Overview

• Álvaro Pombo, aged 85, received the Premio Cervantes 2024 during a solemn ceremony at the University of Alcalá, attended by King Felipe VI and other dignitaries.
• Due to his fragile health, Pombo arrived in a wheelchair and delegated the reading of his acceptance speech, titled 'Cervantes, a Theory of Fragility,' to historian Mario Crespo.
• The event honored Pombo's literary contributions, praised for their originality, lyrical depth, and exploration of human fragility, as noted by the Cervantes jury led by Luis Mateo Díez.
• The ceremony took place during Spain's three-day mourning for Pope Francis and paid tribute to the late Mario Vargas Llosa, a former Cervantes laureate.
• Pombo will inaugurate the traditional continuous reading of 'Don Quijote' via telematic link later, adapting longstanding traditions to his health condition.