How to Take a Literary Trip Through Spain

Spain has a literary history to rival any of the great European countries. Reading works of the great Spanish scribes before, during or after a trip to Spain will provide a unique perspective on the cities and towns you visit and will enrich your sight-seeing to cathedrals, bull rings and other tourist favorites. It will give you an unparalleled understanding of Spanish people and culture. Here are a few pointers to get you started.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

1. Read Cervantes’ "Don Quijote." Perhaps no other book or author so defines a country as Miguel de Cervantes and his famous El ingenioso hidalgo Don Quijote de la Mancha does for Spain. The book tells the tale of the delusional don Quijote and his adventures in search of his true love. The book was an immediate success, and editions in Portuguese, Italian and Dutch were soon released. Today the book is widely considered one of the greatest novels ever written.

2. Read a Federico Garcia Lorca play. After Cervantes, perhaps the next most widely read Spanish writer is the tragic Federico Garcia Lorca. Killed when he was only 38 at the outbreak of the bloody Spanish Civil War, Lorca penned over 13 plays and many poems. One of his most famous plays, "La Casa de Bernarda Alba," was later turned into a movie.

3. Visit the Garcia Lorca statue in Madrid. In the center of Madrid, in the lovely Plaza de Santa Ana, stands a statue of Garcia Lorca. While beautiful, this statue has a controversial past as it was erected in the center of the city which for countless years was the home to General Franco, the man many claim was ultimately responsible for Garcia Lorca’s death. The bars and restaurants that line the plaza make a perfect stop for lunch or a coffee.

4. Read Unamuno’s San Manuel Bueno, martir. Unamuno was a Spanish writer from the Basque city of Bilbao, and was a key figure in the group called the Generation of ’98. This band of writers, poets, essayists and artists that came to prominence during the Spanish-American War revitalized Spanish literature. Unamuno’s most important work, San Manuel Bueno, martir tells the tale of a parish priest in a small town in Spain who questions his faith privately. In many ways, the main character’s troubles are seen as representing Spain’s troubles as a country.

5. Read Antonio Machado’s poetry. Also a member of the Generation of ’98, Machado was born in Seville, Spain, where a plaque outside his birthplace can still be visited. Publishing seven books of poetry from 1903 to 1936, Machado came to write about Spanish life from the working class to the beauty of the Castillian countryside.