BILBAO, Spain—Santiago López Céspedes saw Shen Yun Performing Arts at Palacio Euskalduna on March 3.
“It’s spectacular. It’s a combination of lights, colors, and magic. We had heard about it and received very good references, but seeing it in person is much more brilliant,” said Mr. López, a Basque Member of Parliament.
Shen Yun, based in New York, is on a mission to present “China before communism” and to revive people’s connection to 5,000 years of Chinese civilization and culture.
“I think [Shen Yun] is the opposite of what is sometimes conveyed to us from China—that everything is uniform, a single way of thinking, a single way of seeing things. I believe it helps us look at China with much better eyes, without a doubt,” Mr. López said.
Shen Yun uses classical Chinese dance to tell stories from China’s five millennia. Its dance stories also portray the modern true story of Falun Dafa practitioners being persecuted for their faith in China. Falun Dafa is a peaceful practice that teaches the principles of Truthfulness, Compassion, and Forbearance.
“It’s absolutely outrageous. We express our strongest condemnation in this regard. Any persecution, for whatever reason—ideological, religious, or otherwise—must, of course, be condemned by all sectors and all institutions. And we send much encouragement to the people who are suffering in this situation,” Mr. López said.
This season marks Shen Yun’s 20th anniversary. Mr. López feels enthusiastic for Shen Yun to continue with its mission for another 20 years.
“They should keep doing it. I congratulate them, the entire organization, the whole team, and everyone behind it—both over these past 20 years and, hopefully, over the next 20. I encourage everyone to come because it is especially brilliant and truly spectacular.”
Irune Zuluaga at the Shen Yun Performing Arts performance at Palacio Euskalduna, Bilbao, on March 3, 2026. NTD
Irune Zuluaga, a Basque parliamentarian, was also in the audience for this evening’s performance.
“I thought it was extraordinary in every way. The music, the dancing, the sound, the technologies applied to a cultural and dance event. Beautiful,” Ms. Zuluaga said.
Seeing Shen Yun’s portrayal of communism in China, Ms. Zuluaga expressed that Spain knows what it is like to live under a dictatorship.
“China is a communist dictatorship, and we all know what a dictatorship is. Here, too, we suffered 40 years of dictatorship, and we know what that is like, not being able to express one’s cultural, social, political, or any other interests. It’s nothing new to us. Here, in this country, our language, our traditions, and our culture were also banned. We understand it perfectly.”
