Cervantes, a man overwhelmed by his work – El Universal

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Madrid. Miguel de Cervantes -of have said many things: that is the largest of the Spanish letters, the writer par excellence in Spanish, and Don Quixote is one of the best works of the universal literature. However, despite 400 years of his death have passed, Cervantes never had made him a tribute and had never been featured in a major exhibition.

To pay off this debt, the National Library of Madrid which houses 25 thousand copies related to the author, presented yesterday the biggest exhibition about the writer Miguel de Cervantes life to the myth (1916-2016), which is the starting gun official acts in the fourth centenary his death.

“Saturn devoured his children. In the case of Cervantes it has been the opposite: a man has been overtaken by his work. ” And he recognized the advisor of the sample, Javier Gomá, what happened to Cervantes over the years. “We are indebted to him for years and different reasons could not pay. So we have now wanted to organize the best and largest exhibition and with which we have entered in your figure, but also in his person and in his influence with the aim of people to know more, read more and more fun, “he added

.” he was idealism, was courtesy was a joke and was humor, “he said. He also said it was an exceptional man who in this sample expect people to know better “.

The honorary president of the Association of Cervantes and curator, Jose Manuel Lucia Megías, said the exhibition is divided in three axes. The first is “A man named Miguel de Cervantes,” where his personal and literary life is scrolled. From childhood to fight in the Battle of Lepanto, in which he lost his left arm, his captivity in Algiers, his literary production, his illness and his death. The second, “A picture called Miguel de Cervantes” shows all his portraits; and the third, “A myth called Miguel de Cervantes,” explains how a myth was built through his travels and influence in historical moments.

“We wanted to Cervantes and putting it down to our level. You look into his eyes and read it again, “he added.

The exhibition includes 210 pieces, including documents, books, sculptures, photographs and paintings. There are some very surprising as his baptismal certificate that hid the pastor of Alcala de Henares in a well during the three years of the Spanish Civil War (1936-1939) to prevent lost with shelling, and there were only two left Alcalá de Henares times; is the Book of the Dead of the Convent of the Barefoot Trinitarians, that says an April 23 was buried, but whose grave, 400 years later, is still missing; and printing license Don Quixote. There are also paintings, such as the false famous portrait by Juan Jauregui for which Cervantes never posed, or drawing Salvador Dalí.

In the sample you can see the first editions, his first poems written in 1568, letters he wrote in his work as a tax collector or one with requesting a vacancy in America.

the exhibition will be open until 22 may. Initially, the Ministry of Culture of Mexico showed interest to travel the country, but as explained Elvira Marco, responsible for Spanish Cultural Action (ACE), organizers of the exhibition, “is very expensive for the amount of work to be transfer and insurance to be hiring. “