Public vote: Cervantes wins and Columbus wasn't Spanish

Cervantes tops the public vote ranking, but the list leaves out Cortés and El Cid

A public vote to choose the most important Spaniard in history placed Miguel de Cervantes at the top, but the result unleashed a storm of criticism: the list of the ten most voted includes Juan Carlos I, Queen Sofía, Felipe VI, Pablo Picasso and Felipe González, while leaving out Hernán Cortés, El Cid, Blas de Lezo, Quevedo and Lope de Vega. The figure that sums up the mess: Isabel la Católica came in 11th and Francisco Franco in 22nd.

The debate, which went on for several years, turned into a discussion about what it means to be Spanish and why collective memory rewards some and buries others. The most repeated conclusion: the list is a portrait of the present, not of the past.

What peine with the vote for the greatest Spaniard in history

The starting point was a television programme that asked the public to choose the most relevant Spaniard of all time. The result, turned into a ranking, placed Cervantes, Columbus, Ramón y Cajal and Saint Teresa of Ávila among the top spots. From there, the list filled up with names many considered surprising: recent monarchs, politicians from the Transition and show business figures.

The most frequent criticism was not about those absent, but about those present. Juan Carlos I, Queen Sofía, Felipe VI, Adolfo Suárez, Felipe González and Pablo Picasso held positions that, according to several participants, should have gone to more significant historical figures. The question hanging over the whole discussion: what criteria were used to draw up the list?

The most quoted answer was the election result itself: democracy has spoken. An argument that, far from closing the debate, fuelled it.

Hernán Cortés, the great absentee from the list

If there is one name that comes up again and again in the discussion, it is Hernán Cortés. For some participants, he is the most accomplished Spaniard in history: warrior, diplomat, founder of cities, conqueror of an empire and author of letters to the emperor with literary quality. It is pointed out that he studied in Salamanca, that he had read all the classical literature and that he outwitted kings by letter from the Viceroyalty of New Spain.

The contrast with Francisco Pizarro is inevitable. Pizarro is described as the archetype of the conquistador, a bold man with initiative, but illiterate. The Cortés-Moctezuma relationship is considered richer than that of Pizarro-Atahualpa, because Moctezuma was lord of a culturally more refined empire. The conclusion of several participants: Cortés is on another level.

Cortés's absence from the top 10 is attributed, according to some participants, to an attempt not to hurt other people's sensibilities, in line with what is perceived as an inferiority complex towards the Anglo-Saxons and Europeans. The same argument is used to explain Franco's presence in 22nd place.

Columbus wasn't Spanish and Cervantes wasn't a playwright

One of the points that generated the most discussion was the nationality of Christopher Columbus. Several participants recalled that he was not Spanish, although one theory holds that he was Galician, descended from admirals of Castile. For others, that detail disqualifies him outright.

The other big name is Miguel de Cervantes. He is credited with teaching the world to write stories with rounded characters, a contribution not even the Greeks had achieved. Before Cervantes, writers played with the paradigms handed down by the Greeks; after him, with those paradigms and their own. The English have published five different translations of Don Quixote in the last 20 years, and in the 18th century they published two editions in Spanish when it had been forgotten in Spain.

The comparison with Shakespeare is a recurring one. For some, the Englishman has a touch of universal, tragic grandeur that Lope de Vega lacks. For others, the greatest playwright of all time was Lope, not Shakespeare.

Blas de Lezo, El Cid and the absentees demanding their place

The list of notable absences is long: El Cid, El Gran Capitán, Quevedo, Blas de Lezo, the Duke of Alba, Philip II, Alfonso X the Wise, Seneca, Trajan and Garcilaso. Some participants believe that Blas de Lezo, scourge of the English, should hold a prominent place. Isabel la Católica, who came in 11th, is also claimed, as is Saint Teresa of Ávila, as outstanding women.

The level of the list is summed up in a repeated phrase: Pantoja, Lola Flores, Antonio Banderas, Zapatero and Rocío Jurado ahead of Elcano, Cortés, Blas de Lezo, Churruca, Pizarro, Quevedo and Lope de Vega. The diagnosis of several participants: the public vote rewards media fame, not historical significance.

What the list reveals about Spanish collective memory

The result of the vote says more about the present than the past, according to several participants. The most voted names are those that appear on television, not those found in history books. The presence of recent monarchs and politicians from the Transition reflects current affairs, not historical relevance.

The discussion turned into a debate about Spanish identity. One school of thought holds that Spain was its own Europe, unique and different, and that identifying as European before Spanish is denying its essence. Another defends that Spain's greatness lies precisely in its blending of cultures and its global presence, begun with the conquest of America.

The debate never reached a close. The question remains open: who was the greatest Spaniard in history? The answer depends on who is asked. For some, Cervantes. For others, Cortés. For many, none of those on the list.