DON QUIXOTE FROM LA MANCHA

TITLE PAGE OF THE FIRST EDITION OF DON QUIXOTE, 1605

In 2002 the Norwegian Book Club and the Nobel Foundation organised a survey

of the best work of fiction ever…

A selection of 100 writers from 54 countries chose Don Quixote as the winner; in the second place Gustave

Flaubert’s Madame Bovary (who came runner-up).

Each of the 100 writers, (several who have won a Nobel Prize), had to mention 10 book titles to help create a Library of

Universal Literature. Cervantes won Flaubert by 50% more votes.

THE BEST LITERARY WORKS OF ALL TIME

PICASSO: DON QUIXOTE

Miguel de Cervantes, author of Don Quixote, died on the 23rd of April, 1616.

On that very same day of the same year, William Shakespeare also died.

The UNESCO declared the 23rd of April as the WORLD BOOK DAY by request of

the Spanish government since their national book day had been celebrated

on that day for many years. On that day, almost every Spaniard buys a book for

their loved one. In some regions of Spain, such as Catalonia, the book is

accompanied with a rose.

WORLD BOOK DAY

CERVANTES by FRANCISCO DE GOYA

In 1612, the first translation of Don Quixote into a foreign language

appears 4 years before the death of Cervantes and 7 years after the

original edition (1605). The person responsible for that translation, titled

The History of the Valorous and Wittie Knight-Errant, Don Quixote of

the Mancha, was an Englishman named Thomas Shelton.

THE FIRST TRANSLATION WAS INTO ENGLISH

THE COVER OF THE FIRST ENGLISH EDITION OF DON QUIJOTE

THE MOST TRANSLATED BOOK AFTER THE BIBLE

IT HAS BEEN THE INSPIRATION FOR ARTISTS WORLDWIDE: LITERATURE, FILMS, MUSICAL COMPOSITIONS, PLAYS,

BALLETS, PAINTINGS ...

AND MANY OTHER THINGS...

ALL OVER THE WORLD…

quijote2. m. A steadfastly man in defence of causes that he considers just, without achieving his purpose .

Royal Spanish Language Academy DICTIONARY

IT HAS GIVEN A UNIQUE PERSONALITY TO THE SPANISH WITH ITS VERY OWN WORD

DON QUIXOTE by DALÍ

1615-2015

PLOT

Alonso Quijano (Don Quixote) goes crazy from reading too many books of chivalry. This madness makes him try to imitate the adventures which he has read: he leaves his hometown, he embarks in a series of adventures and he returns defeated.

FIRST PART(1605)

FIRST JOURNEY Don Quixote prepares his old, rusty weapons which belonged to his great-grandfathers. He puts them on and sets out through La Mancha with the hope of doing justice, just as it happened in the stories he read. He arrives at an inn which he believes is a castle, he is knighted in a ridiculous ceremony, he seeks adventures and returns home wounded.

The SECOND JOURNEY (also in the first book) makes up the rest of the book. Don Quixote escapes from his house again, but this time he is accompanied by a humble neighbour who acts as his squire. The appearance of Sancho Panza enriches the possibilities of the novel since Sancho Panza is going to be Quixote’s confident, opening the doors to a dialogue which will be of great importance. Besides, they are two opposite characters well matched. On this journey, we can read about a lot of different adventures and how Don Quixote was tricked into going home.

SECOND PART (1615)

It covers the third and last journey. New adventures on the way to Barcelona. Most of them take place in the court of some Dukes that have read the first part of the book, they know of Don Quixote and for a bit of entertainment they pretend that they live in a chivalrous court. At the end of the second part, another character from Don Quixote’s village, dressed also as a knight-errant, challenges Don Quixote and wins. This forces Don Quixote to go back home. There, he regains his sanity and dies.

MEANING

Don Quixote is the model of the ideal aesthetic and ethical life. He becomes a knight-errant so that he can defend justice in the world and from the beginning he wants to be a literary character. In short, he wants to do good and live the life as if it were a work of art.

Don Quixote is a synthesis of life and literature, a life that has been lived and a life that has been dreamed. A fabulous integration of reality and fantasy. An extraordinary example of the difficulties of writing about complex human relationships.

CURIOSITIES

A copy of Don Quixote in 1605, cost around 290 maravedies (the currency at that time), which was about 4 euros today.

Recently Sotheby’s in New York, auctioned a copy of the first edition from 1605 and was sold for $6,000,000.

Don Quixote had immediate success: a couple of weeks after the first publication, three false copies appeared in Lisbon.

OUR SCHOOL PROJECT

• To commemorate the fourth Century of the FirstEdition of the novel in the year 2005 a manuscript copy was made withthe participation of pupils,

teachers, families,andmany other persons,

even the President of the Autonomous Comunity.

Our school project

• At the same time our school was in contact with artistsfrom all around theworld.

• They donate theirworks for thisfantastic andpermanent exhibitionon Don Quixote.

• Here we can find worksfrom many countries and all five continents.

Marseille. France

SCHOOL EXHIBITION

Exhibition. Gallery 1

Lugo. SpainCatalonia. Spain

Exhibition. Gallery 2

Mexico

Russia

Exhibition. Gallery 3

FranceVenezuela

Exhibition. Gallery 4

Italy

Brasil

Exhibition. Gallery 5

RomaniaMorocco

• FACSIMILE EDITION. 1605

• ENGLISH VERSION

• ESTONIAN VERSION (CHAPTER 1)

• POLISH VERSION (CHAPTER 1)

• TURKISH VERSION (CHAPTER 1)

THE NOVEL IN DIFFERENT LANGUAGES

Credits

• For this presentation it has been used somematerials by Nilda Blanco (University of La Havana) and Agustín Yagüe (Ministry ofEducation in Wellington, New Zealand). Translated into English by Luis M. Miñarro.

• Pictures from the Permanent Exhibition on Don Quixote in ‘Gerardo Martínez’ P. S. Socuéllamos, Spain.

By Luis M. Miñarro

lmminarro@gmail.com