Queen of Spain inaugurates Instituto Cervantes in Los Angeles

Queen Letizia Ortiz of Spain was in Los Angeles on Tuesday to inaugurate the opening of the Instituto Cervantes, a center that was founded by the Spanish government in 1991 and aims to promote Spanish language and culture.

After English, Spanish is the second most commonly spoken language in the United States. In Los Angeles, approximately 50% of the population is Hispanic. The director of the Instituto Cervantes, Luis García Montero emphasized that opening the center was long overdue as Los Angeles is "a great territory of Spanish."

The opening of the Instituto Cervantes in Los Angeles marks the seventh branch in the United States. The first opened 27 years ago in New York.

Queen Letizia, a journalist by trade, became the first woman without noble lineage to reach the Spanish throne when she married Felipe VI, who now serves as the king of Spain.