site.btaSpanish Corner Opens a New Chapter at Sofia’s National Library

A Spanish Corner opened at the St. Cyril and Methodius National Library, the library said on Thursday. The initiative reflects the library’s long-standing cooperation with the Embassy of Spain in Bulgaria, Instituto Cervantes and the National Library of Spain.

Library Director Kalina Ivanova said the relationship built over the years could best be described as creativity, tradition and innovation.

"Spanish Corner will certainly be in good company, alongside so many nations represented in this hall of fame of the Gutenberg Galaxy," Ambassador Miguel Alonso Berrio said as he described the role of literary and educational corners not only as part of cultural diplomacy, but also as new horizons in cooperation between the two countries.

About 520 million people, or 6.2% of the global population, speak Spanish as their first language. It is the third most used language online, after English and Mandarin, and the second most used in film production worldwide, alongside the continued global rise of Latin music.

"Learning Spanish is becoming ever more attractive, especially here in Bulgaria. In fact, Bulgaria is an early example of the journey of the Spanish language around the world," Berrio added.

Honorary Professor of Contemporary History at the University of Santiago de Compostela Ramon Villares Paz also attended the opening of the literary corner. Addressing diplomats, guests and colleagues, he praised the national library for the initiative. He also donated one of his books to the library, where it was placed in the Spain corner.

Ivanova also surprised guests with a special display marking the opening of the Spain corner, featuring a bibliophile edition of Don Quixote. The luxury facsimile was produced in New York in 1905 to commemorate the 300th anniversary of the printing of the first edition of Miguel de Cervantes’ celebrated novel.

The edition was commissioned by the Hispanic Society of America in Manhattan and produced from original copies held in its collections. The print run was limited to 100 hand-numbered copies, in keeping with bibliophile standards.

The set held by the St. Cyril and Methodius National Library was donated by the Hispanic Society of America in 1927.