Xuan Bello, a great writer in the Asturian language, a great writer of our time in any language, has died at the age of sixty. He died, as they say, unexpectedly, and that is consistent with him, because he never wrote, thought, or said anything predictable. This is evident in his books, in which surprise, the unexpected, lurked, as in Borges's maxim: "I have said dazzlement where others say custom." However, he was not seeking gratuitous dazzlement, an easy coup de grâce: the dazzlement in Xuan Bello's pages responded to the wonder of the very fact of living. A tragic wonder, the painful marvel of living. The glare, at the head of the street, to put it like another great poet, Jordi Sarsanedas.

This has been Asturian Literature Week, a key time of year to vindicate Asturian, a language in danger according to UNESCO's classification. It does not have recognized official status and is not even a language of compulsory teaching in schools, as it is a voluntary subject. But the battle for its official status has returned to the forefront this term, and this Saturday there will be a demonstration with that objective and also with the objective of making Galician-Asturian—or Eonaviego—official in the western part of Asturias. For the first time, this issue will be voted on in the Asturian parliament—although currently not three-fifths of deputies are in favor—after the last legislature missed the opportunity to achieve thisAlthough there was initially a majority, a twist of events ultimately meant that the vote wasn't held: the PP was against it and Vox was especially aggressive, while Foro Asturias changed its mind at the last minute and also joined the rejection of official status. Adrián Barbón emphasizes in ARA that official status "is a priority" and that "it has never been voted on," making the vote "historic." They add that they are clear that "official status is inevitable; if not this term, the one that comes to law." The government already formally defended it in the regional chamber in April, where experts appeared and the project process began.