to operate in Oro Preto only to be exposed and executed by Brazilian authorities. Among the plot leaders was the famous poet Tomás António Gonzaga (1744–1810), whose poem from the book «Marília de Dirceu» (1792) was translated into Russian by Alexander Pushkin. Grigori Langsdorf (1774–1852), the first Russian ambassador to Brazil (nominated consul general in Rio de Janeiro in 1812), a naturalist and ethnographer, admired the views of Oro Preto. The city of Oro Preto is a story about Brazil’s history and culture.

After 1824, the state of Minas Gerais, with Ouro Preto as its capital, underwent important changes: two years passed since Brazil gained independence, the war ended, the first Constitution was adopted, and the Brazilian periodical press was created. The main newspapers published in Ouro Preto in the early 19th century were chosen as the material to be analyzed in this article, including the «Itacolomi Bee» («Abelha do Itaculumy». Itacolomi means «stone boy» in the Tupi language). The name of the newspaper was typical for the era. Newspaper reviews focused on the Opera House in Ouro Preto, which is considered the oldest in Latin America. The city’s history, public sentiment and events can be traced through the lens of the theatre and through the eyes of travelers.

The theater, opened in 1770, staged operas, oratorios and theater plays. The first opera was «St. Bernard» («São Bernardo», 1770) by the Brazilian lawyer, poet and musician Cláudio Manuel da Costa (1729–1789). The opera house, small and modest on the outside, built during the «rich» years of gold mining in Ouro Preto, strikes visitors with baroque opulence inside. This theater is another testament to the city’s development as a special stage of Brazil’s history, and to the preservation of its national heritage today.

Architecture and music have existed organically in Ouro Preto since the very foundation of this town. Since the end of the 16th century, when gold and diamonds wеre discovered and poured into the treasury of the town and into the hands of gold miners, and throughout all the 18th century, the arts flourished in Ouro Preto. This phenomenon was expressed primarily in architecture, but musical practices also developed. The first settlements of the Portuguese bandeirantes, who arrived in those parts of the country from the coast, driven by the gold rush, saw the foundation of Catholic chapels, then pompous churches in the style of colonial Baroque and Rococo were built, where religious music could be heard during church services. Musical compositions created by local composers from Minas Gerais stylistically did not go in line with architectural transformations of the town space and rich decoration of buildings. However, the complementary relations between architectural and musical discourses, as well as their impact on national society and history have led to the creation of a unique cultural heritage, which is preserved today in Ouro Preto.

The article seeks to determine the extent to which the national cultural code of the Spaniards is influenced by the designations of people’s place of residence or birth. The historical, cultural, etymological, psycholinguistic and conceptual analysis of such nominations as capital, ciudad, villa, pueblo, aldea, burgo reveals their role in the formation of the national and social identity of the Spaniards, as well as in their mythological, conceptual and linguistic picture of the world. The history and semantics of Spanish toponyms, the mythologems associated with them, as well as the structure of Spanish cities and the way of life there, which are reflected in the language people use, further justify the multicultural nature of their linguistic consciousness. Nearly 80 % of the country’s population perceive themselves as city residents, which is decisive for the social self-identification of Spaniards, as not only the residents of Madrid and other capitals of autonomous communities suffer from the ‘capital resident complex’, but also those who inhabit the ancient capitals of both Christian kingdoms and Muslim Spain of the «Al Andalus» era. The Spanish concepts of ciudad, villa, pueblo, capital and the history of the mythologem of Madrid are regarded as deep-rooted historical and cultural phenomena. Mentioning the symbolic cities of Sagunto, Numancia and Zaragoza, which also play a crucial role in the worldview of the Spanish, is equal to describing the heroism and resilience of the Spanish people. The «carnival element» and the love for puns, which clearly characterize both the national linguistic consciousness and the way the Spaniards speak, nurtured another mythologem — a small Andalusian town of Lepe acquired the status of «capital of jokes».

Girona is a Spanish city that has a long history. Its medieval spirit allows people to immerse themselves in the past and restore historical memory. Girona is a heuristic model for reflecting on both medieval culture and the way a modern person identifies with it. Spain is a country that preserves its history through holiday celebrations (both on a local and regional scale), carnivals and folklore, yet at the same time it takes into account the interests of tourists from different countries by creating new ways of connecting with its heritage. One can make an exciting journey to the Hogwarts library, that is, to real medieval libraries, to the world of Game of Thrones characters. Girona has become a mysterious city of Braavos for fantasy fans. Popular culture combines fantasy and reality, mythology and history to meet the demand for medieval culture. Each person has the right to choose their identity. 20th century intellectuals set the trend for an identity search, with the most influential authors including the Annales school, J.R.R. Tolkien, «the father of fantasy», Mikhail Bakhtin who explored the carnival culture and Umberto Eco whose works are characterized by postmodern discourse. The past and a modern person as its protagonist meet each other in the 21st century, which manifests itself in videogames and live action games, carnivals, festivals and holidays. When it comes to discussing Spain’s historical heritage and drawing up itineraries to travel around the country, it is important to take into account the interests of new subcultures, tourists, participants of interactive events, cinephiles and those who simply admire the beauty of a medieval city. Girona invites one to contemplate the past that has already become relevant today.

The patio has been the most important element of the structural composition of residential (house, palace) and religious (temple, monastery) buildings for more than five thousand years. The article offers a historical, philological, anthropological, ethnographic and conceptual analysis of the architectural concept of patio, courtyard. Various lexical units are used to name the courtyard, but the modern international term has been formed on the basis of the Spanish word patio (port. pátio), presumably in Modern times. The term patio is included both in the discourse of architecture, which provides an explanation of the surrounding space, studied and modified by humans, and in architectural discourse, i.e. a way of talking about architecture and construction in a particular situation. In these two types of discourse, the semantic potential of the word patio is realized in different ways representing both a term and a word of everyday speech, viewing its structural and systemic connections. In architecture, a symbol always acts as an expressive figurative component, constantly pointing at the ideas of space and time. The patio is also endowed with a certain symbolism: it represents an ambivalent fragment of space that has both external and internal features. The patio is enclosed inside the house or between the houses, but is located outside in relation to the interior of the building. The patio is known in the East and in the West, although it has different forms, functions and linguistic representation everywhere. In the Mediterranean countries, the patio dates back to the Archaic era (Megaron), it was improved in antiquity in Ancient Greece and Ancient Rome, defined Arab-Muslim architecture (Arab-Moorish style) and in the colonial era it was exported outside Europe to the New World. The patio has a symbolic and mystical character: finding itself in the open air, the patio opens the way to the celestial spheres.

Spanish conquistadors drew a clear distinction between their objectives as they embarked on expeditions, with two contrasting verbs highlighting the difference: the verb poblar (to populate) involved establishing settlements and towns (pueblos), whereas the verb rescatar implied trading or even raiding the land. Founding a town meant the conquistadors started to colonize the area, relying on it as a «door» to go «deep in to the territory». Spanish colonization of the New World was marked by an important feature: any settlement was granted the status of a town and center from the outset. Any fort served as a town, a foothold for settlement in a vast unexplored area; it was the antithesis of endless and chaotic wilderness. The image of an indigenous town that conquistadors had in mind manifested itself in two forms, namely, a real town and a mythical one. While the perception of Spanish towns in the New World was unfailingly positive, an indigenous town, whether a real or mythical one, was deemed ambivalent, dangerous yet appealing.

Mythical indigenous towns played a more important role in the history of Spanish exploration and conquest of the New World than real indigenous towns. It was the quest for mythical kingdoms and towns that became the main driving force behind Spanish colonization of the New World, as most major expeditions in America were launched to pursue pipe dreams. Those expeditions failed to generate wealth yet they resulted in geographical discoveries. Conquistadors’ fantasies prompted them to explore the great wilderness in a short period of time from a historical perspective.

When Juan Carlos Onetti (1909–1994), a young Uruguayan writer arrived in Buenos Aires in 1930, he was so dazzled by the emerging metropolis that he made it the main setting for his works over the following two decades. Literary theory explores this «experimental» stage of Onetti’s writing, marked by cosmopolitanism, cinematic effects, and a language susceptible to urban social dynamics, as well as the later stage when Onetti created the imaginary city of Santa María, similar to Faulkner’s world of Yoknapatawpha in its narrative potential. Nevertheless, what seems the most interesting is the precise moment when the author decided to change the setting for his work as he found himself tired of the Buenos Aires theme and its aesthetic. The article focuses on the novel A Brief Life (1950) and the short novel A Grave with No Name (1959), whose storylines cross in the two cities, Santa Maria and Buenos Aires. Regardless of the technical aspects of such a shift, it reveals the volatility of a modern city whose history is captured in fiction.

Over half of the world’s population now lives in cities, and the trend towards accelerated urbanization is projected to continue. By 2050 about 70% of people worldwide will become urban residents. Members of the Organization of Ibero-American States make up 15.3% of the world’s territory and account for 8.7% of the world’s population. Latin America is one of the most urbanized regions: 2/3 of its population is concentrated in cities of 20.000 people (or more). Latin America has some of the most populous urban areas, including Mexico City (21,91 million inhabitants), São Paulo (21,49 million), Buenos Aires (15,76 million), Rio de Janeiro (12,31 million). The degree of urbanization of the Iberian countries is slightly lower, varying from 69.5% in Spain to 66% in Portugal. The Iberian megalopolises such as Madrid (3,34 million inhabitants), Barcelona (1, 65 million), Lisbon (2.8 million) are not as populous, yet these urban areas are just as important as those in Latin America and the Caribbean. Iberoamerican urbanization is characterized by promoting «smart cities», with a focus on cultural and educational development. Iberoamerican countries are committed to the UN Global Urban Agenda which seeks to manage urban areas more efficiently, improve the quality of life in cities, and preserve cultural and environmental heritage via innovative projects.

Feminist urbanism belongs to the philosophical tradition of the anthropocentric city and is implemented through various practices, such as activism and public education, artistic and socio-political actionism, theoretical research, statistical data collection, planning and implementation of projects in architecture, design and urban planning, as well as in the media. In recent years, the problems of women in Latin American cities have attracted scholars’ attention and have been postulated as a set of problems stemming from living and working conditions and gender roles distribution. Urbanism is not neutral since the city design has historically been based on androcentric criteria, thus restricting women’s, children’s, disabled and elderly people’s ability to make the most of urban spaces. The urban space should be considered as a mechanism for the equal distribution of benefits between different groups of the population and the improvement of the physical, spatial and psychological conditions of their residence. Feminist urbanism appeared as a critical view, determined to solve certain problems through different practices in urban space, when the transformation in the city is produced by the community, i.e. the people who are aware of their demands and needs. In view of the growing role of women in society, it is of interest to examine and analyze different forms of women’s movement in Latin America in the field of urban planning and to conduct case studies to identify examples of practical implementation of feminist urbanism principles in particular urban improvement projects in Latin American countries. The realization of the «right to the city» by urban communities through various forms of participation leads to an emerging sense of involvement, security and life satisfaction.

Classical literary theory defines the novel as a genre with certain principles of composition, which was historically derived from the epic and peaked in the 19th century. However, Mikhail Bakhtin explored another approach to the novel in his monograph «Epic and Novel» which analyzes the novel as a narrative force in constant development. Miguel Vitagliano (1961, Floresta, Buenos Aires), writer, critic, and professor of the department of Literary Studies III at the University of Buenos Aires (UBA) also shares such a view of the novel. In this interview the author draws a parallel between the novel and the city, which is an amalgam of customs, discourses, memories and experiences. Both the city and the novel are inherently heterogenous. The prominent Argentinian novelist, who, by the way, writes all his works by hand, allows us to take a look at his creative process and his meticulous work with contemporary Buenos Aires speech, the capital’s dialect in the 19th century and that of London in the early 20th century «translated» into Spanish. The interview includes some fragments of his novels, including «Buried» (2018), winner of Eduardo Mallea Prize and translated into Italian, and «Journey to Things» (2023) about William Hudson, Argentinian naturalist and writer of English descent. Both works will form part of a trilogy about the power of the novel over History and the possibilities that the novel offers as a literary genre.

The Spanish/Castilian language was dominant in Spain during the Franco era, whereas the country’s other regional languages were disenfranchised, which was commonly seen in the Soviet Spanish studies as the most obvious example of non-Castilian-speaking «minority peoples» being oppressed. Therefore, as regional languages were granted the status of «co-official languages» in 1978, Soviet researchers deemed it the most appropriate solution that would help to avoid the «language conflict», reduce ethnic tensions and make regional separatists’ demands groundless. The past four decades of democratic development have shown that the state and status of Spain’s languages, as well as the relations of their speakers remain a pressing issue, with the language situation becoming much more complex and diverse. The authorities of bilingual autonomous communities have started to practice several «language policy» models, first and foremost in education. According to critics, local authorities promote these policies to eliminate Spanish from schooling in order to «linguistically reprogram» the local population and isolate it from the Spanish cultural and historical heritage. In general, there is a substantial difference between the administrative and legal statuses of Spain’s co-official languages and the country’s current language situation, which creates a kind of hierarchy based on official and public recognition amid constant exposure to non-linguistic factors.

Changes in the correlation between national and territorial identities in contemporary Spanish society have become a major factor behind the transformation of the political system and the rise of secessionist tendencies. Social constructivism argues that political actors purposefully determine the way identities are formed and how popular they are. Surveys and statements by political parties show that between 2011 and 2023 Spain saw exclusive national identity grow weaker to a certain extent and exclusive regional identity gain ground, while dual (composite) identity remained prevalent. A weaker national identity stems from the eroded credibility of national institutions, values and historical symbols of pride which, in turn, results from the opposite goals that identity policies of Catalonia and the Basque Country on the one hand and those of Spain’s government on the other pursue. Spain’s integration into the European Union has also taken a toll on national identity. A preference for national or regional identity closely correlates with respondents’ view of Spain’s ideal administrative division. Supporters of right-wing parties, middle-aged and elderly citizens, as well as monarchists express the strongest preference for national identity. Spaniards cite language as a crucial factor in shaping identity choice, with other factors being nationality, religion, gender, social class, autonomous community, ranked in order of importance. In 2023, 21 % of respondents all over Spain and over 43 % in Catalonia, the Basque Country and Navarre, where secession risk is high, perceive regional and local identities as rivals of Spanish national identity.

Book Review: Davydov V.M. Conceptual positioning in the context of regional studies. The experience of Latin American Studies and not only… – Moscow: Ves’ Mir, 2023. – 150 p.

Book Review: Kosichev L.A. The creation of tango. – Moscow: Publishing House «East Express», 2023. – 240 p.

Book Review: E.V. Astakhova, Yu.V. Davtyan, E.V. Kriukova. Spanish-speaking countries of Latin America and the Caribbean: national images. History. Culture. Language. Textbook on linguistic and regional studies / Ed. by V. Iovenko. M.: Prometey, 2024. — 460 p.

This book gives an insight into the history, politics, culture and art of 19 Spanishspeaking countries of Latin America and the Caribbean through the lens of the Spanish language. The aim of the book is to help train and develop linguistic and cultural skills. It contains original texts, creative exercises and video materials (virtual excursions, songs, fragments of fiction films and documentaries) with digital codes attached. Each unit dedicated to a certain country focuses on national varieties of the Spanish language, historical figures and fictional characters, cuisine, traditional clothing, as well as facts about the relations between the countries and Russia. The book is innovative and is intended for those who study Spanish in various educational institutions and for anyone interested in the past and present of Spanish-speaking countries in Latin America and the Caribbean.