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Christopher Columbus and Spain by Conchita Lucero
Although Christopher Columbus (Colón) was a native of Genoa, Italy he was a subject of Spain. Historian Charles F. Lummis declared "It was, indeed, a man of Genoa who gave us America; but he came as a Spaniard from Spain, on Spanish faith and Spanish money, in Spanish Ships with Spanish crews; and what he found he took possession of in the name of Spain." He lived the rest of his life in Spain. There are towns named after Columbus in 27 states, many streets, the largest river and the District of Columbia. Yet, Queen Isabel has been less heralded. The Spanish explorers, whose blood and sacrifices played a major roll in the exploration and discovery have been ignored for the most part. In less than two centuries there had been an estimated 92 Spanish expeditions by foot and horseback that cross the United States. Lummis stated that "One nation had the glory of discovering and exploring America, of changing the whole world of ideas and geography ... and Spain was that nation."
English Historians and Spain by Rubén Sálaz Márquez
When we read English language history we must be very aware that the material might be more propaganda than valid history. Is that bias on my part? Such charges are common, sort of like "If you don’t approve of the war you are a traitor to America." Following is a good example of how Hakluyt wrote history for England, traditions which were imported into English America. Then you decide if what you are reading is valid history or mere propaganda.
The Reverend Richard Hakluyt (d. 1616)…became Europe’s most successful political propagandist…he and his successors distorted sixteenth-century history and robbed us of the Spanish part of our national story…With anti-Spanish sentiment at a fever pitch in Queen Elizabeth’s court, Hakluyt glorified English accomplishments…spawned English fables…by muddling events, dates, and the deeds of individual nations…there emerged the convenient concept of an ongoing age of discovery described as a "European experience…" (in 1600, not a single Anglo-Saxon was living in North America) when in fact it was Spain and Portugal who dominated seaborne commerce…It gave a permanent distortion to Anglo-Saxon interpretations of sixteenth-century events. For example, English writers have depicted Francis Drake as a contemporary of Spanish mariners Magellan and Cabrillo, who in fact were dead before Drake was born…With the exception of W.H. Prescott, New England, historians…adopted the anti-Spanish attitudes so popular in Great Britain…these writers didn’t consider Spanish American history to be "American" history...We must pluck our Spanish century from the wastebasket of [American] history…
Dichos Chistosos
La bala que zumba no mata - The bullet you hear does not kill - The dangerous enemy is not the one who talks, but the silent one.
El que va por lana sale trasquilado - He who goes for wool comes back sheared. - If you try to take advantage, it may backfire on you.
Isabel I La Catolica, Reina de España by Pablo Ricardo Quintana
This month we honor the other major figure in the discovery of America after Columbus, Queen Isabel, who, upon her death, was declared by St. Peter Martyr, "The world has lost its noblest ornament; a loss to be deplored not only by Spain, which she has so long carried forward in the career of glory, but by every nation in Christendom, for she was the mirror of every virtue, the shield of the innocent, and an avenging sword to the wicked. I know none of her sex, in ancient or modern times, who in my judgment is at all worthy to be named with this incomparable woman." Rubén himself calls her the greatest and noblest of European queens. She was born in Madrigal de las Altas on April 22, 1451. At the age of 18, she married the man she had chosen, King Fernando II of Aragón. She then succeeded Henrique IV, her brother, to the throne of Castile and León in 1474, thus uniting the three kingdoms, which were to become España. This made her Queen in her own right of Castile and León and Queen consort of Aragón. Although Isabel and Fernando ruled jointly, through one act she surpassed her husband, the financing and support of Columbus’0 trip to discover the new world. The two had five children, only one of whom would reach a throne, Juana I la Loca, who with her husband, Felipe I el Hermoso, succeeded the two monarchs. Another daughter, Catarina of Aragon would be cheated by the divorce forced on her by Henry VIII of England in order to marry Anne Boleyn. Her remaining children died young. She died in Medina del Campo, Valladolid on November 26, 1504, making next month her 502nd birthday. In 1996 Pope Paul VI named her Venerable, a Servant of God, to begin the process of beatification and eventual canonization as St. Isabel of Spain, patron of the Spanish poor and protector of the American Indians. This is opposed by many Jewish and liberation organizations and by Cardinal Lustiger of Germany. Her accomplishments are many in cluding the creation of a highly effective co-regency with her husband Fernando II, her support of the discovery of the Americas by Cristobal Colón, she was the principal sponsor of Gonzalo Fernandez de Córdoba, the greatest military genius and innovator of the age, the unification of Spain, the centralization of power in Spain, the annexation of the Kingdom of Navarra to Spain, the conquista of the Kingdom of Granada successfully concluded, the last Muslim kingdom in Spain, laying the groundwork for the most dominant military machine of the next century under Charles I, the creation of a framework of law for Spain, the creation of La Santa Hermandad to police the country of Spain, the creation of the Inquisition in Spain, the religious unification and reformation of the Catholic Church in Spain, for which Pope Alexander VI named them Los Reyes Catolicos, the Catholic Kings, the expulsion or conversion of the muslims and Jews from Spain and, although they never took the title of Kings of Spain, they provided assurance of the origin and future Kingdom of Las Españas. All this was done in the 53 years of her life and 30 years of her reign. (Source: The Wikipedia online).
Did You Know? -- The Name is Isabel I La Catolica, Reina de Castilla y León by Pablo Ricardo Quintana
The Wikipedia explains that the Queen’s name is Isabel, but that English and German historians prefer the Italian spelling of her name, Isabella. Why Italian? She has no descent, no residence, nor anything to do with Italy. The truth is that we again have a case of the Black Legend. The English love to mispronounce or misspell the Spanish language, much as they do the Town of Madrid in New Mexico, to show their disdain. (Interestingly, she is of English descent through John of Gaunt.) There is a double error in using "Isabella" for it is the wrong spelling (even the Italians do not prefer the Italian spelling) Also, to spell it with a double "l" is to have it pronounced Isabeya in Spanish, where the double l is used as a separate letter of the alphabet, with its own pronunciation. So, let us insist that it be corrected when we find the lady’s name misspelled. Her name is Isabel.
Congratulations
Santero Market at San Felipe church Albuquerques’ Old Town. Marie Luna recives a ribbon for the best depiction of Nuestra Senora de Los Dolores.
Did You Know - About Popcorn by Conchita Lucero
Popcorn was introduced to the Europeans in the late 15th century when Christopher Columbus noted that the Native Americans made popcorn corsages and popcorn headdresses which they sold to Columbus’ sailors. French explorers, around the year 1612, in the Great Lakes region documented use of popcorn by the Iroquois who popped corn in pottery using hot sand. They also reported that during an Iroquois dinner, popcorn soup and popcorn beer were consumed. By the late 19th century, popcorn was being sold in the United States commercially. Popcorn has become a popular snack food all over the world. Early North American colonists loved popcorn so much, that they actually served it for breakfast with sugar and cream. This represents the first puffed breakfast cereal. In Spanish, popcorn’s name varies by region, resulting in more than 10 names differing by country : (Argentina) pochoclo -de pop y choclo, pororó - del guaraní, ancua - exclusivamente en el norte, (Bolivia) pipoca, (Brasil) pipoca, (Chile) cabritas, (Colombia) maíz pira, crispetas, totes, (Cuba) rositas, (Ecuador) canguil, (España) palomitas, (Islas Canarias) cotufas, roscas, (México) palomitas, (Paraguay) pororó - en guaraní, (Perú) canchitas, cancha, (República Dominicana) cocaleca, (Uruguay) pororó, po, (Venezuela) cotufas, gallitos - en parte de la region Zuliana y Andina, (Estados Unidos) pop corn. (from Wikipedia Online)
Spanish Colonial Cob Coinage by José Hernandez, Alburquerque Coin Club
In 1536 a mint was establish in Mexico City to funnel the wealth gathered after Cortez toppled the Aztec Empire. These denomination coins were the first to be struck. An abundance of silver from Peru, Bolivia and Mexico, then New Spain, would become reales, known today as bits. Copper became maravedis and gold was pounded into escudos. These groups of coins are call "cobs" because of their lumpy and irregular looks. They are rough, but both their weight and fineness are guaranteed. Designs show the arms of the ruler on the obverse and the appropriate legends on the reverse. Silver reales weigh as follows : ½ R 1.699, 1R 3.389, 2R 6.729, and 4R 13.549. The 8R was the last to be struck and in 1572 it became the standard form for shipping to Spain. It weighs 27.079. The Kings of Spain are to numerous to mention here, but for the purpose of the Tercentennial, Phillip V was on cobs from 1700-1724. On April 23, 1706, when Alburquerque was established, New Spain stretched from California to Panama and the coins were found worldwide. In 1732 the Mexico Mint was modernized and the issue of cobs ended. Coins with the quality of today poured out and among these coins was the time honored Spanish Milled Dollar, the Piece of Eight and forerunner of our own silver dollar.
