The day of our language, Spanish, is celebrated every year on April 23, but why? Here are the reasons.
This is a commemoration organized by the Cervantes Institute to celebrate the importance of Spanish as an international language, which is already has more than 577 million Spanish speakers in the world.
Why is the Spanish Language Day celebrated on this date and not another?
The celebration coincides with the same day that, in 1616, Miguel de Cervantes y Saavedra, creator of Don Quixote, died.
his novel The Ingenious Gentleman Don Quijote of La Mancha It is considered the masterpiece of the Spanish language. That is why this day began to be celebrated.
In addition, the United Nations celebrates this day to raise awareness in the world about the history, culture and use of Spanish as an official language.
Since when is Language Day celebrated in Colombia?
It was officially instituted in 1938, during the government of President Alfonso López Pumarejo, through Decree 707. Later, at the III Congress of Academies of the Spanish Language, held in Bogotá in 1963, the Colombian government sanctioned said decree as Law.
In summary, Language Day must be celebrated by law in our country, but it is also commemorated internationally in other Hispanic nations.
La ñapa: April 16 also coincides with the birth of William Shakespeare, the pioneering poet and playwright of the English language. What a coincidence!
With information from: UN.org, Cervantes Institute Y Columbia Educates.