A century in Culture
History is fascinating from every angle. This time, we're showcasing its cultural side with some of the most significant events that have taken place in Spain or that ABC editors have covered. From Nobel Prize winners in literature to concerts, museums, and unique excavations.
December 12, 1904. José Echegaray wins the fourth Nobel Prize in Literature for his "contribution to universal literature as a playwright."
May 31, 1905. Azorín sends the first telegraphic report to a Spanish newspaper, ABC, when he was covering Alfonso XIII's trip to Paris.
September 17, 1910. Excavations of the Roman amphitheater in Mérida begin by archaeologist José R. Mélida.
July 16, 1920. The Mariano de Cavia Award, ABC's journalism prize, is established.
November 9, 1922. Jacinto Benavente, Nobel Prize winner for Literature "for the successful way in which he has continued the illustrious traditions of Spanish drama."
November 27, 1924. Howard Carter visited Spain at the invitation of the Duke of Alba. ABC interviewed him about his discovery of Tutankhamun's tomb.
October 1925. A collapse led to the closure of the Teatro Real and the start of reconstruction work that lasted 41 years.
July 1, 1933. Inauguration of the Mérida Festival with 'Medea', in a version by Miguel de Unamuno and starring Margarita Xirgu.
November 9, 1940. Premiere of Joaquín Rodrigo's Aranjuez Concerto at the Palau de la Música in Barcelona.
January 27, 1956. The first Spanish film shot in CinemaScope, directed by Margarita Alexandre and Rafael Torrecilla.
May 19, 1961. Buñuel triumphs at the Cannes Film Festival and wins Spain's first Palme d'Or for 'Viridiana'.
December 19, 1963. Orson Welles lands in Spain to film 'Chimes at Midnight' and enjoys Las Ventas.
October 13, 1966. The Teatro Real reopens to the public as an auditorium and home to the Royal Conservatory.
April 6, 1968. Massiel wins Eurovision with 'La La La', in an edition held at the Royal Albert Hall in London.
Massiel, at Eurovision
AP
June 20, 1968. The Temple of Debod arrives in Madrid in 90 trucks carrying 1,350 crates containing the temple stones.
1973. Paco de Lucía releases 'Entre dos aguas', the opening song of the album 'Fuente y Caudal'.
February 4-12, 1975. Theater actors sign a historic strike that modernized their working conditions.
April 27, 1977. Alberti, one of the great poets of the Generation of '27, returns to Spain after his exile.
October 7, 1977. Vicente Aleixandre wins the Nobel Prize in Literature for "reviving the traditions of Spanish poetry between the wars."
February 1982. First edition of ARCO, the first major international contemporary art fair in Spain.
July 7, 1982. Massive Rolling Stones concert at the Vicente Calderón Stadium.
May 14, 1984. John Brealey of the Metropolitan Museum in New York restores 'Las Meninas'.
March 17, 1987. Spanish cinema gathers for the first time to celebrate the inaugural Goya Awards gala.
October 19, 1989. Camilo José Cela wins the Nobel Prize in Literature for "the richness and intensity of his prose."
November 8, 1991. The supplement 'ABC Cultural' is launched.
April 28, 1992. British painter Francis Bacon dies in Madrid.
August 3, 1996. "La Macarena" by Los del Río reaches number 1 in the United States. It remains at number 1 for 14 weeks.
October 11, 1997. After seventy-two years of silence, the Teatro Real reopened its doors to opera.
October 18, 1997. Inauguration of the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao, which modernized the Basque city's estuary.
November 10, 1998. Rafael Moneo begins work on the expansion of the Prado Museum, which will open in 2007.
January 18, 2006. ABC publishes a world exclusive that the Reina Sofía Museum has lost a 38-ton sculpture by Californian sculptor Richard Serra.
The 38-ton Richard Serra
ABC
May 18, 2007. The Odyssey case comes to light, marking the end of impunity for underwater plunder.
April 1, 2013. Julio Iglesias earns the Guinness World Record for best-selling Latin artist.
October 21, 2017. The 'Me Too' movement erupts in Hollywood, forever changing the American film industry.
June 28, 2023. The King and Queen inaugurate the Royal Collections Gallery.
ABC.es
