In a world that seems dominated by so-called influencers and artificial intelligence, Leonor has claimed the value of the “natural intelligents.” The princess, in the speech at the ceremony of the Princesa de Girona awards held at the Liceu, confessed that her favorite influencers, the people who inspire and influence her, “are not characters considered successful or famous or glamorous, nor do they have the official label of aspirational nor measure their value by certain achievements they post on their networks,” but those who “fall in love with problems with the intention of solving them; who tell something important with talent and accompany their craziness with rigor, discipline, and critical thinking.”
Leonor, with a speech half in Catalan, half in Spanish, closed the ceremony of the Princesa de Girona awards which, for the second time, was held at the theater on La Rambla. The King and Queen and Infanta Sofía accompanied the princess at the most important event the Crown holds in Catalonia, which put the finishing touch on the foundation’s activities over the past year.
After being received in the Liceu lobby by the president of the Generalitat, Salvador Illa; the third vice president of the Government, Sara Aagensen; the Minister of Justice, Félix Bolaños, the president of the Princesa de Girona Foundation, Francesc Belil, and the president of the Gran Teatre del Liceu Foundation, Salvador Alemany, and other authorities, the King and Queen, the Princess, and the Infanta entered the theater stalls to take their seats in the front row, while the attending guests, who occupied the entire theater (except the top floor which lacks visibility), applauded standing.
In a format change, the King was in charge of opening the event, giving the spotlight to Princess Leonor who closed the ceremony. The heir’s father, who spoke in Spanish and also in Catalan, even joked about his role as presenter and then welcomed everyone to a meeting where “we are all called to meet this year’s six awardees whose talent is already action.” He stated that each of them “offers us a certainty: progressing together is the only thing that makes sense and is, moreover, an exercise in responsibility. It is clear that after today, their work continues with renewed strength and well-directed energy.” The King, speaking about talent, did not forget to mention the young footballers who tonight are playing for a place in the final of the 2026 World Cup: “I hope, like everyone, that our Spanish team will give us another joy tonight…” and then introduced this year’s awardees and their mentors.”
The ceremony, which started earlier so that protagonists and guests could follow tonight’s match where Spain plays France for a place in the World Cup final, focused on the six young awardees, who shared a personal and inspiring message about their field of impact: the president and founder of the Associació Joves Units del Poble-Sec Hatim Azahri (Social Award); the co-founder, president, and CTO of Benviro, Patricia Aymà (Create Business Award); filmmaker Gemma Blasco (Art Award); researcher and exoplanet expert Rafael Luque (Research Award); social entrepreneur and co-founder of Quipu, Mercedes Bidart (Social Award), and astrophysicist José Eduardo Méndez (International Research Award). Their stories reflect different ways of transforming talent into real impact in fields such as science, research, entrepreneurship, artistic creation, or social action. Each of them spoke, and testimonies from their surroundings were also heard to better know them. All received from the hands of Princess Leonor, who went on stage with the King and Queen, Infanta Sofía, the president of the Generalitat, the third vice president of the Government, and the president of the FPdGi, the award they deserved.
Praise for the awardees
Princess Leonor was tasked with praising the awardees, whom she grouped under the category of “natural intelligents.” Of Mercedes (Mechi) Bidart, she highlighted that she invented a digital microcredit platform where a yes is given to those who have always received a no, and with those loans they can move forward to undertake small projects, welcoming those excluded from the conventional financial system and unlocking their dignity by allowing their growth.”
She then referred to Hatim Azahri, recalling that when he was only two years old, he crossed with his parents the route between Nador (Morocco) and the foot of Montjuic. She called him “noi del Poble Sec,” as Serrat is known, to praise his work in the Joves Units del Poble Sec association that “transforms helplessness into organization and discomfort into bond and community.”
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Leonor expressed her admiration for the two awarded astrophysicists, saying: “I listen carefully to see if I manage to understand Rafael Luque when he explains that his sub-Neptune exoplanet could harbor life because it contains, it seems, large amounts of water. Or when José Eduardo Méndez describes the characteristics of cosmic dust in the Orion nebula… These two brilliant scientists have seen things we wouldn’t believe, like the replicant from BladeRunner… but those moments will not only not be lost over time, but their research allows us to advance in the knowledge of the universe through the study of its physics and chemistry,” said Leonor.
And from that global, almost philosophical view of the astrophysicists, Leonor spoke about Álex, the protagonist of La Fúria, the production by the awarded Gemma Blasco that has received “great recognition and where sexual violence against women is portrayed and analyzed with a visceral, radical, and revealing narrative.” “And it does so,” Leonor added, “without preaching, without judging, with a self-referential look, but without a trace of narcissism.”
The last natural intelligent praised by Princess Leonor was Patricia Aymà, who has launched a company that manufactures “good plastic from organic waste. These are bioplastics that disappear without leaving a trace, biocompatible with the human body and free of persistent microplastics. And she does it accompanying the industry, with market rules, with packaging designed to preserve our health.”
The princess ended her words with a phrase in Catalan, in which she highlighted that “from this Gran Teatre del Liceu, from this great stage, the Foundation I preside launches a clear message: to protect young talent with the exact accompaniment, just when it is necessary.”
The world of art was the backbone of the gala, which began with an original creation by the company of Sílvia Batet and also had a moment of intergenerational dialogue like the one protagonized by singer Luz Casal (to whom the King granted the marquisate of Luz y Paz a year ago) with the singer Soleá Morente, daughter of the flamenco singer Enrique Morente and Princesa de Girona Art Award 2018. The conversation, which talked about inspiration, effort, learning, and the importance of those who accompany and promote a vocation, was moderated by musician Andrés Salado, Princesa de Girona Art Award 2016 and currently director of the Costa Rica symphony orchestra. After the speech of the Princess of Asturias, Luz Casal and Soleá Morente closed the event, performing together “Un nuevo día brillará.”
The foundation’s big day also had a great stage; after several years of itinerancy since the Girona city council vetoed the presence of the royal family, the entity’s events and award ceremonies were held in various venues until last year when the Liceu was chosen, which is already shaping up as the definitive venue for the ceremony, aiming to be to the Princesa de Girona awards what the Campoamor theater in Oviedo is to the Princesa de Asturias awards.
