An AI-generated post referring to the Spanish colonization of Latin America has sparked controversy over the October 12th holiday known as the “Día de la Hispanidad”, which commemorates Christopher Columbus’s arrival to the Americas.
The image, shared on social media, depicted a banner, supposedly hung at the Royal Palace of Columbus’s ship, the Santa María, and the words: “Nothing to apologize for.” It was posted after the Mexican president requested in a letter that Spain apologize for abuses during colonization, according to El País.
Carmen Perez, an 18-year-old student from Madrid, laughed when asked about the Mexican president’s request.
“Long live Spain; the king is very old. He has done many great things,” she said. “What happened, happened, and that’s it. There is no need to say sorry for something that was done in the past.”
Javier Pozo, a 20-year-old aeronautical engineering student from Granada, expressed his love for the October 12th holiday.
“El Día de Hispanidad must be celebrated. It is an amazing holiday. I even went to the parade with my Spanish flag even though it was raining, and I will always go,” he said. “I find it immature that Mexico wants Spain to apologize for something that happened 500 years ago. I understand perfectly why an organization would put up such a poster.”
Many agree that “Día de la Hispanidad” is a great holiday, but dislike the way it has been politicized.
“I believe October 12th is a beautiful day because it is the unification of all Spaniards, but I do not believe it is the correct day to celebrate it because of the significance the day has,” said Lucía Escribano, a 22-year-old from Madrid. “I believe that forgiveness must be asked for because correct things were not done.”
Others think that an apology from Spain is unnecessary, but still find the poster shared on social media troubling.
“In my opinion, it is not that Spain should apologize, but people should also know about the harm that happened in the turbulent past and understand that discrimination is still alive in today’s age,” said Natalia Echevarría, a 21-year-old psychology student from Mexico. “The poster is giving a narrative of heroism when the situation has two sides of the same coin.”
