October 12 - Spanish Language Day

Those of us who work in the field of Spanish language education are always filled with a certain sense of pride when the importance and beauty of the subject we teach is recognized.

The Cervantes Institute is responsible for publishing reports and statistics on the use of Spanish, and these always give us the perfect excuse to proudly say “That’s right, I’m a Spanish teacher”.

There are over 7,000 languages spoken on this world of ours that’s revolving in space, and we teach the one that’s the second most spoken after Chinese. Spanish is also a language of great creativity and flexibility; it has stretched and twisted to adapt to new times and new terminology.

The number of students interested in studying Spanish as a second language is steadily increasing, especially in the US, Brazil, France, and other economically relevant countries like Russia and China. The culture of Spanish speaking regions is more popular than ever around the world, where many of the hottest new musicians, authors, and artists are from. And that’s not to mention cooks: the Spanish cook José Andrés is everywhere in American media and he even gave a graduation ceremony speech at George Washington University.   

October 12

On top of all this, the UN has designated October 12 as Spanish Language Day. October 12, the day that Columbus landed on the island of Guanahani without realizing he had arrived to a continent he didn’t know existed, has clearly not always inspired a sense of unity. That becomes quite clear by just taking a look at the different names the day is given in American countries, which range from “Day of Respect for Cultural Diversity” to “Day of Indigenous Resistance”. The date has already been marked on calendars for years on both sides of the Atlantic.

The UN, using pragmatism and intelligence (in my opinion), has given us the opportunity to focus on that which unites us: the Spanish language.

Language days already existed in other languages, and it’s a source of pride to be included in the same club with French, English, Chinese, Russian, and Arabic.

Just like the wonderful Gabo said, who has left us never to return to his house next to Macondo Plaza, who has all the time in the world now to continue dreaming up stories:

“Humankind has entered a third millennium under the empire of words […] the Spanish language must prepare itself for a great role in this boundless future. It’s a historic right. Not for its economic arrogance, like other languages up to today, but for its vitality, its creative dynamics, its vast cultural experience, its velocity and the force of its expansion”.

May the gods of Mount Olympus open their arms and welcome with great pride Gabriel Garcia Márquez, one of the fathers of the Spanish language, master writer, mosca cojonera de la gramática, a unique genious. Amen.