Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra, the most famous among Spanish authors was a distinguished writer. The first part of Don Quixote, a masterpiece of Hispanic novels, appeared in 1605 under the name of The Ingenious Hidalgo Don Quixote de la Mancha, and the second entitled The ingenious knight Don Quixote de la Mancha, reached the hands of public 1615. Translated until today more than 60 languages, the first edition of the text was published in 1617 in Barcelona. His other two major prose works are La Galatea (1585) and the exemplary novels, written between 1590 and 1612. Sancho Panza is the most famous characters after Cervantes Don Quixote, a farmer low, belly, with an insatiable appetite, common sense and a singular talent, serving as squire to a knight fantasy. Cervantes is also responsible for two major poems: Song of Calliope and Journey to Parnassus, and plays, such as the tragedies El trato de Argel and La Numancia destruction, as well as the comedies The Labyrinth of Love, The entertaining and Pedro de Urdemalas , which form part of the collection Eight Comedies and Eight new starters (1615).
Cervantes was born in September 1547 in Alcalá de Henares. He fought in the Battle of Lepanto, where he suffered an injury that immobilized his left arm. In 1575 he was taken prisoner by pirates and taken to Algiers where he was held five years in captivity. Released in 1580, returned to Spain and married. Ruined his military career was devoted to the theater with no luck. Fully devoted himself to literature, but could not overcome its economic problems. He died in Madrid in April 1616.