The Vice Mayor of Madrid, Inma Sanz, presented on Monday the new work that the City Council of Madrid, through the Accessibility Office, has adapted to easy reading. It is the novel Tristana, one of the most emblematic works of Benito Pérez Galdós, set in the traditional neighborhood of Chamberí, where the author addresses the theme of women’s emancipation in late 19th-century Spanish society.
«The protagonist is a young woman who fights to live the life she wants. And that has a lot to do with Madrid, a place that gives you the opportunity to live freely,» said Sanz, highlighting that, in addition to «freedom and opportunities,» Madrid «gives you connections, people who help you, because it is a city that does not leave anyone behind.» For this reason, the Vice Mayor explained, «accessibility and the Universal Accessibility Strategic Plan are so important to the City Council, named as such because it is for everyone, without exceptions, including cognitive accessibility.»
The event featured an actress from the Memoriarte Theater company, portraying the main character of the novel, Tristana, who interviewed the validators of the novel, reading a passage from the work.
The City Council has published 600 copies of this new easy-reading book, of which 200 will be distributed in the Network of Public Municipal Libraries, as well as through the entities CERMI Comunidad de Madrid and Plena Inclusión Madrid, which have been involved in the adaptation process. It can also be downloaded from the Accessibility Office’s website.
Galdós’s novel joins previous publications by the Accessibility Office: Five Weeks in a Balloon by Julio Verne (2023); The Life of San Isidro Labrador and his wife Santa María de la Cabeza by Ildefonso Fernández y Sánchez (2022); Love Stories by Emilia Pardo Bazán (2021); and National Episode. The 19th of March and the 2nd of May by Benito Pérez Galdós (2020). In the Network of Public Municipal Libraries, there are 223 other titles in easy reading. Throughout 2024, 459 easy reading club sessions were held in various libraries, involving associations, foundations, occupational centers, and other entities with the participation of 4,548 individuals.
The Vice Mayor took the opportunity during this presentation to announce that Ronda de Galanes, a work that includes three short novels by the writer Concha Espina, will be the next municipal adaptation to this easy-reading format, which is a way to create or adapt documents for people with reading comprehension difficulties, using concise content and simple, clear language. This technique is particularly useful for individuals with intellectual or cognitive disabilities, low cultural education, immigrants, or those with language difficulties.
Accessibility Commitment
The book presentation took place at the Gloria Fuertes Municipal Public Library in Barajas, and was attended by the district councilor, Juan Peña; the Director General of Accessibility, Noelia Cuenca; the Director of Plena Inclusión Madrid, Javier Luengo; and the President of CERMI (Spanish Committee of Representatives of People with Disabilities) Comunidad de Madrid, Óscar Moral.
The event coincides with the third anniversary of the inclusion of cognitive accessibility in the legal framework, in Law 6/2022, of March 31, amending the Consolidated Text of the General Law on the rights of persons with disabilities and their social inclusion, from 2013.
The Vice Mayor recalled the City Council’s commitment to universal accessibility. During the previous term, the Accessibility Office was integrated into the Vice Mayor’s Office, Spokesperson, Security, and Emergencies to give it a more transversal character. In 2022, the Universal Accessibility Strategic Plan (PEAUM) was developed, and on September 25, 2024, the First Action Plan for Universal Accessibility was approved as a tool for the development of PEAUM. /
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