On Saturday, August 22, at 10am, Instituto Cervantes’ Salón de Actos will host a lecture on Don Quijote, delivered by Filipino professor and writer Marjorie Evasco. SeaWrite awardee for the Philippines and National Commission for Culture and Arts Ani ng Dangal awardee, Evasco’s books have won the Philippine National Book Awards for poetry, oral history and art. In her talk, entitled “Altisidora’s Postscript: Re-reading the Ludic in Book II of Don Quijote de la Mancha”, Evasco will discuss the relevance of the second part of Don Quijote in the history of Literature and in the emergence of a new genre –the novel.
In her talk, Evasco will also share with the audience her love and admiration for Cervantes’ fiction: "The genius of Cervantes is that he created Don Quijote and Sancho Panza as two distinct characters who nevertheless sincerely regard each other as friends, and whose friendship develops such that they influence each other as they traverse their way to adventures as knight errant and squire respectively,” says Evasco.
Why is the second part Don Quijote so important? For Evasco, “Book 2 is where Cervantes continues to explore with his readers the nature of literacy, of the effect of reading on readers, of the pleasures and pitfalls of a reading life, and of the different readings of life.” As for the relevance of the novel for the contemporary reader, Evasco has no doubts: “The book remains a delightful text for readers of all ages, who can now access various translations of the Spanish classic.”
The same Saturday, August 22, at 2pm, will conclude the film series on Don Quijote film versions with the screening of Honor de cavalleria (Quixotic). Written and directed by Albert Sierra in 2006, the critically acclaimed Honor de cavalleria garnered several awards in international festivals –Best Film at the 2006 Torino International Festival of Young Cinema, among them. Shot with amateur actors and a minimal budget, Albert Serra’s adaptation of the misadventures of the senile would-be knight and his sidekick Sancho Panza is arguably one of the most heterodox “readings” of the novel. The film favors natural sounds and landscape imagery over dialogue and music, in a somehow minimalist way. Entrance to the screening is free, on a first-come, first-served basis.
With this event Instituto Cervantes will put an end to the activities celebrating the 400th anniversary of the publication of the second volume of Don Quijote de la Mancha. The “Quijote month” started last August 1 with Rafael Gil’s Don Quijote de la Mancha (1948), the first of the four movies featured in the film tribute “Don Quijote en el cine”, a selection of cinema adaptations of Cervantes’ novel. The film cycle continued on August 8 with the screening of El caballero don Quijote (Don Quixote, Knight Errant), a work directed by Manuel Gutiérrez Aragón in 2002. On August 15, Instituto Cervantes presented Don Quijote de Orson Welles (Don Quijote of Orson Welles), a film in which Welles recreates his peculiar vision of Spain through the eyes of Don Quixote and Sancho. Welles died without finishing the movie, but his friend director Jess Franco took over and completed the work in 1992, following the directions Welles himself left behind.
Yet the events on Don Quijote will have a sequel in September: "La cocina del Quijote," a special set menu prepared by Chef Juan Carlos de Terry based on some of the dishes and wines mentioned in the novel. This gastronomic journey to La cocina del Quijote will be held on September 10, 7 p.m., at Terry's Pasong Tamo, Makati City. Limited seats are available. For details and reservations, contact Instituto Cervantes at 5261482; or email [email protected].
Marjorie Evasco’s lecture on Don Quijote is presented by Instituto Cervantes in collaboration with the Embassy of Spain. The event will be held on Saturday, August 22, at 10 a.m., at Instituto Cervantes – Manila branch (855 T.M. Kalaw St., Ermita, Manila). Entrance to the lecture is free, but due to limited seats, prior reservation is recommended. RSVP for the lecture: [email protected] or 526-1482.
For further information about these and other cultural activities of Instituto Cervantes, please visit www.manila.cervantes.es or Instituto Cervantes’ Facebook page: www.facebook.com/InstitutoCervantesManila
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