The Central Library of the Universidad Industrial de Santander (UIS) will commemorate on Wednesday, April 23 the Spanish Language and Book Day with a special day called “In verse and prose”, which will include various activities focused on encouraging reading and writing, especially poetry, among the university community.
This day has its origin in the commemoration of the death of the renowned Spanish writer Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra, author of the famous work The Ingenious Hidalgo Don Quixote de la Mancha, who died on April 22, 1616.
“UNESCO decided in 1995 to commemorate this day because of the coincidence in the date of death of Cervantes Saavedra, William Shakespeare and Inca Garcilaso de la Vega, being a very special date for the more than 495 million people who speak Spanish in the world,” said Tania Trespalacios Restrepo, a professional of the UIS Central Library.
During the day, attendees will be able to enjoy an original installation of poems inside a bird cage -a symbol of creative freedom-, as well as a collection of 120 books of poetry by authors from different parts of the world available for consultation and loan.
There will also be declamation contests with attractive prizes:
“We will have contests at 10 a.m. and 3 p.m. We will have contests at 10 a.m. and 3 p.m.. Participants will be given a poem, they will have to learn it and recite it. Whoever does it correctly will win a book,” added Trespalacios Restrepo.
Finally, literature lovers will also be able to explore the works of classic authors such as Cervantes Saavedra, William Shakespeare and Inca Garcilaso de la Vega, pillars of universal literature.
