Campus Internacional de las Ánimas

With the Campus Internacional de las Ánimas, we want to give a group of young people the opportunity to live an experience of meeting, growth, and fun for 7 days, in a context where the Spanish language is learned and used at every moment, a space is offered for the development of transversal skills such as communication, teamwork, and lifelong learning, and time is dedicated to discovering and expressing personal talent, sharing experiences not only in the classroom but also in workplaces, and with the host families with whom our young people stay.

The Campus de las Ánimas is an international campus for linguistic, cultural, and personal learning and mediation, an intensive immersion experience that generates learning, connects people, and gives meaning and significance to each action.

The proposal of workshops and activities on campus, both inside and outside the classroom, encompasses various areas of work related to the comprehensive development of the individual (emotional, cognitive, relational, social, and professional dimensions), addresses specific learning objectives and content (communication and foreign languages, art and culture, creativity and talent, emotional and relational awareness, and life skills), and provides space for the strengthening of attitudes and values that promote autonomy and social participation.

The proposal offers a group of high school or university students the opportunity to attend Spanish language and culture workshops in the morning and participate as volunteers in the organization of the Festival de las Ánimas in the afternoon. The festival has been paying tribute to Gustavo Adolfo Bécquer and his famous legend of El Monte de las Ánimas for 40 years and has established itself as a cultural and tourist landmark, attracting thousands of visitors every year during the All Saints' Day long weekend. One of the big novelties for 2026 is that the festival will be opening its doors to international students.

For our students, it is an opportunity to get closer to the world of work, develop cross-cutting skills, and use their experiences to guide them and discover their personal vocation. This project complies with the requirements of the Italian school-work alternation project or Pathways for Cross-cutting Skills and Orientation. However, it can also be an excellent experience for young people from any country who want to learn about a cultural and sustainable tourism project. The Festival de las Ánimas complies with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), as it promotes practices that generate local employment, preserve cultural and natural heritage, and contribute to economic and social development.

The Campus Internacional de las Ánimas aims to promote quality education by bringing young people closer to a cultural tourism project, given that, as SDG 4 indicates, “transmitting knowledge about cultural heritage to future generations plays a key role. Promoting education about cultural heritage is essential for its preservation and appreciation.”

The Campus Internacional de las Ánimas lasts 7 days. The days are intense and combine Spanish language and culture workshops in the classroom with workshops on games, theater, artistic expression, and participation in the extensive program of the Festival de las Ánimas.

Example of a day on campus:

8:30-9:00 a.m. Breakfast with the family
9:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m. Spanish language and culture workshop
2:00-4:30 p.m. Gather around the table for lunch and free time to rest with the family
5:00-6:00 p.m. Meeting and exchanging space at CIAM
6:00-9:00 p.m.

These take place Monday through Friday mornings in the classrooms of the Convento de la Merced, headquarters of CIAM:

Spanish for Life Workshops. Language and culture activities that specifically address linguistic and communication objectives according to the level of the group.
Tourism Language Workshops. Texts related to different types of tourism will be analyzed.
Reading workshop. Reading Gustavo Adolfo Bécquer.
Creativity and artistic expression workshops. These focus on artistic skills such as theater, reading, writing, and photography.

These take place from Monday to Sunday in various locations around the city of Soria.

Monday to Friday, afternoons and evenings:

Reading in the original language in the Red Room of the Machado Institute. Students will read previously selected texts in their mother tongue.
Participation as volunteers in the organization of the Cosmic Horror Readings.
Participation in the reading of the legend Lectura rayo de luna by Bécquer, with a full moon and live music.
Guided tour of the city with a guide and students from secondary schools in Soria, La Soria de los Bécquer.

Saturday and Sunday evenings:

Participation in the Parade of Souls dressed as nobles from the Twelve Lineages.
Dinner with the volunteers who participated in the parade.
Participation as volunteers in the reading of Gustavo Adolfo Bécquer's legend of El Monte de las Ánimas, read and interpreted by an actor.
Se desarrollan de lunes a domingo en varios lugares de la ciudad de Soria.

Participation in the 3rd Concurso de narrativa exprés Piccolo for our students of Spanish as a foreign language. This contest is organized by the Piccolo Bookstore in Soria and the Festival de las Ánimas. It challenges our young people to write an intense, disturbing, or supernatural story in a limited amount of time. The challenge is to write a one-page story that must include a phrase chosen by the jury and other surprises. There will be a prize for the winner.

Students will stay with host families in Soria on a full-board basis, and accompanying teachers will stay at the Student Residence in single rooms, also on a full-board basis.

Along with excellence in all our courses, CIAM also strives to ensure that our students' stay in Soria is inclusive in every way. Therefore, one of our priorities is to provide our students with comfortable accommodation. All accommodations have been carefully selected for their comfort and safety, as well as their proximity to the city center and, therefore, to our Center.