The Spanish Ministry of Culture, through the Directorate General for Books, Comics, and Reading, held a tribute ceremony today, July 24, in Soria to mark the 150th anniversary of the birth of Antonio Machado,
which will be commemorated on July 26.
Antonio Machado is an author who, in the words of Spanish Minister of Culture Ernest Urtasun, 'has managed, like few other authors in our literature, to develop deep and meaningful bonds with his readers; Machado is able to take us by the hand to the very heart of a poem, to make us clearly perceive that this is where we belong'.
In addition to his literary side, Urtasun also highlighted his political side, pointing out that Machado 'was a poet with a civic mission, a staunch defender of the Republic, education, and culture; a free man whose verses grew from the clear spring of the people and who, wherever he went, stood up to fascism'.
