The House of the Nobel Prize for Literature José Saramago, in a nod to the novel The Year of the Death of Ricardo Reis, opened its doors to the public just nine months after his death, on June 18, 2010. In this way, according to the director of A Casa, María del Río, “Saramago is still alive not only in the memory of his readers, but also in his house through the people who visit and inhabit it.
"It has been thirteen years in which visitors from different continents and countries, Saramago's readers, have been able to tour the rooms of his house, read a fragment of a book in his library, contemplate the landscape of his sunsets, Papagayo on one side, Lobos and Fuerteventura in front, or have a Portuguese coffee in his kitchen or the olive garden", recalled del Río.
'A very lively house' a phrase that is repeated and in which most visitors agree, both in their comments in the visitor book and in the Google reviews, at the end of the tour of the house, the gardens and the library, in the company of guides who are like family, not only for their knowledge of the author and his work, but also for the quality and warmth with which they tell details of Saramago's daily and literary life in Lanzarote, of the writer, but also of the humanist who stood out for his commitment to defending Human Rights, social justice and peace.
The José Saramago House Museum celebrated this anniversary by toasting with visitors from different communities and countries, Catalonia, Madrid, Euskadi, Portugal, Italy, Germany, France and announcing its upcoming cultural activities for this year 2024, such as the presentation of Neruda's book A House in the Sand, April 26, a highly anticipated event that will be broadcast in streaming, and in which the two House Museums of two Nobel Prize winners, Neruda and Saramago, will participate, on two islands, Isla Negra and Lanzarote.
The participation, for the first time, of the José Saramago House Museum in the Book Fair in this 2024 edition, which will be held in the Villa de Teguise from May 2 to 5, was also announced. Finally, it was recalled that the José Saramago Library is open for reading in the afternoon, every first Tuesday of each month with the program 'Reading aloud' organized by the Puerto del Carmen Reading Club, which began in January reading texts and poems about peace.