Congress and Senate leaders present the book The Fabulous Story of our Democracy, published by SANTILLANA

"Forty years ago we, the citizens of this country, wrote a document. It was a very long document because we had lots to say, things that we weren't’ allowed to say during the forty years of dictatorship. We wrote about how we now wanted to live and about what we were willing to do to achieves this. But above all, we wanted to regain our right to be free."

Those are the first lines of the The Fabulous Story of our Democracy, the illustrated book published by Santillana in collaboration with the Cortes Generales to mark the 40th anniversary of the Constitution. The book is a decade-by-decade look at main events and leading players of these crucial years. It tells the story of what happened in Spain over the past four decades … but is by no means a complete, comprehensive history.

"Millions of names and millions of facts are missing: there’s simply not enough space. We didn’t have enough space to tell the story of your mother, your grandfather, your teacher ... The authors of this book have simply chosen some events, names, facts and images that allowed us to understand how Spain was able to emerge from under the authoritarian regime of the dictatorship to live in democratic freedom. This change would not have been possible without the 1978 Constitution and all the laws derived from it, and without the democratic participation of the Spanish people. We wanted to write it all down in a book to preserve the memory for future generations. Because there are things that are worth remembering."

The illustrated book is aimed at children and young people,and their families, and seeks to introduce the reader to the facts and faces behind our recent political, social, cultural and sports history. “We’re offering readers  a very special book,” explained Teresa Grence, Content Manager at Santillana. “And we see this as an unfinished story, one that each family, each reader, will be able to complete with their own memories and experiences. Indeed I think that the greatest value of this book will come from how it fosters memory and its transmission from older generations to the younger ones. "

Carlos Grassa was behind the text while the graphic design and illustrations are the work of the creative studio Relajaelcoco  and the illustrator Mol. "The first thing that strikes you, of course, is the large format and high graphic quality. Then, when they open the book, readers will be beguiled by the sparkling comic-book-style illustrations and windows that will spark their curiosity to learn more. And all this is tied together by a balanced narrative, one which allows us to take stock of how Spain has changed and progressed over the course of these past four decades, the longest democratic period in our history,” continued Teresa Grence.

The book makes its public debut this Friday, November 23, at 1:00 pm, in the Ernest Lluch room of the Congress of Deputies. Attending the event are the President of the Congress, Ana Pastor, and the Managing Director of Santillana Spain, Javier Caso de los Cobos, as well as 180 primary school students.