The Chamber Hall of the Príncipe Felipe Auditorium hosts the Martínez Torner Award ceremony honoring Lisardo Lombardía

The Chamber Hall of the Príncipe Felipe Auditorium hosted yesterday, Wednesday 26 November, the ceremony for the 2025 “Martínez Torner” International Folklore Award, presented to Lisardo Lombardía, a key figure in the international promotion of Asturian traditional music and a member of the Oviedo 2031 Cultural Capital Council.

The event, organized by the Department of Education and the Municipal School of Traditional Music, brought together institutional representatives, cultural agents and members of the public in a tribute that recognized Lombardía’s career as one of the great champions of Asturian and Celtic culture, both within and beyond our borders.

During the ceremony, the City Council highlighted that the award celebrates not only a life devoted to folklore but also Lombardía’s ability to build cultural networks and position Oviedo and Asturias on the international map of traditional and roots music. His role on the Cultural Capital Council, the advisory body supporting the development of the Oviedo 2031 bid, reinforces his status as a strategic ally in shaping a more open, creative and European-connected city.

In his remarks, Lombardía expressed his gratitude for the recognition and emphasized tradition as a space for the future, where popular culture intersects with new perspectives, formats and collaborations. The evening concluded with performances of Asturian traditional music by students of the School, evoking the legacy of musicologist Eduardo Martínez Torner, whose name gives the award its title and symbolizes Oviedo’s commitment to preserving and renewing its intangible heritage.

With this ceremony, Oviedo once again places roots culture at the heart of its project for the European Capital of Culture 2031, honoring those, like Lisardo Lombardía, who have transformed tradition into a platform for dialogue and international projection.