Queen Letizia meets 16 scholarship students from Latin America

Queen Letizia of Spain received 16 young scholarship recipients from Colombia, Peru, and the Dominican Republic in a July 23 audience at the Zarzuela Palace Source: elcaribedr. The students, all children of low-income entrepreneurs supported by the Fundación Microfinanzas BBVA (FMBBVA), will be the first in their families to attend university Source: infobae.

The scholarship program

Since its launch in 2020, the FMBBVA scholarship program has benefited 181 young people, with the latest cohort expanded to include the Dominican Republic Source: eldiado. The foundation plans to extend the program to Panama in future editions Source: diariolibre. The students' parents also receive financial support, microinsurance, and digital education through FMBBVA entities Bancamía, Financiera Confianza, and Banco Adopem Source: infobae.

A moving tribute

A particularly emotional moment occurred when Queen Letizia explored a metaverse exhibition honoring the late scholar Mario Naicipa, featuring his photographs, drawings, and poems Source: elcaribedr. Naicipa's mother, Luz Nelly, presented the queen with a triptych titled 'Las Puertas de la Vida' and expressed gratitude: "Gracias, majestad, porque aunque Mario ya no esté, la huella que la educación, la universidad y estas becas dejaron en él permanecerá para siempre." Source: diariolibre The queen praised education's transformative power, citing this tribute as an example .