The beacon that lights the future · April 16, 2026
See programme → ↓"Every person can, if they so choose, be the sculptor of their own brain."
On 16 April 2026, the Salamanca Congress Palace hosts the third annual Cajal tribute, with the Nobel great-granddaughter, the custodians of the Cajal School and Spain's leading experts in neuroscience, AI and neurorights.
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One hundred years after Pío del Río-Hortega discovered microglia in the Madrid laboratories, his grandnephew Juan del Río-Hortega Bereciartu has been invited as a speaker to Nobel Conference No. 72 at the Nobel Forum of the Karolinska Institutet — the very venue where the Nobel Prize in Medicine is announced.
In 2026, the brain's electrical activity has become the most valuable asset of surveillance capitalism. From the Girardi/Emotiv case in Chile to the US MIND Act, the world is legislating at speed to protect the last human sanctuary: the mind.
The documentary 'Ramón y Cajal: Drawings on the Retina' opens in cinemas across Madrid, Zaragoza and Seville from 9 April 2026, with post-screening discussions by director Luis Gómez Juanes.
On 9 July, FENS Forum 2026 in Barcelona hosts a new edition of Speed Neurodating, a mentoring initiative connecting young researchers with established figures in global neuroscience.
On 14 and 15 April, the Círculo de Bellas Artes in Madrid hosts ConCienciArte 2026, a science fair fusing art, technology and neuroscience with free workshops and performances for all audiences.
The Arrhenius Research Institute of Peru creates the Martínez Frías Award. A reflection on astrobiology, the cognitive cosmos, and the legacy of Cajal.
King Felipe VI assumes the honorary presidency of the Fifth Centenary of the School of Salamanca. A reflection on Cajal, Mattarella, and human dignity as the irrevocable foundation of civilisation.
Santiago Ramón y Cajal: A Mind Without Borders
He revolutionised our understanding of the brain with his "Neuron Doctrine", demonstrating that it was made up of individual cells. A milestone that places him among the most important scientists in history.
His insatiable curiosity led him to excel as a physician, writer, pioneering photographer, exceptional draughtsman and champion of scientific research and public health in Spain.
Beyond his discoveries, he bequeathed a philosophy of life built on willpower, enthusiasm for knowledge, perseverance in the face of adversity, and independence of thought.
In 2017, UNESCO inscribed the Cajal Archive and the Spanish School of Neurohistology as part of the Memory of the World Programme — the only school recognised in the programme. This programme aims to preserve and provide access to the world's most significant documentary heritage. It includes the legacies of other great historical figures such as Isaac Newton, Nikola Tesla, Anne Frank, Goethe and George Orwell. In 2020, the Spanish Congress pledged to create a Cajal Museum and his School.
Read more about the Cajal Museum →"Every person can, if they so choose, be the sculptor of their own brain."