Book marathon: Don Quijote
Spain’s La Semana del Libro is staging a marathon public reading of Don Quijote de la Mancha as part of World Book Day programming. ((hoy.es)) The week also pairs the marathon with storytelling sessions and family activities, including an event called “El cuento entre canciones” that mixes music and reading. ((hoy.es))
Badajoz will mark World Book Day this week with a public marathon reading of *Don Quijote de la Mancha* at the city’s Museo Luis de Morales. (lacronicabadajoz.com) The reading is scheduled for April 23, 2026, and is set to run from 9:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. as part of the city’s Semana del Libro program. (lacronicabadajoz.com) Badajoz’s book week runs from April 23 to April 26, 2026, with events centered on the Museo de la Ciudad “Luis de Morales.” The program also includes storytelling sessions and children’s activities tied to World Book Day 2026. (grada.es, regiondigital.com) One of the follow-up events, “El cuento entre canciones,” is planned for April 24 at 8 p.m. in the museum cloister. Publisher Aristas Martínez organized it with artists Rui Díaz and Mercedes Trigo, who will accompany the reading with voice and instruments. (elperiodicoextremadura.com) The timing tracks a global date on the literary calendar. UNESCO marks World Book and Copyright Day every year on April 23, and Rabat is its World Book Capital for 2026. (unesco.org) Using *Don Quijote* gives the event a book with deep institutional weight in Spanish-language culture. The Instituto Cervantes hosts a complete annotated edition of Miguel de Cervantes’ novel and identifies Part One as published in 1605 and Part Two in 1615. (cvc.cervantes.es) That makes the marathon reading both a local civic event and a familiar format for Spanish literary institutions, which have long used public readings to bring canonical works into plazas, libraries, and museums. (cervantes.org, cvc.cervantes.es) By the end of the week, Badajoz’s program will have moved from a five-hour reading of Cervantes to music-backed storytelling and children’s sessions, all under the same World Book Day banner. (lacronicabadajoz.com, elperiodicoextremadura.com)
