The pen is the tongue of the mind. Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra (1547-1616), regarded as the greatest Spanish novelist, has gifted us thousands of such gems of wisdom and higher thinking that lay scattered across his many iconic written works.
To mark the literary legend’s 400th death anniversary, the Embassy of Spain in Qatar, in co-operation with the Translation and Interpreting Institute (College of Humanities and Social Sciences, HBKU), is organising a lecture on “the influence of Islam and Moorish culture in the work of Cervantes and his masterpiece Don Quixote” by Dr Muhsin al-Ramli, a Spanish writer, poet, translator, and academic, who teaches at Saint Louis University – Madrid Campus. The lecture will be held at the Cinema Auditorium, Education City, Student Centre, at 6.30pm on October 20. The lecture will be delivered in Arabic with simultaneous translations in English and Spanish.
That’s not all though. The Spanish Embassy, which will be bringing in its National Day this Wednesday at The Ritz-Carlton, Doha, will also be presenting the high-energy Recorridos Flamenco Dance Show by the Spanish dancer Elena ‘La Machana’ at the Katara Opera Theatre at 7pm on October 17, in co-operation with Katara Cultural Village. The entry to both the events — the Cervantes lecture and the flamenco performance — is free for all.
Ester Borras, Deputy Head of Mission, Embassy of Spain in Qatar, told Community, “The idea behind such cultural events is to bring together the two countries and the two cultures. Our objective is to showcase some aspects of our culture to the Qataris and the other expats in Qatar, by working together in co-operation with the Qatari authorities. At the Cervantes event, for instance, an exhibition of selected items from Cervantes’ period, from the private collection of Sheikh Faisal bin Qassim al-Thani will be showcased at the venue.”
“As for Flamenco, declared intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity by Unesco since 2010,” Borras continued, “this living art has been passed down from generation to generation as a way of life and expression of Andalusian and Romany people and developed over centuries of multiculturalism.”
The most important and celebrated figure in Spanish literature, Cervantes lived in troubled times, both of crisis and splendour, and the conflict of civilisations in the Mediterranean basin was the theatre of operations of the writer. Interestingly, his lifetime coincided with the last Muslim presence in Spain and these circumstances are reflected in his profound knowledge of the Islamic world in his work. His life alone would be worth a novel as his adventures as a soldier, a counsellor and even a tax collector were numerous and extraordinary.
“The truth may be stretched thin, but it never breaks, and it always surfaces above lies, as oil floats on water,” Cervantes wrote in his masterpiece Don Quixote, considered to be the first modern novel and also one of the greatest works of fiction ever published. The sad but funny novel about a wandering knight was also the first “anti-romance novel”, because it demystifies the knightly tradition. Due to its age, it’s nearly impossible to correctly assess the scope of its distribution and yet many scholars estimate that it has reached a readership of 500 million, making it the best-selling novel in world history.
The Embassy of Spain has thanked the sponsors who have contributed to putting together this event – Sheikh Faisal bin Qassim al-Thani Museum, the Spanish Business Council, and Marriott Marquis City Centre Doha Hotel.
Quite understandably, the flamenco show is expected to be a big draw as well given the widespread popularity of flamenco dance and music. Not only is flamenco known for its grace and beauty but it’s also known for its rhythmic complexity and the variety of songs.
Since 2007, dancer Elena “La Machana” has worked in in the top tablaos (a colloquial term for the Spanish ‘tablado’ or floorboard, it is a place where flamenco shows are performed) with many important Andalusian flamencos, including guitarists and singers Cristian Saucedo, Luis el Chico, Jordi Garcia and Justo Fernández, Xavi de la Torre & Juan Carlos Maurel. Elena now has formed her own dance company.
The upcoming show at Katara will present a harmonious combination of three elements – dancing, singing, and guitar – as an authentic expression of traditional flamenco. The Embassy of Spain has thanked the sponsors of this event – Qatar Airways and Melia Doha Hotel.