The city of Soria celebrated this Sunday a massive tribute to Antonio Machado on the occasion of the 93 anniversary of his appointment as Foster sonThe event took place next to the San Saturio Chapel, following the patron saint's mass, in a setting steeped in symbolism for the poet and the city's cultural memory.
With a broad neighborhood response, the tribute recovered the scene from 1932 In this ceremony, Soria thanked Machado for his literary and human influence: a reading of his journalistic piece from that era, institutional remarks, and live music. The atmosphere was sober and intimate, more evocative than grandiloquent, as befits an event that Machado himself would have recognized as simple.
A tribute with historical roots
The designation of Antonio Machado as an adopted son of Soria was promoted in 1932 by the City Council and supported by the Athenaeum of Soria and the Provincial Council. That summer, then-Mayor Antonio Rollo invited the poet to participate in the recognition, which was presented to the Plenary on July 16 and approved by acclamation, with the idea of ​​turning it into a public tribute.
In this context the call was signaled Poet's Corner, next to the Duero, with a bronze plaque commemorating the city's gesture towards the author of Castile fieldsThat first commemorative piece disappeared with time and the war, but its memory remained alive in local tradition and in the testimonies of the time.
To prepare the current recreation, the organizers drew on newspaper archives and newspapers: they consulted the Provincial Historical Archive of Soria and the volume El Ateneo de Soria, by professor and writer Juan Antonio Gómez Barrera, which provides key data on how the original day was organized and the role played by institutions and citizens.
Today's event: readings, music, and a city centered around Machado
After the pilgrimage and the Eucharist of San Saturio, the program included the complete reading of the text that Machado published after his appointment, in a careful staging in which the actor Antonio Calleja gave voice to the author. The passage captured the poet's intimate view of Soria and its landscape, and his gratitude for what the city meant to his life and writing.
The speech evoked an essential, austere, and poetic Soria, the city that Machado transformed into literary material and a source of moral learning. Using language rooted in telluric and Castilian, the poet defined Soria as a place that teaches. humanism, democracy and dignity, and where the spring of his verses took root.
In the institutional turn, the mayor of Soria, Carlos MartÃnezHe emphasized the relevance of Machado's thought: the defense of life as a pillar of the nation, the idea that there is no freedom without peace and justice, and the need for a democracy with humanity. He also pointed to the current scenes of suffering, from Ukraine to Gaza, as a reminder of why it is important to return to Machado's words to organize public discourse and debate.
The music came from the hand of the Municipal Band, which closed the event with a triumphal march. Beforehand, the audience had recreated the 1932 photograph, a "family photo" on the banks of the Duero River intended as a collective testament to the continuity and affection for the poet and his work.
The day also left a material gesture: the replacement of a memorial plaque in the Poet's Corner, which incorporates a reference to the 150th anniversary of Machado's birth. The municipal and cultural network's intention is for this gathering to continue over time, as an annual event in which Soria renews its connection with the man who projected it, through verse, beyond its borders.
The tribute brought together historical memory, public reading, and civic commitment, with broad participation and a calm tone. Between the hermitage of San Saturio and the waters of the Duero River, Soria once again looked at Machado from the present, confirming that his legacy remains. living word and ethical compass for the city.
