XVIII Don Juan in Alcalá

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When José de Zorrilla, wrote Don Juan Tenorio in 1844, he was feeding from previous Spanish traditions: the Don Juan, the boisterous, reveler, fearless,  womanizer man, who enjoys seducing innocent and virtuous women, and then leaving them  afterwards  alone, in distress and without their virtue!. In his own words:

¡Cielos! ¿Qué es lo que escuché?
¡Hasta los muertos así
dejan sus tumbas por mí!
(Oh my God! What is that I heard?
Even the dead, in this way,
leave their tombs for me)

“ Yo a las cabañas bajé,
yo a los palacio subí,
yo a los claustros escalé
y  en todas partes dejé
memoria amarga de mí”
(I went down to the huts,
I went up to the palaces,
I climbed the cloisters
and everywhere,  I left
a bitter memory of me)

The play is set on the night of All Saint’s Day, and bearing that in mind, be sure to count on visits from ghosts, the dead and voices from beyond the Afterlife, which may bring terror and confusion even to Don Juan, fearless of God and man.
José de Zorilla would have never imagined the success his play would enjoy even today. Don Juan Tenorio is possible the longest-running play in Spain, soon after its first representation, it became a tradition of Spanish theater to perform Don Juan Tenorio on All Saints Day.

For more than a quarter of a century, Alcalá de Henares has held one of the most important Don Juan open-air representations each year; taking advantage of its marvellous monuments to host the estimated yearly crowd of up to 40,000 attendees of the play.

This year the event takes place in La Huerta del Obispo, inside the Palacio Arzobispal, on 1st and 2nd November at 19:00 hours.

The entrance is completely free, but be aware that no chairs are available, and usually people stand up for the performance.

Here is the facebook link of the Don Juan en Alcalá Event in 2012

Map:

View Larger Map

¡Cielos! ¿Qué es lo que escuché?
¡Hasta los muertos así
dejan sus tumbas por mí!
(Oh my God! What is that I heard?
Even the dead, in this way,
leave their tombs for me)

“ Yo a las cabañas bajé,
yo a los palacio subí,
yo a los claustros escalé
y  en todas partes dejé
memoria amarga de mí”
(I went down to the huts,
I went up to the palaces,
I climbed the cloisters
and everywhere,  I left
a bitter memory of me)

The play is set on the night of All Saint’s Day, and bearing that in mind, be sure to count on visits from ghosts, the dead and voices from beyond the Afterlife, which may bring terror and confusion even to Don Juan, fearless of God and man.
José de Zorilla would have never imagined the success his play would enjoy even today. Don Juan Tenorio is possible the longest-running play in Spain, soon after its first representation, it became a tradition of Spanish theater to perform Don Juan Tenorio on All Saints Day.

For more than a quarter of a century, Alcalá de Henares has held one of the most important Don Juan open-air representations each year; taking advantage of its marvellous monuments to host the estimated yearly crowd of up to 40,000 attendees of the play.

This year the event takes place in La Huerta del Obispo, inside the Palacio Arzobispal, on 1st and 2nd November at 19:00 hours.

The entrance is completely free, but be aware that no chairs are available, and usually people stand up for the performance.

Here is the facebook link of the Don Juan en Alcalá Event in 2012

Map:

View Larger Map

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