Tragic Spanish envoy remembered

Most artists – from the upcoming to the established and from dancers to sculptors – will all attest to the fact that she was committed to promoting the arts in the country to the extent that she had made personal friends to some of them and that most of the embassy’s activities revolved around the important sector of arts and culture more than anything else.
Pilar, as she was affectionately known to many, was even popular among ordinary Zimbabweans, that she would regularly organise parties for her growing circle of friends where she would be the host and DJ.
Last year, the embassy opened a cultural section and library.
Despite the deteriorating economic crisis back home in Spain, the cultural section continued to sponsor and organise artistic and cultural events too numerous to mention, but included fashion shows, exhibitions, musical shows, cultural exchange programmes, workshops and even bringing in artists for the annual arts festival, the Harare International Festival of the Arts.
While tributes continued to pour in, the embassy on Tuesday organised a sunset memorial at Domboshawa Caves “to honour and celebrate the life of our beloved ambassador . . .”.
A statement from the embassy indicated that they had chosen Domboshawa for the farewell because that was the place Pilar first visited when she first arrived here – it was “her favourite place in Zimbabwe. The breathtaking beauty of its landscape will help us remember her”.
The embassy also paid tribute to their departed chief of mission. In a statement, the embassy said: “Pilar was an ingenious woman who enjoyed every second of life and knew how to make a special occasion of any situation. She deeply loved Zimbabwe and committed most of her time to promote arts and culture and establish a strong link between Spain and Zimbabwe.”
Zimbabwe’s ambassador to Senegal, Trudy Stevenson, a friend of the late Pilar, said on Facebook: “I am overwhelmed with contrasting emotions. Great joy on the swearing-in of new Senegal President Macky Sall and his officiation at National Day celebrations today, and great sorrow at the passing of dear friend and colleague Pilar Fuertes Ferragut, Spanish Ambassador in Harare.”
Stevenson described Pilar as a “lively person and such a wonderful ambassador for Spain”.
“She was so committed and full of life. It’s tragic,” she added.
Joey Bimha, the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said the government worked closely with
Pilar in the dialogue with the European Union when Spain was president of the bloc.
“At bilateral level, Ferragut promoted cultural exchanges between Zimbabwe and Spain through facilitating visits of local cultural groups to the European country for performances,” Bimha said.
Pilar was born in Valencia in 1962 and joined the diplomatic service in 1992.
Between 1996 and 2003, she worked as the second-in-command at Spanish embassies in Yemen, Indonesia, Thailand and Guatemala, and Egypt.
She was posted as ambassador to Zimbabwe in 2009. She was also responsible for Malawi and Zambia.
Her body was flown to Spain for burial but details were not available by the time of going to press.
Spanish newspapers, however, report that the Spanish government could close the embassy in Zimbabwe under a re-organisation plan for its foreign missions.