About 90 educators and others were on hand in Mary Gates Hall the afternoon of Thursday, Feb. 12, to witness the presentation to the UW and Seattle community of the first-ever Encyclopedia of Spanish Language in the United States (Santillana, 2008). The event was sponsored by the Seattle Cervantes Institute at the UW.

Presenting the encyclopedia was Eduardo Lago, director of the New York Cervantes Institute, who also gave brief remarks. Lago, an award-winning novelist, also teaches Spanish and Spanish literature at Sarah Lawrence College in Bronxville, NY. A small reception followed the event.

According to Criticas, a monthly review of Spanish-language books, the Encyclopedia of the Spanish Language in the United States is "probably the most comprehensive study ever compiled on the 500 year-old Hispanic presence in U.S. territory, with virtually no topic uncovered, from history to linguistics, media, business, and more."

The Seattle Cervantes Institute at the UW, also called Aula Cervantes Seattle, is a is a pilot chapter of the New York Cervantes Institute, dedicated to providing culture and education from Spain and Latin America. The encyclopedia was published in October of 2008. To learn more about the institute, visit online at http://depts.washington.edu/icseattl/.