Nishikiten, things well done.

In recent years we have been able to attend several events and exhibitions of what I call series A, that is to say exhibitions with a great level and a quality that begins to attract attention inside and outside our borders, these exhibitions have been for me the last held by the Museum of Alcobendas in Madrid , the European Congress of Lorca, Nishikiten and the National Competition of Paterna that has been incorporated two years ago.

It is necessary to recognize that for a few years also the exhibition Olea organized by Mistral contributed and helped to achieve high levels of quality and improvement, behind some Clubs scattered throughout the Spanish geography have sporadically made good exhibitions but more for the quality of the trees of some of their associates than for a power of convocation at a national level.

Already in what I would describe as the series B we could place the National Congresses whose participation has been limited for some years now more to a regional or local level than a national one, undoubtedly these congresses in my opinion have declined a little in recent years, although we must recognize the efforts made by different clubs and associations responsible for organizing them , to be clear that for me the National Congresses are necessary and useful as well as other exhibitions of lesser rank or local exhibitions or series C where all or most of us have begun to make our pinitos, if we really intend that the National Congresses are and that from what I call a series B passes to a serious A , then you have to change some things, certain bases and concepts and above all its organization, but this is another issue on which I will expand more widely in a future article.

It is a reality that mounting an exhibition like the Nishikiten needs a great organizational and human effort and that for fans and the general public to enjoy a weekend like this there are many months of work and preparation behind that as a rule usually falls on few people who invest the little time they have for the love of art or in other words altruistically , even sometimes putting money out of their pockets, it is not at all easy to mobilize professionals, teachers, specialists or advantaged students whose experience and trajectory ensure a call for guarantees, I do not think it is a question of obtaining cash prizes, which of course encourage anyone, perhaps it is more a recognition to show work and a small injection of morale to continue and of course it is also a matter of logic and with a certain structuring, for example if in a town in Spain a series C exhibition is organized with simple amateur trees that begin and in it appear four or five trees of series B what we are doing is to improve the exposure as if in a series B certain trees of series A appear , things improve ostensibly, but if in a series A we put a few trees of series B and C we are probably devaluing the exposure.

I think that the good results of Nishikiten are due in large part to the decision to do things well with defined objectives and with a dedication that is to be welcomed, if this is transmitted and the call is achieved it is usually positive and then maybe it does not hurt so much to scratch our pockets in gasoline , meals, hotels and of course some small whim. Finally, I would like to thank the organization for the obligatory tribute to the unfortunately disappeared Joseph Berch and his work.

Germán Gómez.