|
|
|
|
|
CERVANTES AND THE "THREE CULTURES"
Don Quixote and Sancho Panza in the Land of the Three Cultures
“In a village of La Mancha, the name of which I have no desire to call to mind, there lived not long since, one of those gentlemen that keep a lance in the lance-rack, an old buckler, a lean hack, and a greyhound for coursing”. |
|
Miguel de Cervantes was a writer that, with his famous Don Quixote, was capable to develop a unique style in Literature. He was the first one who was able to deeply understand the coexistence of the three cultures in the three ethnic groups that were living in rapprochement in the whole La Mancha Land. With his irony and sarcasm he tried to pass judgment on the moral and the censorship that existed on those days in Spain. |
| Don Quixote is a piece of literary work, which allows the reader to focus, with different lenses, the theory of myths or archetypical criticism in the three cultures: the Arab, the Jewish and the Christian. |
 |
Cradle of civilizations, place of battles and wars, La Mancha is the stage where Cervantes gave expression to his famous characters, Don Quixote and Sancho Panza, in a mixture of dreams and tragedy, where the different voices of the different cultures joined together to recall the adventures of the illustrious nobleman D. Alonso Quijano. |
|
The name of La Mancha comes from the Arab word manxa, which means dry land. The great Hispanist and Arabist Scholar Mahmud Ali Makki stated that La Mancha was known as al-yauf. Fahs al-Luyy (Field of the Light?) which went from Lillo to Lagunas de Ruidera had his provincial capital in Quasr’Atiyya (Alcázar de San Juan). Cide Hamete Benengeli is the Moorish voice which gives Cervantes the freedom to discuss and remark on his own story.
|
Cide Hamete focusses his thoughts in a coexistence which is neither legitimate not genuine, but only suspicious. That way, Cervantes can manage the critical distance that allows him to denounce the institutions, the morals and the values. The Arab voice establishes the ethics and the role of the characters in his novel, with the final purpose of mocking the profound signs of their traditions. |
 |
Is there a hidden Jewish meaning in Don Quixote? Probably, it will never be possible to prove that Cervantes was a cristiano nuevo, but it is believed that Cervantes family was among the many noble clans in Spain that were of converse origin. It is obvious that the character of Don Quixote is based on Jewish models. What could be more Jewish that Don Quixote’s attempt to live a life based on his readings? Don Quixote is the most poignant lament over the loss of an universe. |
La Mancha, the REGION OF THE THREE CULTURES can boast to have had amongst their most important well-known Jewish personalities, philosophers and doctors, like Yehuda ha-Levi (1075 – 1141) or Samuel ha-Levi (Samuel Ha-Levi Abulafia) or Yosef ibn Ferrusel, Maimónides, Judah ben Joseph ibn Ezra, Joseph ben Salomon ibn Shushan and many others whose books have been translated to different languages.
We invite our guests to have an immersion in our three cultures to better understand Don Quixote’s madness. The madness of the prophets, visionaries, saints and mystics. Like Don Quixote we will plant seeds of doubts in the minds of thoughtful readers, in our minds. Is that not called LITERATURE?
We can arrange, at your convenience, courses in literature, in our School of Writers in Alcázar de San Juan.
TAILOR-MADE COURSES (read more)
|
|
THE ALONSO QUIJANO SCHOOL WRITERS ASSOCIATION
LITERARY CONTESTS
READING CLUB FÓRUM ALONSO QUIJANO
DIGITAL MAGAZINE ESCRIBE
Customer Service Hours:
Monday to Friday
from 9:00 a.m. to 13:00 p.m.
Telephone / Fax:
(+34) 926-55 08 76
(+34) 926-54 77 18
For further enquiries you can contact us via e-mail:
|
|
