In the reverence the climate requires, Alexandra Viggiano Marra marked his entry into Westminster Abbey. The career diplomat was accompanying her husband, Javier Figueroa, Argentina’s ambassador to Britain, during Queen Elizabeth II’s state funeral, when she encountered a protocol error that turned the world upside down: they refused her words as she entered the church.

The incident occurred as the wedding entered the Monastery, along with hundreds of dignitaries who were invited. At the gates of the Anglican church, a man –Alistair Harrison, Marshall of the Diplomatic Corps – greets the audience with a handshake. Alessandra Viggiano Marra he stretched out his hand to reply in greeting, but the gesture never came. Diplomat, captured by camera BBC with his arms outstretched in the air, he became the protagonist of a awkwardness protocol.

“My cell phone started ringing inside the Monastery,” said Viggiano Marra, in dialogue with COUNTRY. “The scene was seen all over the world,” he said, adding: “I try not to pay too much attention to it. Many people called out to me in solidarity as if something very dramatic had happened to me, but I didn’t live it that way.”

When asked if Harrison contacted him to apologize for the incident, Viggiano Marra admitted that, although he called his husband -Ambassador Figueroa- he did not speak directly to him. “I thought it was a bit strange, because I am also a diplomat. But I put myself in his place and It’s quite embarrassing to have to call the ambassador and apologize“, he pointed.

And he continued: “He was at the residence many times, and he was also present when Javier [Figueroa] handed over the credential to Queen Elizabeth II last year.”

By decision of the national government, the Argentine embassy in the United Kingdom will represent the country at the state funeral of Queen Elizabeth II. “This is what our careers have had, suddenly you become a living history,” said Viggiano Marra, who defined the king as “a political leader who is a symbol of the unity of a country, a very strong collective feeling.” “A very moving life in every way”summarized.

Of King Carlos III, Viggiano Marra assesses: “People place a lot of hope in his interest in the environment, which can be a force for good in that sense. It seems to me that he has everything to build his personality as a king with positive factors“

And he stressed: “His mother is 70 years old… you should give her some time to see what she wakes up to.”

Since he landed at the Argentine embassy in the UK, career diplomat Viggiano Marra has held the position of Minister of Culture. “It inserts a reflection of our society, our vital trajectory, our experience. Everything that unites us, because there’s no gap there”, he defines, adding: “It’s about bringing in and showing talent, and the British who come to see it come to see the object of design. There is this antinomian question. The experience is heart to heart. Culture has that.”

In this regard, when asked whether the Malvinas problem did not burden the culture, Viggiano Marra denied it. “Absolutely not,” he assured, and explained: “Just as we as a society, for example, influence the British expression of rock or sport, in the academy there are many Argentine professors based here, who teach in universities. It creates a lot of bonds, networks great contacts and knowledge”.

Viggiano Marra, along similar lines, highlights the influence of Argentine cinema. “1985 Argentina, directed by Santiago Miter, participated in the 66th BFI London Film Festival Official Competition, and nobody thought about Malvinas. Culture is a very deep bridge, uniting emotions, with experience, with talent, so there is no such tension“, I observed.

Thus, the official defined the Ministry of Culture within the embassy as a kind of neutral place in terms of conflicts between countries. “Culture is a factor of unity between the two countries, empathy,” he continued, and assured: “In this way, culture becomes a kind of Switzerland in the embassy. An important cultural section within the embassy and an important part of the link. There is a lot of presence and it transcends.”