PhD in Semitic Philology from the Complutense University of Madrid (UCM), where she has been a professor for38 years, as well as at the Autonomous University (UAM) and Zaragoza University. Currently she is Emeritus Professor an tzhe Department of Arab Studies of the UCM. She is author of more than 200 publications on Arab history and culture, especially on al-Andalus. She is a board member of the Paradigma Cordoba Foundation and Cultural Director of the Biblioteca Viva de al-andalus (BVA).

The BVA offers its library and its activities, as an open cultural center, from a singular enclave: the Bailío Palace. Its purpose is to seek knowledge of the Andalusian culture, and its rich components and historical relations. All this reflected in the various manifestations of the civilization developed there, with their mergers and contributions to the universal culture, which represent bridges and contacts between East and West.