Fake stories, true stories? The many lives of Miguel de Cervantes

The humongous number of biographies and biofictions about Miguel de Cervantes published in recent decades are proof of the relevance that the Spanish Baroque and Miguel de Cervantes have acquired when it comes to understanding the predicaments of our time. What is the reason for this constant interest despite the fact that more than four hundred years have passed since his death? What are the motivations that drive academics and writers to undertake what the Cervantist Jean Canavaggio calls "a risky adventure"? In this conference, an attempt will be made to answer these questions with examples of some contemporary biographies and biofictions about the universal novelist from La Mancha.