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- Miguel de Cervantes' baptism occurred on October 9, 1547, at Alcala de Henares, Spain, so it is reasonable to assume he was born around that time, and Alcala de Henares has long claimed itself as his birthplace. The son of Rodrigo de Cervantes, an itinerant and not-too-successful surgeon, Miguel was educated by monks as he and his family wandered from city to city. In 1570 he obtained a position as a kind of secretary to Cardinal Aquaviva in Rome. In 1571 he became a soldier and fought in the famous Battle of Lepanto that pitted Spain against Turkish forces. Being ill with fever at the time, and wishing to prove his bravery, he asked to be put in the most dangerous fighting position on his ship. He was, and received two wounds in the chest and one in his left hand, which rendered him disabled for life. Returning home with his brother Rodrigo in 1575, they were captured by the Barbary pirates and sold into slavery. He and his fellow captives made three attempts to escape, all unsuccessful - one because they were betrayed by a fellow captive. In each attempt Cervantes deliberately shouldered the blame on himself, in an attempt to shield his fellow captives from torture. The Turkish Bey was so impressed with his perhaps foolhardy audacity that he spared him each time. The Cervantes family was able to ransom Rodrigo but not Miguel, and he remained in captivity until 1580, when he was finally ransomed by two Trinitarian friars.
He then began a writing career, which was at first completely unsuccessful due to the fact that Cervantes deliberately tried to write the kind of plays and poetry popular at the time, and to imitate their style, something he was woefully inadequate at doing. He fathered a daughter out of wedlock, and entered into an unhappy marriage in 1584. He took on a series of odd jobs to make ends meet. His financial difficulties netted him three or more prison terms and an excommunication by the Spanish Inquisition, although it was clear he never committed any crimes. Finally, in 1605, he published the first part of the novel which gave him immortality, the brilliant and unforgettable "Don Quixote de La Mancha", which was supposed to be a satire on the chivalric novels of the time, but was actually a work unlike anything anyone else had ever written (the second part followed ten years later, after the success of the first had produced a plagiarized sequel that not only coarsened the satire but contained openly insulting remarks about Cervantes). "Don Quixote"'s surface seems comic, but Cervantes, finally writing in his own personal style and no one else's, created two characters, Don Quixote and Sancho Panza, to whom he gives more multi-layered depth than anyone else up to that time had given characters, except possibly the depth that William Shakespeare had given to Hamlet. The novel "Don Quixote" itself becomes an ironic mixture of comedy, humiliation, disillusionment and tragedy. All of its characters, except those in the interpolated romance novels, are believable and each reacts to Don Quixote's madness in an illuminating way. "Don Quixote" was immensely successful in its time, but it did not make Cervantes a wealthy man.
His other highly regarded works are his collection of "Exemplary Stories", published in 1613, and his "Eight Interludes", published in 1615. He died of dropsy on April 23, 1616, but in an especially ironic twist, his gravesite is lost. His contemporary, William Shakespeare, died ten days later, which according to the Julian calendar then used in England was, coincidentally, also April 23, 1616. Strangely enough, to the end of his life, Cervantes valued his poetic work more highly than his prose (perhaps just a case of wishful thinking) and never considered "Don Quixote" his masterpiece. He died without knowing that it would be one day regarded as the world's greatest novel by many critics. - Writer
- Soundtrack
Félix Lope de Vega was born on 25 November 1562 in Madrid, Spain. He was a writer, known for Ballet Tales (1955), Uchitel tantsev (1952) and La moza de cántaro (1954). He was married to Juana de Guardo and Isabel de Urbina. He died on 27 August 1635 in Madrid, Spain.- Francisco de Zurbarán was born on 7 November 1598 in Fuente de Cantos, Badajoz, Extremadura, Spain. Francisco is known for Sister Wendy at the Norton Simon Museum (2002). Francisco died on 27 August 1664 in Madrid, Spain.
- Writer
- Soundtrack
Pedro Calderón de la Barca was born on 17 January 1600 in Madrid, Spain. He was a writer, known for The Night of Love (1927), Der Richter von Zalamea (1920) and El príncipe encadenado (1960). He died on 25 May 1681 in Madrid, Spain.- Additional Crew
Giovanni Battista Tiepolo was born on 5 March 1696 in Venice, Republic of Venice [now Veneto, Italy]. Giovanni Battista is known for Ron Haviv: The Lost Rolls (2015). Giovanni Battista was married to Guardi, Maria Cecilia. Giovanni Battista died on 27 March 1770 in Madrid, Spain.- Music Department
- Composer
- Soundtrack
Antonio Francisco Javier José Soler y Ramos, also known as Father Antonio Soler was a Spanish composer, harpsichordist, organist and musicologist of late Baroque and early Classicism. He is known for having made an important contribution to the repertoire of keyboard music and baroque concert with his quintets, organ concerts and concerts for violin and viola.
Soler is considered one of the most important representatives of the school of keyboard music of the eighteenth century, current driven in Spain by Domenico Scarlatti.- Music Department
- Soundtrack
Luigi Boccherini was born on 19 February 1743 in Lucca, Republic of Lucca [now Tuscany, Italy]. He is known for Congo (1995), 2012 (2009) and Cruising (1980). He died on 28 May 1805 in Madrid, Spain.- Music Department
- Soundtrack
Evaristo San Miguel Valledor was born on 26 October 1785 in Gijón, Asturias, Spain. He is known for Laibach: España (2006) and Laibach: Volk - Dead in Trbovlje (2008). He died on 29 May 1862 in Madrid, Spain.- Duque de Rivas was born on 10 March 1791 in Córdoba, Andalucía, Spain. He was a writer, known for La forza del destino (1911), Don Álvaro o la fuerza del sino (1908) and Tutto Verdi (2012). He died on 22 June 1865 in Madrid, Spain.
- Juan Eugenio Hartzenbusch was born on 6 September 1806 in Madrid, Spain. Juan Eugenio was a writer, known for Los amantes de Teruel (1912). Juan Eugenio died on 2 August 1880 in Madrid, Spain.
- Ventura de la Vega was born on 14 July 1807 in Buenos Aires, Argentina. He was a writer, known for El hombre de mundo (1949), Estudio 1 (1965) and Teatro de siempre (1966). He was married to Manuela Oreiro de Lema. He died on 29 November 1865 in Madrid, Spain.
- Mariano José de Larra was born on 24 March 1809 in Madrid, Spain. He was a writer, known for Los libros (1974). He was married to Josefa Wetoret Velasco. He died on 13 February 1837 in Madrid, Spain.
- Composer
- Soundtrack
Emilio Arrieta was born on 21 October 1821 in Puente la Reina, Spain. He was a composer, known for Teatro Apolo (1950), Espérame en el cielo (1988) and Banda sonora (2007). He died on 11 February 1894 in Madrid, Spain.- Composer
- Soundtrack
Francisco Asenjo Barbieri was born on 3 August 1823 in Madrid, Spain. He was a composer, known for El Barberillo de Lavapiés (1996) and Antología de la zarzuela (1971). He died on 17 February 1894 in Madrid, Spain.- Juan Valera was born on 8 September 1824 in Cabra, Córdoba, Andalucía, Spain. He was a writer, known for Pepita Jiménez (1946), Pepita Jiménez (1925) and Bride to Be (1975). He was married to Dolores Delavat. He died in 1905 in Madrid, Spain.
- Eugénie de Montijo was born on 5 May 1826 in Granada, Spain. She was married to Charles-Louis Napoléon Bonaparte. She died on 11 July 1920 in Madrid, Spain.
- José Echegaray y Eizaguirre was born on 19 April 1832 in Madrid, Spain. José was a writer, known for Lovers? (1927), The Celebrated Scandal (1915) and The World and His Wife (1920). José died on 14 September 1916 in Madrid, Spain.
- Vicente Riva Palacio was born on 16 October 1832 in Mexico City, Distrito Federal, Mexico. He was a writer, known for Monja casada, virgen y mártir (1935), Hombre o demonio (1940) and Martín Garatuza (1935). He died on 22 November 1896 in Madrid, Spain.
- Writer
- Soundtrack
Author of the classic novella El sombrero de tres picos (1944), a graceful, humorous picaresque story. Liberal and anti-clerical, Alarcón was the notorious chief editor of the periodical El Látigo (The Whip). Wrote numerous novels, short stories, poetry and drama, but remained famous for abovementioned novella and the novel El escándalo (1943). Manuel de Falla made El Sombrero... into a famous ballet.- Composer
- Writer
- Soundtrack
Manuel Fernández Caballero was born on 14 March 1835 in Murcia, Spain. He was a composer and writer, known for El último cuplé (1957), Los aparecidos (1927) and De Madrid al cielo (1952). He died on 26 February 1906 in Madrid, Spain.- Writer
- Soundtrack
Gustavo Adolfo Bécquer was born on 17 February 1836 in Sevilla, Andalucía, Spain. He was a writer, known for The Witching Hour (1985), Jalisco canta en Sevilla (1949) and Curse of the Blind Dead (2020). He was married to Casta Esteban y Navarro. He died on 22 December 1870 in Madrid, Spain.- Spanish novelist Benito Perez Galdos was born in Las Palmas, in the Canary Islands, in 1843 to a wealthy family. He was sent to an English school in the Canary Islands, and later he studied law at the University of Madrid. Although he graduated with a law degree, the practice of law never interested him, and upon graduation he became involved in the literary circles of Madrid, and eventually got a job as the literary and drama critic of the magazine "La Nacion". He had always wanted to be a playwright, and although he wrote and published numerous plays--many of which met with great success and some of which were turned into films--he soon realized that his greatest talent was as a novelist.
He continued writing plays and novels while on the staffs of various literary publications, such as "Las Cortes" and "La Revista de Espana" magazines, and eventually he secured a position as editor of "El Debate". After a visit to France, however, he undertook what is generally considered his greatest work--"Episodios Nacionales", a project that became four series of books of ten volumes each and one series of eight books. Each book came out an average of every three months, in addition to his "regular" novels.
A lifelong bachelor, he was a somewhat reclusive man, though he did travel extensively in France, England and Spain, and the general public knew very little about his private life. Towards the end of his life his eyesight began failing him, and by 1912 he was completely blind. That didn't stop him, however; he continued to write, although dictating his work to a secretary, until he died in Madrid in 1920. - Music Department
- Composer
- Soundtrack
Federico Chueca was born on 5 May 1846 in Madrid, Spain. He was a composer, known for Melodías inolvidables (1959), Teatro Apolo (1950) and La alegría de la huerta (1940). He died on 20 June 1908 in Madrid, Spain.- Writer
- Soundtrack
Miguel Echegaray was born on 29 September 1848 in Quintanar de la Orden, Toledo, Castilla-La Mancha, Spain. He was a writer, known for Gigantes y cabezudos (1926), De Madrid al cielo (1952) and TNC Digital: L'Emperadriu del Paral·lel (2021). He died in 1927 in Madrid, Spain.- Composer
- Soundtrack
Tomás Bretón was born on 29 December 1850 in Salamanca, Spain. He was a composer, known for Currito de la Cruz (1926), La verbena de la Paloma (1935) and La Dolores (1940). He died on 2 December 1923 in Madrid, Spain.- Luis Coloma was born on 9 January 1851 in Jerez de la Frontera, Andalucía, Spain. He was a writer, known for Boy (1926), Boy (1940) and Pequeñeces... (1950). He died on 10 June 1915 in Madrid, Spain.
- Music Department
- Composer
- Soundtrack
Ruperto Chapí was born on 27 March 1851 in Villena, Alicante, Spain. He was a composer, known for Teatro Apolo (1950), De Madrid al cielo (1952) and La danza del corazón (1953). He was married to Vicenta Selva Alvarez. He died on 25 March 1909 in Madrid, Spain.- The Countess of Pardo Bazan was the first female university professor in Spanish history. At the Madrid University, she gave courses in modern literature. She also introduced French naturalism in Spain with the creation of her major novel _Los Pazos de Ulloa_. With over 20 novels and numerous short stories, Emilia Pardo Bazan is considered one of Spain's greatest 'cuentitas'.
- Armando Palacio Valdés was born on 4 October 1853 in Entralgo, Asturias, Spain. He was a writer, known for La maja de los cantares (1946), José (1926) and La hermana San Sulpicio (1927). He died on 3 February 1938 in Madrid, Spain.
- Queen María Cristina was born on 21 June 1858 in Groß Seelowitz, Moravia, Austria-Hungary [now Zidlochovice, South Moravia, Czech Republic]. She was an actress, known for Corazón de reina (1926). She was married to King Alfonso XII of Spain. She died on 8 February 1929 in Madrid, Madrid, Spain.
- Maria Christina of Austria was born on 21 July 1858 in Moravia, Austria-Hungary [now Czech Republic]. She was married to King Alfonso XII. She died on 6 February 1929 in Madrid, Spain.
- Santiago Rusiñol was born on 24 February 1861 in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. He was a writer, known for El místico (1926), L'auca del senyor Esteve (1929) and La alegría que pasa (1934). He died on 13 June 1931 in Aranjuez, Madrid, Spain.
- Natalio Rivas was born on 8 March 1865 in Albuñol, Granada, Andalucía, Spain. He died on 16 January 1958 in Madrid, Madrid, Spain.
- Joaquín Abati was born on 29 June 1865 in Madrid, Spain. He was a writer, known for No te ofendas, Beatriz (1953), El gran mentiroso (1953) and El orgullo de Albacete (1927). He died on 30 July 1936 in Madrid, Spain.
- Writer
- Soundtrack
Carlos Fernández Shaw was born on 23 September 1865 in Cadiz, Andalucia, Spain. Carlos was a writer, known for La revoltosa (1950), La chavala (1914) and La chavala (1925). Carlos died on 7 June 1911 in Madrid, Spain.- Ángel Llorca was born on 25 July 1866 in Orcheta, Alicante, Spain. Ángel was a writer, known for Ángel Llorca: El último ensayo (2011). Ángel died on 13 December 1942 in Madrid, Spain.
- Writer
- Director
Jacinto Benavente was born on 12 August 1866 in Madrid, Spain. He was a writer and director, known for La madona de las rosas (1919), Los intereses creados (1919) and Para toda la vida (1923). He died on 14 July 1954 in Madrid, Spain.- Writer
- Soundtrack
Carlos Arniches was born on 11 October 1866 in Alicante, Spain. He was a writer, known for Love in Jalisco (1942), What a Charming Fellow (1943) and No te ofendas, Beatriz (1953). He was married to Pilar Moltó. He died on 16 April 1943 in Madrid, Spain.- María Guerrero was born on 17 April 1867 in Madrid, Spain. She was an actress, known for Un solo corazón o Los muertos viven (1914) and El caballero Casarroja (1914). She was married to Fernando Díaz de Mendoza. She died on 23 January 1928 in Madrid, Madrid, Spain.
- Writer
- Soundtrack
Antonio Paso was born on 9 September 1868 in Granada, Andalucía, Spain. He was a writer, known for Superintelligence (2020), Aventura oriental (1935) and Su desconsolada esposa (1958). He died on 11 July 1958 in Madrid, Spain.- Ramón Menéndez Pidal was born on 13 March 1869 in A Coruña, Spain. He was married to María Amalia Goyri y Goyri. He died on 14 November 1968 in Madrid, Spain.
- Federico Reparaz was born on 1 September 1869 in Linares, Jaén, Andalucia, Spain. He was a writer, known for El gran mentiroso (1953), Cuide a su marido (1950) and Lluvia de hijos (1948). He died on 9 February 1924 in Madrid, Spain.
- Writer
- Director
Alejandro Pérez Lugín was born on 22 February 1870 in Madrid, Spain. He was a writer and director, known for La casa de la Troya (1925), Currito de la Cruz (1926) and In Gay Madrid (1930). He died on 5 September 1926 in Madrid, Spain.- Composer
- Soundtrack
Vicente Lleó was born on 19 November 1870 in Valencia, Spain. He was a composer, known for La corte de Faraón (1985), Mi hijo no es lo que parece (1974) and La corte de faraón (1944). He died on 28 February 1922 in Madrid, Spain.- Serafín Álvarez Quintero was born on 26 March 1871 in Utrera, Seville, Andalucía, Spain. He was a writer, known for Mariquilla Terremoto (1939), La patria chica (1943) and Malvaloca (1954). He died on 12 April 1938 in Madrid, Spain.
- Composer
- Music Department
- Soundtrack
Amadeu Vives was born on 18 November 1871 in Collbató, Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. He was a composer, known for El amor solfeando (1930), La danza del corazón (1953) and Bohemios (1939). He died on 2 December 1932 in Madrid, Madrid, Spain.- Writer
- Actor
Pío Baroja was born on 28 December 1872 in Donostia-San Sebastián, Guipúzcoa, País Vasco, Spain. He was a writer and actor, known for Al Hollywood madrileño (1927), Zalacaín el aventurero (1955) and The Search (1966). He died on 30 October 1956 in Madrid, Spain.- Joaquín Álvarez Quintero was born on 20 January 1873 in Utrera, Seville, Andalucía, Spain. He was a writer, known for Mariquilla Terremoto (1939), La patria chica (1943) and Malvaloca (1954). He died on 14 June 1944 in Madrid, Spain.
- Writer
- Additional Crew
José Martínez Ruiz 'Azorín' was born on 8 June 1873 in Monóvar, Alicante, Spain. He was a writer, known for La guerrilla (1973), El teatro (1970) and Platea (1962). He was married to Julia Guinda de Urzanqui. He died on 2 March 1967 in Madrid, Spain.- José Serrano was born on 14 October 1873 in Sueca, Valencia, Spain. He was an actor, known for Best Seller (1982). He died on 8 March 1941 in Madrid, Spain.