To celebrate the centenary of Nobel Prize-winning author Camilo José Cela's birth, Guadalajara Provincial Council is launching the "Literature and Life" project. It wants to turn his world-renowned book "Viaje a la Alcarria" (Journey to the Alcarria), which has been translated into more than 20 languages, into a guide for tourists from Spain and all over the world.
 
COMBINING LITERATURE AND LIFE ON THE "JOURNEY TO THE ALCARRIA"
 
Cela was growing bored in Madrid, and one June morning in 1946, he set off from Alcalá street in the direction of Guadalajara. He visited 22 towns and villages in 10 days, making notes on the landscape, the people, and their customs and way of life, which he would later masterfully recount in his work "Journey to the Alcarria." Through his innovative guide-book style, Cela conjures up a universe in his novel. Nowadays it retains the essence of an endearing paradise that is within reach but has been modernized with time. It's a good idea to read Cela's book before emulating his journey and setting off on your adventure, or even to read it as you travel, enjoying his dazzling language and perhaps even becoming inspired to write your own. "Just as the virtuoso pianist and composer Joaquín Rodrigo did for Aranjuez, Leopoldo Alas (a novelist also known as Clarín) for Oviedo, or the painter Sorolla for the Mediterranean light, Cela has put Alcarria on the map. In the same way plenty of tourists have discovered Pamplona through Fiesta (annual festival), many arrive in Guadalajara, Cela's book under their arm, asking about Alcarria."