The Plenary of the Alcalá de Henares City Council has unanimously approved requesting the Community of Madrid to process the declaration of Cervantine Week as an International Tourist Interest Festival, a further step for the city's major event.
The Plenary of the Alcalá de Henares City Council has given the green light to the request for Cervantine Week to be declared an International Tourist Interest Festival. The initiative, approved unanimously, urges the regional government of the Community of Madrid to process the request before the Secretary of State for Tourism.
A leap from national to international
The Deputy Mayor and Councillor for Tourism, Isabel Ruiz Maldonado, explained that Cervantine Week already has regional (2000) and national (2016) recognitions. Now, the goal is to make the international leap. "24 years after being declared a Regional Tourist Interest Festival, and 8 years after being declared a National Tourist Interest Festival, Cervantine Week faces its international challenge," she stated.
Ruiz Maldonado highlighted that the event "enjoys social, citizen, commercial, tourist, promotional, institutional, and informational support. An almost perfect model of a large-scale event." The international declaration would mean a global recognition of the most important cultural event in Alcalá.
300,000 visitors at each edition
Cervantine Week is celebrated every October, around the anniversary of Miguel de Cervantes' baptism on October 9. Its programme includes the Cervantine Market, the Popular Reading of Don Quixote, the Civic Procession of Cervantes' Baptismal Record, the Antique and Second-hand Book Fair, the Alcalá City Awards, and the Cervantes Chico Award, among other activities.
In the last two editions, the event attracted 300,000 visitors, which represents a significant boost for the local economy. "It is the action with the greatest impact in terms of the number of tourists, hotel bookings, and restaurants," emphasized Ruiz Maldonado. Cervantine Week reinforces Alcalá's image as a World Heritage City and a reference for the Cervantine legacy.
The largest cultural event among heritage cities
The councillor stated that Cervantine Week is "the major cultural and tourist event not only in Alcalá but across all the cities that make up the Group of World Heritage Cities in Spain." She also recalled that the Cervantes Birthplace Museum, located in Alcalá, is the most visited museum managed by the Community of Madrid.
"There is no cultural, tourist, and leisure manifestation in Spain that brings together the values of Cervantes and embodies a cultural, leisure, tourist, and commercial model of that magnitude," Ruiz Maldonado assured. "Alcalá achieves each year with Cervantine Week a window to Spain and the world."
What does it mean for the residents of Alcalá?
If the international declaration succeeds, Cervantine Week will gain global projection, attracting more foreign tourists and generating more economic activity in the city. For the residents, it will mean greater recognition of their heritage and, presumably, an even more ambitious cultural programme. The request is already in the hands of the Community of Madrid, which must elevate it to the central government.
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