Gonzalo Celorio collects the 2025 Cervantes Prize in an act that remembers the “twinning” between Spain and Mexico

The Mexican writer Gonzalo Celorio78 years old, has collected the 2025 Cervantes Prize, dedicating his speech precisely to the author’s sense of humor. ‘Don Quixote’ and defending that The nationality of their native country cannot be “dissociated” from Spanish culture and history.

At the ceremony, there were various mentions of “twinning” between both countriesboth by King Felipe VI and the Minister of Culture, Ernest Urtasun, and the laureate himself.

The event in the Auditorium of the University of Alcalá de Henares (Madrid) and chaired by the Kingshas had the presence of the Minister of Culture, Ernest Urtasun. This is the fourth edition that the President of the Government has not attended, Pedro Sanchez. The president of the Community of Madrid also attended, Isabel Diaz Ayuso.

On a sunny day, Celorio arrived almost an hour and a half early, around 10:10 a.m., accompanied by the General Director of Books, Comics and Reading, María José Gálvez, and his wife Silvia Garza. Dressed in a black morning suit and gray pinstriped pants, Celorio appeared leaning on a brown cane.

Shortly before 11:30 a.m. the Kings made their entrance. Felipe VI also wore a black morning coat, a white vest and the Golden Fleece, while Letizia wore a long cerulean blue dress. This year, military honors have been recovered – in 2025 the military parade did not take place due to the mourning decreed after the death of Pope Francis – and the Spanish anthem was subsequently played before the ceremony began.

“MEXICO IS A SUBSTANTIAL PART OF THE TERRITORY OF LA MANCHA”

The 2025 Cervantes Prize has emphasized that Mexican nationality cannot be “dissociated” from Spanish history and culture.

“I will only state (…) that Mexican nationality cannot be dissociated from Spanish history and culture, which are inherent to it. With its own peculiarities, to a certain extent derived from ancient cultures, in which attempts have been made to superimpose the retrotopia of paradise lost, Mexico is a substantial part of what Carlos Fuentes happily called ‘the territory of La Mancha,'” explained the award-winning essayist.

FOURTH EDITION WITHOUT PEDRO SÁNCHEZ

The event in Alcalá de Henares (Madrid) and chaired by Felipe VI and Letizia, was attended by the Minister of Culture, Ernest Urtasun. This is the fourth edition that the President of the Government, Pedro Sánchez, has not attended.

The Mexican author began by saying that on his deathbed, his father assured him that “he would get there” and that if he couldn’t, he himself would push him. “Today I arrived, dad, precisely today, 64 years later. Thank you“, began the writer, who is the eleventh of twelve brothers.

Although his intervention did not have a title, Celorio has also addressed the “serious” image that the figure of Cervantes has and has explained that in his portraits he misses “the joy of the eyes” that should reflect “the writer’s ingenuity.”

After the event, the author joked that he no longer planned to “never” take the medal off him. This has been expressed during the groups in which, in addition to the authorities, cultural figures such as the director of the RAE, Santiago Muñoz-Machado; the director of the Cervantes Institute, Luis García Montero; the writer and Cervantes Prize 2023, Sergio Ramirez; or the editor of Tusquets, Juan Cerezo.

In his speech, King Felipe VI praised the life and career of Celorio, which in his opinion, remind that Mexico and Spain “are more than brother countries.”

THE KING: “CULTURES INTERLINKED BY LANGUAGE AND CULTURE”

“Gonzalo Celorio embodies, both in his life and in his work, the living expression of that fruitful encounter between both traditions. Added to his Mexican heritage is a close connection with Spain, formed by Mexican teachers and those from the Spanish exile. His life and career remind us that Mexico and Spain are more than brother countries: they are cultures intertwined by language and culture, united by a sincere closeness and a shared affection that lasts over time,” the monarch said during his closing speech.

Furthermore, Felipe VI thanked the author for representing “that fruitful dialogue between tradition and creation, between memory and the future, between Mexico and Spain.” “To enrich, ultimately, our language and our literary heritage,” he added.

For its part, Urtasun has assured that the award is a “living” reminder and a “tribute” to the generation of Spaniards exiled in Mexico, responsible for the “common history of Mexico and Spain”.

“This Cervantes award is, therefore, a living and a tribute to that brilliant generation of the common history of Mexico and Spain, with which we will always be indebted,” said Urtasun.

The minister has defended that, in addition, the Cervantes Award to Celorio also highlights the “achievements and conquests of the public university”, in reference to the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM) which was for Celorio a “watershed” in his existence, in addition to remembering that he was overwhelmed by the “greatness” of the UNAM Central Library.

The ceremony culminated with the traditional Let us therefore rejoice. In addition, the Kings, along with Urtasun and Ayuso, have taken a photo with Celorio’s relatives, who have supported the writer on this Cervantes day.

Once the entire event was over, the Tuna of the University of Alcalá dedicated some songs to the recent Cervantes Prize winner, such as ‘Cute sweetie’ or the Mexican ranchera ‘Oh, Jalisco, don’t give up!‘.