On the 17th May, 1863 the Juan Compañel print shop, located in the heart of Vigo’s historic old town, published the manuscript of “Cantares Gallegos” or Galician Songs, the work of Rosalía de Castro. This beautiful book of poems – which everyone should read – was written in Galicia’s own language and marked the beginning of the “Rexurdimiento” or Galician cultural renaissance. Prior to this the language had spent many centuries away from the world of cultural and literature although it had once been the language of kings and troubadours in the Middle Ages.