Spanish Language World Day is celebrated, as Cervantes Week begins in Madrid

In commemoration of the death of Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra and Garcilaso de la Vega, ten curiosities about the Spanish language, the second most studied language worldwide.

Invent new worlds and keep your word,” recommended the Chilean poet Vicente Huidobro. Today is Spanish World Day, the language that for more than a thousand years has promoted the invention of new worlds.

By decision of the United Nations (where Spanish has been one of the official languages since 1945) this date was chosen to commemorate the deaths of the singular Miguel de Cervantes, author of “Don Quixote;” and the Spanish-Incan, Garcilaso de la Vega, aka "the prince of American writers," and the Venezuelan writer Teresa de la Parra. In several countries, April 23 is also celebrated as World Book and Copyright Day.

According to the Duolingo web platform, intended for free language learning, Spanish is the second most studied language worldwide; by 2060, according to estimates by the Instituto Cervantes, the United States will be the second Spanish-speaking country in the world (the first will undoubtedly continue to be its neighbor to the south, Mexico).

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