Cerezales Antonino y Cinia Foundation

Fundación Cerezales Antonino y Cinia, commonly abbreviated FCAYC, is a Spanish private cultural and educational foundation based in Cerezales del Condado in the Province of León. Established in 2008 on the initiative of Antonino Fernández Rodríguez, the institution was created to return cultural, educational and social value to the rural community where Fernández was born and where several generations of his family had lived. Its work is rooted in the local territory but connects rural concerns with contemporary artistic, environmental, social and economic debates. The foundation does not operate as a conventional commercial brand. Its principal outputs are public programmes, exhibitions, concerts, workshops, research projects, field activities and educational resources. Its broad mission is to strengthen access to culture and education, develop critical and creative capacities, and encourage forms of local renewal that can help counter rural depopulation, isolation and the loss of community knowledge. The foundation combines cultural production with what it describes as ethno-education: locally grounded work involving environmental observation, traditional and contemporary knowledge, primary-sector activity, sustainable tourism, new technologies and community cooperation. FCAYC's programme is organized around several interrelated areas. Contemporary art includes exhibitions, artistic research, the production and dissemination of work by living artists, and the development of a collection that is displayed both indoors and in public space. Music programming ranges from chamber music to jazz, folk, rock, experimental and other forms, with an emphasis on bringing professional performances to rural audiences. Environmental and educational initiatives include mycology and bird studies, field excursions, orienteering, school workshops and projects that connect scientific knowledge with local experience. The foundation also supports theatre, puppet and object theatre, community research and the preservation of rural memory. Its physical base combines restored historic buildings with purpose-built facilities. The former village school, originally constructed in 1931, was restored in 2009 under an agreement with the local neighbourhood council. It provides a flexible venue that can function as an exhibition gallery, auditorium, classroom and administrative centre. A second building, designed by Alejandro Zaera and Maider Llaguno and built between 2014 and 2016, expanded the foundation's capacity with exhibition areas, an auditorium, classrooms, rehearsal rooms, a documentation centre, laboratories and multipurpose spaces. The building follows a rural architectural model and incorporates renewable-energy systems involving geothermal energy, biomass and phase-change materials. Recurring programmes have included Encerezados, the JazzFestival, ArtTítere, music seasons, Sendas/Paths, En ruta/En route, theatre activities, Mycological Mondays, Bird Monday and school collaborations. Longer-term projects such as Archive Territory, Herbarium, Hacendera Abierta and the Personal Libraries Network document local memory, biodiversity and shared knowledge. The foundation has presented work by artists including Eduardo Arroyo, Chillida, Richard Serra, Luis Gordillo, Cristina García Rodero, Castorina, Jan Hendrix, Chema Madoz, Xavier Miserachs, Luke Fowler and Carlos Irijalba. Through these activities, FCAYC positions itself as a rural cultural institution that treats the local landscape and community not merely as an audience, but as an active source of knowledge, research and cultural production.

Antonino Fernández Rodríguez was born in Cerezales del Condado and later emigrated to Mexico. In 1949 he joined Grupo Modelo, the Mexican brewing group, where he held a succession of positions before becoming chief executive in 1971. He remained responsible for the group's management until 1997 and served as chairman of its board until 2005. Alongside his business career, Fernández pursued philanthropic activities connected with education, culture and the communities associated with his life. In 2008 he founded Fundación Cerezales Antonino y Cinia with the aim of improving cultural access in the rural locality that had been home to his family. The foundation was established with initial capital reported as 3.5 million euros and entered into an agreement with the Neighbourhood Council of Cerezales del Condado to reuse the village's former school buildings. Those buildings, constructed in 1931, were restored in 2009 and adapted for concerts, exhibitions, performances, workshops, classrooms and administrative work. The foundation's establishment formed part of a wider pattern of local philanthropic activity by Fernández, which also included work connected with the restoration of the village church and improvements to local infrastructure. From its beginning, FCAYC developed a programme combining contemporary culture with locally grounded education. Its stated objectives include expanding access to culture and education, encouraging critical and transformative capacities, supporting research and innovation, and addressing rural depopulation and isolation. Rather than treating art as separate from territorial concerns, the foundation uses exhibitions, workshops, working groups, field activities and educational seasons to connect contemporary practice with environmental, social and economic questions affecting rural life. The foundation's cultural work has included exhibitions and projects involving contemporary artists, as well as the development of a collection displayed in the foundation's buildings and surrounding public spaces. Its music programme expanded from chamber-music seasons held around Christmas and Easter into a broader series that has included jazz, folk, pop, rock and experimental music. A jazz festival was introduced in 2009, while theatre and wider performance activities became permanent parts of the programme in subsequent years. ArtTítere added puppet and object theatre to the summer calendar. The environmental and community programme grew through initiatives such as Mycological Mondays and Bird Monday, launched through a 2012 collaboration with the University of León's Green Office. These activities combine specialist-led working groups, theoretical sessions and field trips. Other projects have documented rural memory through photographs, Super 8 films, letters and related materials; created a digital herbarium by combining scientific and popular plant knowledge; promoted cooperative research through Hacendera Abierta; and encouraged the formation of a network of personal libraries. As attendance and programme diversity increased, the foundation expanded its facilities. A new building designed by Alejandro Zaera and Maider Llaguno was constructed between 2014 and 2016. Designed as a contemporary interpretation of a rural architectural archetype, it uses a predominantly timber structure and includes exhibition, performance, educational, research and administrative spaces. Its energy concept incorporates geothermal and biomass systems together with phase-change materials. The resulting campus supports the foundation's continuing role as a rural cultural centre whose activities span art, music, education, environmental study, social research and local development.

• 2016

  New multipurpose building completed

  [1]Fundación Cerezales Antonino y Ciniaen.wikipedia.org

  The new timber-focused, renewable-energy building was completed, adding specialist spaces to the foundation's campus.

• 2014

  Construction of expanded facilities begins

  [1]Fundación Cerezales Antonino y Ciniaen.wikipedia.org

  Work began on a new building designed to increase capacity for exhibitions, performances, education, research and documentation.

• 2012

  Environmental collaboration with the University of León

  [1]Fundación Cerezales Antonino y Ciniaen.wikipedia.org

  A collaboration with the university's Green Office supported mycological and ornithological study groups, lectures and field activities.

• 2011

  Broader music and theatre programming develops

  [1]Fundación Cerezales Antonino y Ciniaen.wikipedia.org

  The programme expanded into additional musical styles, and the foundation established a permanent theatre group.

• 2009

  Former village school restored

  [1]Fundación Cerezales Antonino y Ciniaen.wikipedia.org

  The former 1931 school building was restored and adapted as a multipurpose foundation venue.

• 2009

  JazzFestival begins

  [1]Fundación Cerezales Antonino y Ciniaen.wikipedia.org

  The foundation began staging a jazz festival in Cerezales as part of its effort to bring varied musical programming to rural audiences.

• 2008

  Foundation established

  [1]Fundación Cerezales Antonino y Ciniaen.wikipedia.org

  Antonino Fernández Rodríguez founded FCAYC to promote culture, education and territorial development in Cerezales del Condado.

• 1971

  Fernández becomes chief executive of Grupo Modelo

  [1]Fundación Cerezales Antonino y Ciniaen.wikipedia.org

  Fernández was appointed chief executive of the brewing group, a position he held until 1997.

• 1949

  Antonino Fernández joins Grupo Modelo

  [1]Fundación Cerezales Antonino y Ciniaen.wikipedia.org

  After emigrating to Mexico, Antonino Fernández Rodríguez joined Grupo Modelo and began the business career that later supported his philanthropic work.

A place-based cultural foundation linking contemporary art and music with rural education, environmental awareness, community knowledge and territorial development.

• Contemporary art · 2008

  Contemporary art programme

  The foundation researches, produces, curates and presents contemporary art through exhibitions, public-art installations and collection activity. Its programme has included work by Eduardo Arroyo, Chillida, Richard Serra, Luis Gordillo, Cristina García Rodero, Jan Hendrix, Chema Madoz, Xavier Miserachs, Luke Fowler and other artists. It also presents projects that connect artistic practice with territory, memory and rural life.

• Music and performance · 2009

  Music seasons and JazzFestival

  FCAYC presents music in rural settings through chamber-music seasons around Christmas and Easter, a summer jazz festival and programming spanning folk, pop, rock and experimental music. Workshops focused on sound and musical creation complement public performances and are intended to broaden access to musical culture.

• Cultural and educational season

  Encerezados

  Encerezados is a summer framework for cultural and educational activity in Cerezales. It brings together several strands of the foundation's public programme, including music, ArtTítere and other events that use the village and surrounding territory as a setting for cultural participation.

• Puppet and object theatre

  ArtTítere

  ArtTítere is a summer festival devoted to puppet and object theatre. It extends the foundation's performance programme beyond conventional concerts and theatre, providing family and community audiences with access to visual, material and theatrical forms of storytelling.

• Cultural archive and research

  Archive Territory

  Archive Territory preserves the memory of villages and their residents through photographs, Super 8 films, letters and other documentary material. The project treats everyday records and personal testimony as resources for understanding rural history and for producing new artistic and research work.

• Environmental education

  Herbarium

  Herbarium is a digital project combining scientific and popular knowledge about local plants. It links biodiversity documentation with community participation and helps make environmental knowledge accessible beyond specialist institutions.

• Nature research and education · 2012

  Mycological Mondays and Bird Monday

  These initiatives study local fungi and birdlife through specialist-led working groups, educational sessions and field trips. Their purpose is both to increase knowledge of the area's biodiversity and to foster respect for the surrounding landscape.

• Community research

  Hacendera Abierta

  Hacendera Abierta is a cooperative working community that meets regularly to develop research and development projects through the collective sharing of knowledge. It reflects the foundation's interest in participatory methods and locally generated expertise.

• Community knowledge network

  Personal Libraries Network

  The Personal Libraries Network develops a network of privately held libraries connected with knowledge of the rural environment. The project treats personal collections as distributed cultural resources and encourages exchange among residents and researchers.

• 2012Mycological Mondays and Bird Monday

  Province of León · Spain

  Environmental education and field-research activities created with the University of León's Green Office.

  Outcome. Combined specialist research, public learning and direct observation of local biodiversity.

  Source
• 2009JazzFestival

  Cerezales del Condado · Spain

  A recurring summer jazz programme presented in the village square to make live music available to rural audiences.

  Outcome. Established a continuing music strand within the foundation's cultural calendar.

  Source

• 2014

  Expand the foundation's campusStrategy

  Background

  Growing attendance and a widening programme in music, visual art and education created demand for additional space.

  Action taken

  The foundation commissioned a new building designed by Alejandro Zaera and Maider Llaguno, with exhibition, auditorium, classroom, rehearsal, documentation and laboratory spaces.

  Aftermath

  The building, completed in 2016, increased programme capacity and incorporated geothermal, biomass and phase-change-material energy systems.

  Source

• 2009

  Convert the former village school into a cultural venueStrategy

  Background

  The foundation needed a permanent site for exhibitions, performances, concerts, workshops and educational activity.

  Action taken

  Through an agreement with the local neighbourhood council, the 1931 school buildings were restored and reorganized as flexible multipurpose facilities.

  Aftermath

  The restored premises became the foundation's principal early venue and enabled a broader public programme.

  Source

• 2008

  Adopt a place-based cultural and educational missionStrategy

  Background

  The foundation was created to improve access to culture in Fernández's birthplace and to address rural isolation, depopulation and the loss of local knowledge.

  Action taken

  FCAYC organized its work around contemporary art, music, ethno-education, environmental activity, community research and territorial development.

  Aftermath

  The institution developed a multidisciplinary programme of exhibitions, concerts, workshops, field studies, archives and community projects.

  Initial capital. €3.5 million (2008)

  Source

1. 1Fundación Cerezales Antonino y Ciniaen.wikipedia.org
2. 2Fundación Cerezales Antonino y Cinia official websitefundacioncerezalesantoninoycinia.org