Founded by a decree in 1911, the National Museum of Visual Arts of Uruguay was officially opened in 1914. Currently, the Museum has about 7,000 works that make it a remarkable place as it combines the features of a Museum of Fine Arts, a Museum of Modern Art and those of a Museum of Contemporary Art. Different exhibitions the Museum organizes pay homage to Uruguay’s rich artistic heritage by exposing visitors to the work of such renowned artists as Petrona Viera and Carlos Páez Vilaró, Juan Manuel Blanes and Pedro Figari. It was around 1850 that Uruguayan painters truly discovered the national artistic style, which at the time had a strong European influence. The state has always played a key role in supporting aspiring artists and promoting Uruguay’s cultural heritage by helping organize exhibitions by Uruguayan artists throughout the country and abroad. One of the greatest things about the National Museum of Visual Arts is that Uruguay is reflected in its art. In addition, the museum’s collection includes outstanding works from different countries, especially those by Latin American artists.

From a historical and cultural perspective, Lima, the capital of Peru, is a city of many contrasts whose past is inextricably intertwined with its present and future prosperity. Lima, like all Latin American cities, has a rich history that can be forgotten if its citizens fail to cherish it. Therefore, the literary works of different Peruvian authors and especially those of Raúl Porras Barrenechea are especially relevant: they are full of nostalgia, yet at the same time take a critical approach to the city’s history, which helps us contemplate Lima’s place in the world and the best course for its future development as the city is constantly transforming. Lima, a city of creole and mestizo origins, is a space that invites us to reflect on how it seeks to live up to its traditions and cultural legacy. From a contemporary city dweller’s point of view, citizens and authorities should work together to achieve greater prosperity and improve the quality of life, which is important for the future of not only Lima, but also Peru and Latin America.

The Museo del Prado preserves the national cultural code and reflects the different stages of Spanish history. The museum’s collection contains masterpieces by artists favored by the Spanish monarchs who had great intuition and refined taste, while also highlighting their supreme power. The Prado is a world leader by the intense concentration of masterpieces of European art in the museum space. The Prado has the world’s finest collection of Bosch, Patinir, Jan Brueghel the Elder, David Teniers, Rubens, Titian, Bassano and, naturally, great Spanish artists, such as El Greco, Velázquez, Ribera, Murillo, Zurbarán and Goya. The Prado’s collection is mindful and well-considered, with strong internal connections and paintings by artists who inspired one another. The placement of pictures in the rooms and the «dialogue» between the works helps to create «supraintentional» scenarios and stories. The museum’s unique and impressive metaphysical structure has developed gradually and unintentionally. The similarity between genres, themes and plots allows us to perceive the evolution of styles and the particular characteristics that define the work of genius artists. The museum’s approach to expanding its collection is intensive rather than extensive: since the beginning of the 20th century, when the museum’s Board of Trustees began to function and a team of professional curators was formed, the Prado has sought to fill the gaps in the collection and to complete the historical «blocks» of paintings, while the essence of the collection has not changed. The Prado remains «static» in time, yet it is a modern institution that continues to evolve in the creative space and successfully organize large-scale innovative projects.

The work of Juan de Arellano, a prominent Spanish painter and creator of flower garland paintings, proved influential in the 17th century Spanish art. Arellano’s creative path was far from easy. In the early stage of Juan de Arellano’s career, he concentrated on religious themes and human figures, but neither reflected his particular talent. Inspired by Flemish (Daniel Seghers) and Italian artists (Mario Nuzzi), Arellano started to paint flower still lifes, such as flowers in a vase, flowers in a basket and images framed by a flower garland. Paintings with flower garlands gained popularity not only in Flemish art, but also in Spain in the 17th century. Nowadays flower garland paintings are still popular with viewers and researchers, hence the number of garland paintings exhibitions, for instance, «Ars vivendi. Frans Snyders and 17th century Flemish Still Lifes» in the Hermitage (2024). Arellano transitioned from religious compositions with garlands through landscapes with garlands to floral still lifes. Thus, the trend towards decorativism manifested itself as decorative art flourished in Spain in the second half of the 17th century.

Rubem Valentim (Brazil, Salvador, 1922 – Brazil, São Paulo, 1991), a Brazilian artist, professor, art journalist and critic, gained worldwide recognition in the 20^th century as an abstract artist, representing Afro-Brazilian culture in his paintings.

Many researchers have characterized Valentim’s art as concrete, placing his geometric abstractionism in a modernist frame and lining it to the development of concretism and neo-concretism in Brazil. In recent decades, more and more attention in research articles has been paid to the role of the symbolism of Brazilian syncretic cults in the visual style of the painter. An integrated approach to the study of Valentim’s creative heritage represents the artist’s appeal to the image of candomblé as an experiment of an artist and thinker, who is part of this religion, designed to introduce Afro-Brazilian culture into the international art context.

This essay examines the creative method of R. Valentim, highlighting the main stages of his biography and work and tracking the evolution of his method and the formation of its mechanisms. Influenced by the trends taking place in world art, the artist develops an understanding of his own style, which several decades later is formalized in the manifesto. Local artistic trends and especially the visual code of the Afro-Brazilian cult of candomblé form the basis of what over the years develops into a unique sign system. The uniqueness of R. Valentim’s system lies in its universal character. It exists in the global context, forming part of abstract art primarily through associations, and at the local level there is also the recognition effect.

The relations of the UK with the majority of Latin American and Caribbean states are not marked by traumatic narratives directly related to colonial dependence, but in recent years the problem of repatriation of cultural objects has become more acute: indigenous communities and civil activists are putting pressure on the British government and museums to return cultural property to the countries of origin. The factor that mitigates the confrontational nature of the problem is the proactive policy of British museums aimed at implementing joint projects with indigenous communities of Latin American and Caribbean states. Nevertheless, many of them are aimed at promoting Western narratives and approaches to the «decolonization of art». British museums also make a major contribution to the dissemination of information about the history and culture of Latin American peoples, both to tourists from around the world and to South American diasporas in the UK. At the same time, as a multipolar international order is being formed, the impact of the problem of repatriation of cultural objects on the UK’s relations with Latin American and Caribbean states will increase: the lack of an effective international legal framework to resolve these contradictions will become more and more acute. A potential method of reducing the resulting tension in the bilateral relations between London and Latin American and Caribbean states may be the transfer of objects on long-term lease or voluntary withdrawal of the British side from the possession of artifacts — in case appropriate changes in the domestic legislation of Great Britain are made.

According to the theory of commodification, heritage is considered as a resource with its own economic value. The sphere of culture and heritage, in particular, are increasingly perceived as a factor of sustainable development. One of the key infrastructure functions of heritage is its role in the formation of an attractive image of a territory, of a tourist destination, in our case. In the empirical part of the study, we analyze 18 promotional videos dedicated to cultural tourism, from the last 5 advertising campaigns of Turespaña. Promotional videos are short videos designed to promote a specific marketing initiative, sale, or event. They combine both advertising texts, images and music, achieving a synergistic effect on the target audience. World Heritage sites of Spain are most frequently used in promos: Antonio Gaudi’s architecture in Barcelona and its surroundings, the Alcazar of Segovia. Intangible heritage is represented, first and foremost, by the images of Spanish cuisine, i.e. the Mediterranean diet and winemaking. We analyze not only lexical and grammatical components of promotion texts, but also their stylistic features, some additional connotations and special communicative functions. The use of music in promos plays an important role in making an emotional impact, as music is generally associated with a particular emotion, memory, thought, or it might even give us a strong incentive to act.

The Russian Art Gallery, a large federal museum, is being built in Sevastopol. The new museum will feature a collection of Russian art of the second half of the 20^th – early 21^st centuries and art of the Global South. The gallery is part of a project to build cultural and educational centers in four Russian cities in order to decentralize cultural life and base it in the country’s regions. The Russian Art Gallery aspires to gradually introduce the art of the Global South to the public and potentially become a new cultural center that will set trends and make meaning. At the same time, the museum seeks its own unique character. When the museum opens, two exhibitions are to be organized to show a view of the same era from two different corners of the world. The exhibitions are expected to exhibit works by Aleksandr Deyneka who perceived a perfect society in his own unique way, and those by Diego Rivera, a renowned Mexican painter. The museum’s collection of contemporary Latin American art will be the first in Russia; therefore, it should represent all the main types of art and major cultural phenomena of Latin America and the Caribbean.

Russia and Portugal established diplomatic relations relatively late. Some researchers indicate geography as the main cause; however, geography alone could hardly explain why, for instance, the Russian Empire established official relations with Spain approximately sixty years before it did with the Portuguese Royal Court. As it seems, the international situation and factors related to both states’ domestic development were at play. Back in the late 15th and early 16th centuries, Portugal considered regions far beyond Europe, such as South America, Africa, India and the Far East to be its sphere of interests. As a result, the country’s limited resources, combined with the need to ensure the preservation of the vast colonial empire, predetermined its dependence on Great Britain for defense. In the 18th century, the costs of such dependence outweighed the potential benefits. Meanwhile, Russia in the 18th century was a powerful and dynamic state which sought to change the traditional balance of power in Europe and develop maritime trade. The idea of establishing relations with Portugal was already considered under Peter I, yet it was not until late 18th century that the Russian Empire succeeded under Catherine II. The geographical factor did have a significant impact on delaying mutual recognition; still it was the two countries’ converging interests and the favorable international situation that proved to be crucial.

The indigenous languages of Latin America, which have become part of the historical and cultural heritage, not only reflect the centuries-old traditions and worldview of the peoples of the region, but also have a direct influence on the grammatical and lexical structure of Spanish.

There are over 400 different indigenous languages in Latin America. The most widespread are still Quechua, Guarani, Nahuatl, Aymara, Mapuche, Maya. The Spanish colonization of the Americas resulted in a process of interaction between the Spanish language and the substrate, resulting in complex linguistic interference.

Despite extensive research (R. Lenz, P. Enriquez Ureña, A. Rosenblat, etc.) that reveals the influence of substrate on the formation of Spanish dialects in Latin America, some scientists say that this influence is insignificant (A. Alonso, B. Malmberg). To understand the depth of substrate influence on Spanish, it is important to analyse stable linguistic manifestations not only in standardised variants of Spanish, but also within historical and contemporary bilingual contexts, taking into account the sociolinguistic dynamics of interaction: the type of native society that was colonised and the level of consolidation of Spanish-speaking society in a particular territory. The combination of these two parameters led to the formation of different variants of interlingual contacts: from insignificant language exchange (a number of lexical borrowings) in the Eastern Intertropical Zone, to saturation of the regional variant of Spanish with grammatical, lexical and stylistic features of the substrate (Paraguay, Andean foothills). The interaction between the indigenous languages of Latin America and Spanish in the three most representative regions (Guatemala, Paraguay and the Andean countries) brought about the use of the following morphological and syntactic phenomena: discrepancies in the use of clitics and possessive constructions, irregularities in the agreement in gender and number of nouns, replacement of the Subjunctive Mood with the Indicative, use of double negations etc. The study confirms that Spanish in Latin America, when exposed to Amerindian languages, does not simply adapt, but forms a characteristic territorial variant that is enriched with unique linguistic features. Indigenisation is manifested at all levels of the linguistic structure.

Spanish like any other language is the product of its history and culture. Numbers are all around us and play a crucial role in our everyday lives; therefore, idioms with both cardinal and ordinal numerals which do not determine their meaning not only are commonly used in Mexican Spanish but also permeate everyday language making it efficient and economical on the one hand yet expressive and eloquent on the other. Most idiomatic expressions with numbers originated in Spain, came to be used by Latin American peoples and are still widespread in the region; others, on the contrary, are in use only in Mexico or other Latin American countries. The etymology of some colloquial phrases is clear, which makes them easy to understand, while others may be of unknown origin. Expressions with cardinal numerals appear to be more productive than those with ordinal numerals. In some cases, idioms with cardinal and ordinal numerals coincide in meaning since idiomatic expressions represent human actions and feelings; as a result, both types of phrases convey meanings related to emotions, opportunity and socio-economic circumstances.

Book review: Khenkin S.M. Spain. Modern Unstable Society. – Moscow. Publishing house
«Aspekt Press», 2023. – 383 p.