He’s considered the father of modern literature and his characters Don Quixote and Sancho Panza have become part of modern lore.
Four centuries after his death, Miguel de Cervantes remains Spain’s most celebrated writer, with Don Quixote regularly topping lists of the greatest works of fiction ever published.
Cervantes will be honoured tomorrow with a public lecture and presentation of a Maltese translation of one of his works.Celebrations of the 400th year of his death will culminate this coming Friday with a Cervantes-themed art exhibition, book launch and film screening at St James Cavalier. Events will begin at 6:30pm.
The exhibition will include winners of an arts and audio-visual competition based on Don Quixote. It will be followed by the presentation of a Maltese translation of the book by Pawlu Montebello.
The Cervantes-themed evening will close with a screening of El caballero Don Quijote (Don Quixote, Knight errant). The 2002 film, directed by Manuel Gutiérrez Aragón, is based on the famous novel. Education Minister Evarist Bartolo is expected to attend.
Friday’s events will mark the end of a two-month long series of activities organised by the Spanish Embassy in Cervantes’ honour.
Literary fans can also attend a Cervantes homage scheduled for tomorrow, Thursday 21 April at 7pm at the National Library.
Fiona Sciberras will kick off the event with a presentation of her translation of Cervantes’ El casamiento engañoso into Maltese. The translation, which is a work in progress, will be published locally under the title Żwieġ Qarrieqi.
A public lecture on the relationship between Cervantes and Mary Shelley, author of Frankenstein, will follow. The lecture will be presented by Prof Alfredo Moro from the University of Cantabria, and will be entitled “Cervantes’ long shadow: Reflections on the reception of Don Quixote in Britain and its influence in Mary W. Shelley”.
All events are open to the public. Cinema screenings are free of charge. To book a place, contact St James Cavalier's Spazju Kreattiv on 21223216.