El Día E Explained

El Día E
Country:Spain
Venue:Centers of the Instituto Cervantes
First:2009
Genre:International holiday
Organised:Instituto Cervantes
Date:Saturday closest to the summer solstice

El Día E ('E-Day') or El Día del Español ('Spanish Language Day') is a festive commemoration promoted by the Instituto Cervantes since 2009, which takes place on the Saturday closest to the solstice of June, and whose objective is to spread the culture of Spanish, celebrate its importance in the world and foster the unity of its speakers.[1]

Motivation

More than 500 million people speak Spanish. Spanish is the second language in the world in number of native speakers and the second language of international communication. 7.9% of Internet users communicate in Spanish, where it is the third most used language. The use of Spanish on the Internet has experienced a growth of 1,123% between the years 2000 and 2013. Spanish is the second most important language on Wikipedia by number of visits.

Acts

On Spanish Day, the Instituto Cervantes centers around the world organize various events and proposals related to Spanish and Hispanic culture, including concerts, exhibitions, conferences, «raining words» and visits to the Caja de las Letras.[2] At the same time, participatory activities are launched on the Internet, such as choosing a favorite Spanish word, games related to the language or narrative contests.[3] [4]

Editions

EditionDateFavorite wordNotes
1stJune 20, 2009Malevo[5] Means "evildoer" in slang lunfardo of Buenos Aires.
2ndJune 19, 2010(vacante)[6] Most voted: arrebañar, cachivache, gamusino, infinito, limón, república, sueño, tiquismiquis, titipuchal y tragaldabas.
3rdJune 18, 2011[7] Querétaro[8] Suggested by Gael García Bernal and chosen among 35 candidates proposed by two Spanish-speaking personalities.
4thJune 23, 2012[9] No favorite word contest was held
5thJune 22, 2013[10] No favorite word contest was held
6thJune 21, 2014[11] No favorite word contest was held
7thJune 20, 2015No favorite word contest was held
8thJune 20, 2016No favorite word contest was held
9thJune 24, 2017
10thJune 23, 2018
11thJune 22, 2019
12thMay 21, 2021
13thJune 3, 2023

Notes and References

  1. https://web.archive.org/web/20121230194028/http://eldiae.es/quienes-somos/ El Día E: Quiénes somos
  2. http://www.telecinco.es/informativos/cultura/Instituto-Cervantes-proximo-Dia-espanol_0_1621725572.html Telecinco.es: El Instituto Cervantes celebra el próximo sábado el 'Día E', la fiesta del español (17 de junio de 2013)
  3. http://www.elmundo.es/elmundo/2010/06/19/cultura/1276942642.html elmundo.es: World rain of words on Spanish Day (June 19, 2010)
  4. http://www.elpais.com/articulo/cultura/Sueno/Libertad/encabezan/lista/palabras/favoritas/Dia/espanol/elpepucul/20110601elpepucul_2/Tes elpais.com: 'Sueño' and 'Libertad' top the list of favorite words on Spanish Language Day (June 1, 2011)
  5. https://web.archive.org/web/20130404151733/http://www.cervantes.es/sobre_instituto_cervantes/prensa/2009/noticias/diae_posterior.htm cervantes.es: Docenas de miles de personas celebran el Día del Español en todo el mundo (22 de junio de 2009)
  6. http://www.publico.es/culturas/321915/cervantes-se-queda-sin-palabras publico.es: Cervantes se queda sin palabras (19 de junio de 2010)
  7. http://www.rtve.es/alacarta/videos/el-dia-e/dia-del-espanol-lengua-hablamos-500-millones-personas/1132782/ RTVE.es: Día del Español, una lengua que hablamos 500 millones de personas (18 de junio de 2011)
  8. https://cervantes.org/es/sobre-nosotros/sala-prensa/notas-prensa/celebracion-de-el-dia-e-en-la-sede-central-y-los-centros cervantes.es: «Querétaro» es la palabra favorita del español (18 de junio de 2011)
  9. http://www.informador.com.mx/tecnologia/2012/382521/6/el-instituto-cervantes-renueva-la-sede-en-internet-del-dia-del-espanol.htm Informador.com.mx: El Instituto Cervantes renueva la sede en Internet del Día del español (12 de junio de 2012)
  10. http://www.telecinco.es/informativos/cultura/Instituto-Cervantes-proximo-Dia-espanol_0_1621725572.html Telecinco.es: El Instituto Cervantes celebra el próximo sábado el 'Día E', la fiesta del español (17 de junio de 2013)
  11. http://www.lavanguardia.com/cultura/20140618/54410076397/el-instituto-cervantes-celebra-el-dia-e-la-fiesta-de-los-que-hablan-espanol.html#ixzz35REfi28m: lavanguardia.com: El Instituto Cervantes celebra el Día E, la fiesta de los que hablan español (18 de junio de 2014)