What is the connection between Don Quijote and this Costa del Sol town?

Vélez-Málaga has joined the 'Ciudades Cervantinas' network whose members are places that Miguel de Cervantes visited or mentioned in his works

Eugenio Cabezas

Friday, 26 April 2024, 14:19

Vélez-Málaga has joined the Ciudades Cervantinas (Cervantes cities) network. The town's incorporation into the network accredits it as a town that forms part of the legacy of Miguel de Cervantes, author of Don Quijote, whether in his personal life or through his writings.

The agreement was signed by the town hall and the network on Monday 22 April, coinciding with the town's book fair and the anniversary of Cervantes' death.

Mayor of Vélez-Málaga Jesus Lupiañez said during the signing of the agreement, that Cervantes is "one of our important historical legacies both with his personal ties to Vélez, where he arrived as a tax collector to the Kingdom of Granada and was key to ending up in prison shortly after, where 'Don Quijote' was born. Or even in his works, in 'Don Quijote' and 'El Persiles'."

Other towns and cities that form part of the network include Alcalá de Henares, Alcázar de San Juan, Antequera, Arganda del Rey, Baeza, Barcelona, Ciudad Real, Córdoba, Madrid, Malaga, Valladolid, Sevilla and Guanajuato. Algiers and Lisbon also form part of the network.

Lupiáñez said, "From now on joint activities will be carried out between all or some of the places mentioned or visited by Cervantes. With all this, the culture department aims to highlight the figure of Cervantes in Vélez and the Cervantes room: dramatised visits and the cultural activities that we are going to start to do. The first to take place, the conference by José Manuel Lucía and the concert of Cervantes music by Maestro Iribarren Chapel."

33 cities on three continents

Director of Ciudaded Cervantinas, José Manuel Lucía, said he was "very happy" that Vélez has joined the network and added that there are now 33 member cities from three continents (Europe, Africa and America). He explained that they are also working on connections in Asia, Istanbul, Korea and China, which "have a very different link to Cervantes".

Some are linked to Cervantes' life, such as Alcalá de Henares, Toledo, Madrid or Barcelona, or others that appear in his work. In American cities, which do not appear in his work or are not mentioned, Cervantes is still an important part of the cultural and economic development of those towns. "That is why Vélez-Málaga had to be included in the Network of Cervantine Cities," he added.

Lucía went on to say, "Cervantes was here. We have proof that during his lifetime he visited these places and even this house. It is mentioned in 'El Quijote' and in 'El Persiles', "

Councillor for culture Alicia Ramírez highlighted that town hall's objectives are to support and disseminate joint activities at an educational, cultural, tourist or economic level, as well as to share information about the life and works of Cervantes through specific programmes "with the aim of making Cervantes one of the cornerstones of community development".

"To this end, educational and cultural programmes will be promoted to improve knowledge about Cervantes and the values of his work in the educational and social fabric," she said.

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