Podcast Summary

Podcast: Todo Concostrina
Host: Nieves Concostrina (SER Podcast)
Episode: Cualquier tiempo pasado fue anterior – Muerte y desaparición de Cervantes
Date: December 24, 2023

Episode Overview

This episode revolves around the murky story of the death, burial, and the controversial “disappearance” of Miguel de Cervantes’ remains. With her characteristic wit and skeptical eye for official narratives, Nieves Concostrina unpacks the historical, political, and social circumstances that led to the current confusion over the true whereabouts of Cervantes' bones. The episode also dives into how Spain’s handling of its illustrious dead reflects its approach to cultural heritage.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

The Farce of the Cervantes “Discovery” (00:12 – 04:30)

• The 2015 press conference at the Convent of the Trinitarias in Madrid is lampooned by Nieves, pointing out the manufactured show as then-mayor Ana Botella’s team claimed to have found “some” Cervantes remains, despite no conclusive evidence.
• The political objectives: The city's leadership sought headlines and a legacy, regardless of the historical truth.

“Usted encontró un mojón de Cervantes. Eso es lo que encontró. Un mojón. Sin discrepancias.”
– Nieves Concostrina (02:05)

Cervantes’ True Death and Burial (04:30 – 13:50)

• Correction of a common myth: Cervantes did not die on April 23rd (the day usually commemorated); he died on April 22nd and was buried the next day.
• Nieves explains the process of death certification and burial in 17th-century Madrid, clarifying that the important registry (“partida de sepelio”) recorded the burial, not the exact day of death.
• The lack of respect and anonymity surrounding Cervantes’ burial: his grave was unmarked, and the location lost amid later convent renovations.

“El 23 de abril de 1616 no murieron ni Cervantes, ni Shakespeare, ni Garcilaso. Solo coinciden en el año de la muerte y en el oficio, el de escritor. Nada más.”
– Nieves Concostrina (04:50)

• Cultural neglect: While England preserves the tombs of its cultural giants, Spain has lost the remains of many (Cervantes, Velázquez, Quevedo, Lope de Vega, etc.), a sign of broader disregard for cultural memory.
• Cervantes’ poverty and practical choices in death: He joined the Franciscan third order as a “hermano no profeso” mainly to secure free burial rights for his wife and himself.
• His final days, works, and notable visitors at his wake.

“Una pena haber escrito una obra magistral y largarte de este mundo sin enterarte de que lo has hecho.”
– Nieves Concostrina (07:52)

Convent Life, Losing Track, and Opportunism (13:50 – 16:10)

• The Convent of the Trinitarias expanded over the centuries, with Cervantes’ burial location neglected and eventually forgotten.
• Repeatedly, the convent’s claim of housing Cervantes’ remains was used to thwart expropriation, even though the actual grave’s location was uncertain.
• In 1921 and during the 1930s, the convent was saved multiple times from demolition explicitly due to this murky association with Cervantes, often with no real evidence.

“Salieron a pregonar…que tenían un escritor famoso entre sus muros… ¿Dónde está? Ah, pues está por aquí, un poquillo más allá, quizás. No sabemos, pero debe de estar.”
– Nieves Concostrina (14:40)

Cervantes como Pretexto Monumental y Político (16:10 – 20:59)

• Menéndez Pidal’s 1921 push to declare the convent a national monument relied solely on the presumed presence of Cervantes.
• During the Second Republic, the convent’s debts and tax evasion prompted another threat of demolition, this time stopped by the intervention of President Alcalá Zamora, despite no proof of Cervantes’ grave.

Art, Death, and the Seventeenth Century: Juan de Valdés Leal (24:44 – 32:20)

• Art historian Ana Valtierra explains representations of death in 17th-century Spain, focusing on Valdés Leal’s “Jeroglíficos de las postrimerías.”
• These paintings (“In ictu oculi” and “Finis gloriae mundi”) were meant to remind visitors of the fleeting nature of worldly glory and the inevitability of death, featuring macabre and realistic imagery.
• The works mix memento mori with a critique: no matter fame or riches, death is the ultimate equalizer.

“La muerte, claro. Primero te tienes que morir, el juicio, el infierno y la gloria. Como ves, es una visión un tanto terrorífica de la muerte.”
– Ana Valtierra (24:55)

Cemeteries, Lost Graves, and Administrative Neglect (32:40 – 43:07)

• Guest Carlos Aguar, an expert on cemeteries, explains why so many famous Spaniards' bones have been lost: church control, municipal neglect, frequent exhumations, and urban development.
• The move from burials inside churches to extra-mural cemeteries in the 19th century led to countless lost or “moved” graves.
• Examples include the fates of architects Pascual y Colomer and Francisco Enríquez Ferrer, whose remains were either lost or, by chance, preserved elsewhere.

“No hay en este desgraciado país profesión más intranquila, insegura e incómoda que la de difunto ilustre.”
– Mariano de Cavia, quoted by Concostrina (42:47)

The Modern Political “Discovery” and Its Ridicule (43:30 – 51:22)

• Concostrina harshly criticizes the 2015 search for Cervantes' remains as a politically motivated, scientifically shaky show (supported by quotes from renowned cervantist Francisco Rico).
• The supposed “discovery” consisted of a collection of bones from at least 16 individuals—without DNA analysis or hard evidence.
• The episode mocks the rushed inauguration of a fake tomb and the farcical “commemorative” efforts, including a plaque with a spelling mistake.

“Todo esto ha sido un fenómeno de apropiación de una conmemoración lícita para fines espurios.”
– Francisco Rico (43:47)

“La tumba fake inaugurada. Ya nadie volvería a hacer caso de esos huesos misceláneos, como bien los definió Francisco Rico.”
– Nieves Concostrina (45:30)

Cultural Reflection and Closing Thoughts (51:22 – End)

• The episode closes with a reflection on the state’s failure to offer a meaningful tribute to Cervantes on the 2016 centenary, arguing instead that the real wealth lies in Cervantes’ enduring works.
• Music segments reference new editions of "Don Quixote" and the link between Cervantes’ time and present cultural discussions.

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On political farce:
  “Usted encontró un mojón de Cervantes. Eso es lo que encontró.” (02:05)

• On the anonymity of great creators:
  "Una pena haber escrito una obra magistral y largarte de este mundo sin enterarte de que lo has hecho." (07:52)

• On historical amnesia:
  "En España se hayan perdido Velázquez, Quevedo, Calderón, El Greco, Cervantes, Tirso, Murillo, Lope o Zurbarán también es un dato." (05:55)

• On cultural preservation:
  "El convento... volvió a salvarse gracias a él [Cervantes]. Después de tanto salvamento in extremis, el único esfuerzo de las trinitarias fue instalar una lápida... Todo mentira." (19:12)

• On the mockery of the “discovery”:
  "Entre unos y otros fueron calentando un ambiente... hasta llegar a la traca final que anunciaría habían encontrado a Cervantes, pero no había aparecido." (45:08)

• On the state of illustrious Spanish dead:
  “No hay en este desgraciado país profesión más intranquila, insegura e incómoda que la de difunto ilustre.” – Mariano de Cavia, cited at (42:47)

Timestamps for Key Segments

• 00:12 – Satirical opening on the Cervantes “discovery” and press conference
• 04:30 – Clarifying Cervantes' death and the real date
• 07:52 – Cervantes' poverty, joining the Franciscan order
• 13:50 – The lost grave and convent expansions
• 16:10 – National monument campaigns and political interventions
• 24:44 – Art history segment with Ana Valtierra on Valdés Leal
• 32:40 – Cemeteries, burial customs, and lost bones (Carlos Aguar)
• 43:30 – Francisco Rico’s blunt criticism; political show
• 45:30 – The “fake” tomb, media circus, and misplaced priorities
• 51:22 – Closing: Cervantes’ enduring legacy

Overall Tone

Nieves Concostrina maintains her usual blend of irreverence, humor, and sharp critique throughout, skewering political opportunism, institutional neglect, and the oddities of Spanish historical memory. Despite the somber theme of death and loss, the episode keeps a lively, engaging, and often sardonic tone, driving home both the absurdity and sadness of Cervantes’ posthumous fate.