Cortes & Don Quixote

Centro (downtown Madrid) is one of the 21 districts of the city and Cortes is one of its 6 neighborhoods.  Also known as Las Letras, this was the area in which four of the greatest spanish authors used to live: Miguel de Cervantes, Lope de Vega, Francisco de Quevedo and Tirso de Molina.

If you are staying at our Costanilla's flat, just walk left towards Atocha Street, then right 20 meters and you'll find a building with an amazing story behind its walls: it is the place where Miguel de Cervantes's novel Don Quixote was printed in 1604.

Calle Atocha 87, imprenta del Quijote

Don Quixote , as well as the Bible, is one of the most
read books ever. It has been translated in more then 50 languages and it is worldwide considered one of the most influential works in modern literature. His author, Don Miguel de Cervantes, was buried at the Monastery of San Ildefonso, just four block to Costanilla's flat. 

What is Don Quixote all about?  The full title of the novel is "The Ingenious Hidalgo Don Quixote of La Mancha".  The story is about an old "hidalgo" (a gentleman) named Alonso Quijano, who was so into chivalric novels that became insane and decided he was a vagabond knight.  So he renames himself Don Quixote de La Mancha and decides to win eternal fame through the besting of wrongdoers of the Chivalric Code. His delusions make him pick fights with innocent bystanders, some of whom do not fight back because Don Quixote is obviously crazy.  Of course not everyone were that sympathetic, and after one of those delivers a brutal beating to him, a neighbor from his village meets the wounded Don Quixote and takes him home where his family burn out the books of chivalry to unsuccessfully try to cure him. He soon returns to his mad journey but this time he manages to convince a simple farmer, Sancho Panza, to become his squire and sidekick under the promise of a governorship in the future. Then they live a lot of adventures, including the famous one where Don Quixote attacks some windmills because they might be giants in disguise.

What was the secret of such a successful novel?  Don Quixote was the first character who demythologized the knight tradition. He was a just man, too old and sick to think that he could be a hero. His author was brave enough to be the first to write about the dreams of a simple man. And by doing that we captured the attention and interest of millions of readers.