Spaniards love walking and watching TV, not reading Cervantes

THE latest poll on what people in Spain do in their free time has revealed that more than half of Spaniards have never managed to read the most popular Spanish classic of all time, El Quixote.
While 40.9 per cent admitted they had never even tried to read Miguel de Cervantes’ famous work, another 21.3 per cent admitted they had started to do so but given up after a few chapters.
Just 21.6 per cent had read the entire work from cover to cover, the CIS Sociological Investigation Centre poll for June found, while 7.4 per cent had read part one and another 7.2 per cent claimed to have read an adapted or abbreviated version.
More than half (51.3 per cent) of those questioned classed the classic as ‘difficult,’ blaming the language used, the era it was based in or the length, yet 23.5 per cent said they had found it an easy read.
Of those who had read it all, 54.1 per cent said they had had to do so while studying.
Asked to name the best characters, 87 per cent unsurprisingly mentioned Don Quixote (although only 16.6 per cent knew his real name) followed by Sancho Panza, Dulcinea del Toboso, Rocinante and the windmills.
El Quixote aside, the survey also studied leisure habits of people in Spain.
Going for a walk or a wander about came at the top of the list, followed by watching TV, reading, listening to music or browsing the internet.
Other common activities were sports, listening to the radio, visiting the countryside, going shopping, to bars or discos, the theatre or cinema, concerts and sporting events.
Regarding what to do during holidays, most (49.6 per cent) said spending time with the family was a priority and 49 per cent also mentioned getting extra rest.
While 30.4 per cent said they hoped to spend their holidays meeting up with friends and relatives, 25.5 per cent said they wanted to explore somewhere new but just 10.3 per cent intended to spend their holidays visiting monuments and cultural or artistic attractions.
While 64.5 per cent also expressed a wish to travel, 26 per cent said they didn’t like travelling at all and simply wished to spend their holidays at home.