Spanish views from a small town

Four hundred years ago today, two great writers passed away. Miguel de Cervantes died in Madrid, and William Shakespeare in Stratford-on-Avon. That was one of the reasons the twenty-third of April was chosen in 1920's Spain as National Book Day. The other reason was that the twenty-third is Sant Jordi's day, patron saint of Catalunya. The red rose is a symbol of the saint and is usually exchanged on this day. Now, it's a book and a rose ever since UNESCO declared the twenty-third of April World Book Day in 1995.  Actually, Cervantes and Shakespeare didn't die on the twenty-third. Cervantes died a day before and was buried in the church crypt of the convent of the Trinitarias Descalzas in Madrid on the twenty-third. Shakespeare died on the third of May by the present-day Gregorian calendar. Still, who cares about little details? The twenty-third of April it was. On this day many cities in Spain have book fairs, and all bookstores sell books with a ten percent discoun...