Manuel González, president of PuntoGal, the organization responsible for managing Galicia’s internet domain, spoke this Friday in Pontevedra during the official opening of Culturgal, the Galician culture fair. In his words, the 16th edition of the event has become the “main hub for celebrating our first 10 years of existence.” González participated in the inaugural ceremony alongside Víctor López, president of the Culturgal Association; Luis López, president of the Pontevedra Provincial Council; José López Campos, Regional Minister of Culture, Language, and Youth; and Miguel Anxo Fernández Lores, the mayor of the city.
PuntoGal is marking its tenth anniversary since its official establishment, boasting nearly 7,300 active registrations, a renewal rate exceeding 90%, and “hundreds of thousands of emails bearing the label of our identity in cyberspace,” González noted. He extended an invitation to celebrate this milestone to “the entire Galician cultural community, broadly defined to include our unique worldview shaped over centuries, while also affirming our determination to continue being ourselves, expressing ourselves in our own language, and innovating and creating a future rooted in our identity, engaging with other peoples on equal terms.”
In this context, González reiterated PuntoGal’s mission as “a driving force and an example of a creative, entrepreneurial Galicia that looks to the future, rejecting victimhood, as victimhood often hinders development.” He added, “We cherish our traditional culture. We defend tradition, but not the kind that merely preserves ashes—not immobilist tradition or tradition as a museum piece. True tradition is keeping alive the flame of our identity, the torch that allows us to shape the future from our roots. True tradition is the seed that must nurture the power of creativity.”
During his address, González also outlined the activities that the domain manager will host at Culturgal from Friday through Sunday. These include a central informational stand, in collaboration with Gadis, which will provide details about various projects supported by PuntoGal. These range from the Galicia Video Game Museum and the Museum of the Galician People to self-publishing fairs and literary contests with the Royal Galician Academy, among many others.
PuntoGal will also feature prominently at the fair through Galician music performed by female artists, including a concert by the folk duo Caamaño & Ameixeiras and the band Pava, a musical project by poet and composer Lucía Aldao. These performances will take place on the fair’s music stage on Saturday, November 30, starting at 7:00 PM, in a session presented by Paula Carballeira. Additionally, on the same day at 6:00 PM, Autobán will host the All Stars Drawing Battle, featuring Antón Yáñez, Sandra Lodi, Aarón Moucho, and Sapoconcho representing Galicia’s four provinces. Students from the University of Santiago’s Cultural Management program will also record the podcast O Faiado.
The programming concludes on Sunday with a professional roundtable at 12:00 PM titled “Google and the Challenge of Galician Content.” Panelists include SEO consultant and digital strategy expert Saúl Vérez, content marketing and corporate communications journalist Adriana Freire, and digital communication professor Xabier Martínez Rolán from the University of Vigo, moderated by Bárbara Vilariño, a journalist specializing in communication, marketing, and digital strategy. Additionally, from Friday to Sunday, during morning hours, children and youth can participate in robotics workshops developed in collaboration with the First Lego League.