Alcalá de Henares: Living Memory of Spain

The documentary begins in the Middle Ages, showing how, since 1118, Alcalá has been a place where three cultures, Christian, Jewish and Muslim coexisted. This multicultural richness was reflected in monuments such as the Catedral Magistral, one of only two temples in the world with that title, and in the city’s subsequent transformation under the rule of the archbishops of Toledo after the Christian Reconquest.

Next, the documentary highlights moments of international significance, such as January 20, 1486, when the Archbishop’s Palace hosted the meeting between Christopher Columbus and the Catholic Monarchs, an encounter that would change the course of world history. It also underscores that in these very chambers Catherine of Aragon, the infanta who would become Queen of England was born, symbolizing Alcalá’s international reach during the Ancien Regime.
The documentary especially celebrates the Spanish Golden Age, when Cardinal Cisneros founded the University of Alcalá in 1499, making it the fi rst modern university city, a model for all of Europe and the Americas. It shows how literary giants such as Lope de Vega, Calderón de la Barca, Quevedo, and Nebrija passed thru its classrooms, and above all, how Miguel de Cervantes, author of Don Quixote, was born here. The documentary also features the Corral de Comedia and Calle Libreros, spaces where cultural life flourished.

Finally, the documentary does not shy away from the pain of more recent history. Alcalá, being Republican, suffered devastatingly during the Civil War, having been bombed more than 200 times. The scars on the Church of Santa María, where Cervantes was baptized, bear witness to these attacks on hospitals, schools, and homes that the poet Antonio Machado denounced as crimes against the spirit.

The documentary concludes with a profound message: Alcalá de Henares is where Spain tells its own story, where the past illuminates the present, and where our heritage, identity, and memory converge.