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| Miguel de Cervantes |
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| Miguel de Unamuno |
It's no doubt been noted somewhere and on various occasions that two of Spain's greatest writers, Miguel de Cervantes and Miguel de Unamuno, had the same birthday. Presumedly born on September 29, 1547, Cervantes famously gave the world
Don Quijote, along with the wonderful word
quixotic. Born September 29, 1864, Unamuno was a writer, intellectual and educator -- and part of the restlessness of thought that brought about Spain's Generación de '98. One of Unamuno's better-known books was the fictional
Niebla (
Mist) written in 1914, but he also took it upon himself to pen
Vida de Don Quijote y Sancho, a reworking of Cervantes' epic. Unamuno was dissatisfied with too many tangents in the original version, and he seemed to prefer an individualistic vs. idealistic ending.
The real Don Quixote, he who remained on earth and lives among us with his spirit — this Don Quixote was not converted, this Don Quixote continues to incite us to make ourselves ridiculous, this Don Quixote must never die.
Miguel de Unamuno
