On October 9, 2012, Their Royal Highnesses Prince Felipe and Princess Letizia of Asturias presided over the 2012/2013 Curso de Formación Profesional (FP) held at the Centro Integrado de Formación Profesional Juan de Herrera in Valladolid.

During today’s event, the prince gave a speech then toured facilities where they meet the staff as well students.

Click here to view a gallery of photos.

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On Tuesday, October 9, 2012, at the Palacio Real de Madrid His Majesty King Juan Carlos I of Spain received credentials from Ambassadors of the Netherlands, Norway, Bulgaria, Georgia and Nigeria.

Meanwhile, Her Majesty Queen Sofia of Spain held an audience at Palacio de La Zarzuela with the President of the Fundación de Ayuda Contra la Drogadicción (FAD), Mr. Asiaín Sanchez.  During their meeting, Mr. Sanchez, “… informed Her Majesty the Queen on  future plans and development of the ongoing projects of the FAD.”  Her Majesty Queen Sofia is patron of FAD.

On October 8, 2012, Her Majesty Queen Sofia of Spain held an audience with the Deputy Secretary General of the United Nations and Associate Administrator of the United Nations Program for Development, Ms. Rebeca Grynspan, at Palacio de la Zarzuela.

According to the Spanish royal court, Ms. Grynspan:

“… has traveled to Spain to participate in a roundtable discussion on ‘Latin America and the New Challenges for Development and Cooperation’…  Ms. Grynspan informed Her Majesty The Queen of the recent activities of the United Nations Program for Development (UNDP) and the latest developments related to the Millennium Development Goals, and Post Process 2015. ”

On Monday, October 8, 2012, Their Majesties King Juan Carlos I and Queen Sofia of Spain attended the opening of the exhibition, Gauguin and the Voyage to the Exotic, held at the Museo Thyssen-Bornemisza in Madrid.

“Paul Gauguin’s flight to Tahiti, where he regained his primitive style via exoticism, is the guiding thread of this exhibition. Through a comprehensive selection of works by a group of late 19th and early 20th century artists it will illustrate of the world how travel to supposedly more authentic regions brought about a transformation in creative language. 

The exhibition shall also analyze the degree to which this experience conditioned the rise of modern art. Curated by Paloma Alarcó, Chief Curator of Modern Painting at the Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum, this exhibition will focus on the results of the artistic explorations undertaken by artists including Gauguin, Matisse, Kandinsky, Klee and Macke. It will also look at Gauguin’s influence on the German Expressionists and the French Fauves, emphasizing his role as the creator of a new and exotic canon, the starting point for the avant-garde artistic idioms that arose in the early decades of the 20th century.”

The Museo Thyssen-Bornemisza is also celebrating its 20th anniversary today, and if you are interested in viewing this exhibition it will be opened to the public beginning on October 9, 2012.

Click the video to watch the clip on You Tube.

On October 4, 2012, Their Royal Highnesses Prince Felipe and Princess Letizia of Asturias began their two-day visit to Ecuador.  The purpose of the royal visit is  “… to support the presence of Spanish companies in the South American country… ” 

Any way, the prince and princess toured the beautiful historic city of Quito, visited a newly restored church, met with the local people as well as government officials, and much more.

This morning Prince Felipe participated in the “… Primer Encuentro Empresarial Hispano-Ecuatoriano meeting…” and in the afternoon the royal couple attended a luncheon hosted by the President of Ecuador, Rafael Correa, at the Palacio de Carondelet.

Her Majesty Queen Sofia of Spain visited the areas of Villanueva del Rosario, Pueblo Laguna de Vera and Puerto Lumbreras on Friday, October 5, 2012.  The areas were “… recently affected by severe floods and Her Majesty wanted see the damage and the status of remediation….” according to the Spanish royal court.

During her visit Her Majesty met with various locals, emergency workers, and government officials.

Please click here and here to watch videos.