XVIII Diplomatic Reading of ‘El Quijote’ in the town of Esquivias

Representatives from 16 embassies participated in the reading of excerpts from Don Quixote in their different languages.

Members of the Diplomatic Corps with Mayor of Esquivias, Almudena González.

Members of the Diplomatic Corps with Mayor of Esquivias, Almudena González. /Photos: Courtesy of the City Council of Esquivias.

Last Wednesday, April 22, the town of Esquivias in Toledo celebrated one of its most special cultural events: the XVIII Universal Reading of Don Quixote.

In this event, framed within the programming of Book Day, with which the Esquivias city council continues to pay tribute to Miguel de Cervantes, a distinguished resident of the town, the universal nature of his work is highlighted.

During the afternoon, representatives from 16 embassies participated in the reading of excerpts from Don Quixote in their different languages, turning Esquivias into a meeting point between cultures, countries, and languages.

The event was presented by the mayor of Esquivias, Almudena González, and the reading was opened by Joaquín Romera, vice president of the Toledo Provincial Council. The presence of mayors from the La Sagra region and institutional representatives from the province was also noted.

The closing was led by the mayor of Toledo, Carlos Velázquez, bringing a final touch to a day filled with culture, emotion, and recognition of Cervantes’ legacy.

This year’s event featured the participation of the embassies of Armenia, Serbia, Cyprus, Latvia, Slovenia, Lithuania, Chile, Belgium, Bulgaria, South Korea, Estonia, India, Italy, Paraguay, Portugal and Romania, as well as the attendance of all authorities, neighbors, and residents who accompanied the diplomats.

The ambassador of Serbia, Irena Sarac, during her speech at the event.
Sos Avetisyan, ambassador of Armenia, during his reading of Don Quixote.
Reading of Don Quixote by the ambassador of Cyprus, Michalis Ioannou.
The ambassador of Lithuania, Tomas Irnius, during his reading.