World Book and Copyright Day
Description:
On the eve of the Column Hall of the Club of Fine Arts of Madrid, according to a long tradition, collective readings “Don Quixote” begin. Readings are usually started by the winner of the most prestigious Cervantes Prize in the Spanish-speaking world. Over the course of two days, several people alternate continuously, reading aloud the immortal work of Cervantes. This ceremony is attended by leading cultural figures, statesmen and ordinary citizens.
Literally at every step you can find tents that sell the books of the legendary Cervantes.
Cervantes was born on September 29, 1547 in Alcala, came from a noble ancient family, which preserved knightly legends and stories about the glorious exploits of ancestors. His father was a surgeon.
Due to the poverty of his parents, he received a meager education, but early he discovered a strong desire for reading, especially of poets, and at the same time a desire for a fighting life. In 1571, at the height of Spain’s war with the Turks, he entered military service under the banner of Don Juan of Austria. In the battle of Lebant he was everywhere in the most dangerous place, and, fighting with a truly poetic spirit, he received four wounds.
At the Battle of Lepanto (7 October 1571), Cervantes lost his left arm. On his return to his homeland, he was captured by pirates and sold into slavery to the Algerian pasha. Cervantes stayed in captivity for 5 years. He tried to escape four times, but all attempts failed. In 1580, Cervantes was bought by missionaries and returned to Madrid, where he began writing. Literature brought meager income, which forced Cervantes to move to Seville and become an agent for the purchase of provisions for the fleet. Later, Cervantes entered the service as a collector of arrears. During 6 years of civil service (1587-1603) Cervantes was imprisoned three times. In 1602, during another imprisonment in a Seville prison, Miguel de Cervantes began work on the novel The Ingenious Hidalgo Don Quixote of La Mancha. The success of the novel, published in 1605, led to the fact that a certain A. Fernandez de Aveljaned published the “end” of the story of Don Quixote. This led Cervantes to write the second part of Don Quixote of La Mancha, published in 1615. Before his death, Cervantes became a monk, joining the Order of Tertiaries. Miguel de Cervantes died on 23 April 1616 in Madrid. He was buried at the expense of the brotherhood of the Order of Tertiaries.
Miguel de Cervantes is considered the creator of a new humorous novel that destroyed knightly romance.