Since 2003, North Carolina artist Rafael A. Osuba has dreamed of organizing a festival in honor of the 400th anniversary of what he considers one of the world’s greatest books of all time, “Don Quixote.” Osuba has had a few setbacks along the way, but after a decade or so of planning, he was finally able to create a seven-month festival to commemorate the novel.
Fully titled “The Ingenious Gentleman Don Quixote of La Mancha,” the two volumes by Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra of Spain were published in 1605 and 1615 and are known as “Don Quixote” together. The novel is a story of Don Quixote, an old man who envisions himself as a knight and goes on fantasy-led adventures with his realist sidekick Sancho Panza.
The festival, which started in September and ends in April, has been successful, but it required long-term planning. Osuba said he tried organizing the festival in 2005 with the 400th anniversary of the first volume of Don Quixote. According to Osuba, the festival did not come to fruition due to the constraints of time and people that were available during the week he planned for the festival to happen.
“In a way, the festival started mirroring the book itself just as Don Quixote tries to accomplish his big dreams,” Osuba said. “It was a good thing that Cervantes wrote two books because I still had the burning and yearning to create a festival. I started planning again in 2011 for the second book’s 400th anniversary in 2015, and this time I had feedback.”
Osuba’s “I am Quixote” festival finally became a reality in 2015 on the birth date of Cervantes, Sept. 29 and will be ending next month on April 23, on the date of the writer’s death. According to the festival’s website, its purpose is to celebrate and recognize “Don Quixote” through artistic creations in the Spanish language.
The festival has had over 133 events across the state of North Carolina with over 40 collaborators, according to Osuba.
“One of the things that makes me proud is that, to date, there hasn’t been a festival with so many collaborators statewide with different types of events of one single theme,” Osuba said.
Most of the events of the festival occur in the Triangle; however, many are also take place in Wilmington, Charlotte, Greensboro and Fayetteville. The genres of the events include visual arts, literature, opera, music, dance, theatre, film, gastronomy and academics.
The events have included an art exhibit related to the themes of the novel, world-renowned scholars such as a Cervantes expert from Cuba, Roberto González Echevarría, a food experience at Latin Quarters Restaurant and a Master Pete’s puppet show.
The festival has also included a concert of the Triangle Youth Philharmonic debuting an original score for the festival, the participation in the North Carolina Latin American Film Festival and exhibits at the North Carolina History Museum, to name just a few.
The festival campaign started from the question “I am Quixote, are you?” which, according to Osuba, was in the hope that people would find the dreamer within themselves that embodies the ever-aspiring character of Don Quixote.
“The message [of the festival] is to dream big,” Osuba said. “If you can dream the impossible dream, it can happen.”
Kay Villa-Garcia, NC State professor of Spanish literature of medieval and early modern Spain, said the novel “Don Quixote” had so much influence on its time when it was published and that it still continues to influence literature today.
“‘Don Quixote’ had so much effect on literature that hadn’t appeared yet in its time,” Villa-Garcia said. “People used it as an example to follow, as it is known as the father of the modern novel. There is so much buried in there: narration, relationships, humor and satire. Cervantes showed that one doesn’t have to go to a university to be a great writer but can have the life experiences that relate into really good literature.”
Although the festival is in its final two months, the events continue to welcome everyone in commemorating “Don Quixote” and Cervantes. According to Osuba, he is looking forward to the upcoming performances of Crispín d’Olot, a world-renowned troubadour from Spain who specializes in reciting medieval Spanish literature.
d’Olot’s performance titled “The Reason of the Unreason” is premiering at UNC-Wilmington on March 1 and will be showing in the Cary Arts Center on March 5.
The final event of the entire festival will be a marathon reading of both books of “Don Quixote” and is being hosted by various North Carolina universities. The challenge of the marathon is to read aloud the two complete parts of “Don Quixote,” for a total of 2,400 minutes, or 40 complete hours, throughout a week. The marathon reading will take place April 18–22 within the hours of a normal work week and will change location each day. The marathon reading encourages all to come and listen or to contribute reading in whichever language they prefer.
“I was careful not to make this festival solely Hispanic but to make it bigger than that,” Osuba said. “This is a global book, not just a Spanish book. I want to give this opportunity for everyone to enjoy it in whichever language is comfortable for them as it is one of the most translated books in the world.”
Villa-Garcia said she is encouraging her students to attend the reading as she believes it “will be a great opportunity to view Cervantes outside the classroom.”
“I hope people remember the satire and humor of the book while at the marathon reading,” Villa-Garcia said. “Just the principle of an old man in the persona of a knight riding his lame horse to go on adventures around one of the least interesting parts of Spain is humorous.”
Osuba said he “can’t think of a better way to end the festival than a marathon reading.” He said that although he probably won’t be organizing the seven-month festival again anytime soon, he hopes to continue the marathon reading annually in continuous commemoration of Cervantes’ “Don Quixote.”
To view the event calendar visit: http://iamquixote.com/el-quixote-festival-events-calendar/
On April 18, the reading will be at UNC-Chapel Hill, on April 19 it will take place at Gardner-Webb University and Lenoir-Rhyne University, on April 20 it will be at Queen’s University of Charlotte, on April 21 it be at Duke University and Elon University and the reading will end on April 22 at NC State and Meredith College.
One of the events of the seven-month festival to celebrate the 400th anniversary of the novel “Don Quixote” was a dining experience at Latin Quarters Restaurant and Bar on Oct. 9 and was called a “Quixotic Night.” Beyond celebrating the literary work, the night featured a “culinary delight” and live music from international musical artists The Henry Linarez Trio.
