October 2016
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Bulletin # 392 October 2016 THE DISCOVERY OF AMERICA It is called "Discovery of America" the historic event that began with the arrival to America on October 12, 1492 of an expedition led by Christopher Columbus by mandate of the monarchs Isabella and Ferdinand, which had left the Andalusian port of Palos two months and nine days before and, after crossing the Atlantic ocean, reached some islands of the American continent, specifically the Bahamas and upon his return it was made known for the first time in Europe the existence of a New World. It constitutes one of the key moments of world history and represents the meeting of two worlds that had evolved independently since the origin of humanity, which changed the course of history. FROM THE PRESIDENT: The exhibition of paintings by Antonio Nicolás Reverte presented in the casita this past August 6 was very good and 196 people passed through it to see his works. Mr. Reverte came directly from Murcia with his wife Carmen to put on this exhibition and he was delighted. He was not only delighted with the casita, but also with the city of San Diego. He had never been here and he liked it so much that surely we will repeat the event next year. The casita was offered free of charge but he wanted to give us $100.00 for general expenses. Thank you very much Antonio! The family of Mr Jose Antonio Fernandez, native of El Pino, municipality of Aller, Asturias, donated to the casita some "clogs" These clogs were taken by Mr. Fernández from his village when he emigrated to Cuba in 1924 and then to Honduras in 1930. Waldina Flores Fernández brought them to the casita and not only donated us the clogs but also gave us a donation of $200.00 for our organization. Thank you very much Waldina!! Dr. Iris Engstrand has donated to us the cost of the furniture/cart to put the projector and computer in the casita, and works great with the screen that she also donated several months ago. Thank you very much Iris! Greetings Jesus A NATIONAL HISTORIC TRAIL: "JUAN BAUTISTA DE ANZA" In 1990 the U.S. Congress had officially designated this "historical trail" and instructed the National Park Service to manage it. This is a great effort to commemorate and remember the history of this expedition of 1775. Although most people travel this trail in car, there are also those who do it by horseback and even on foot: a total of 1200 miles, from Tubac (south of Tucson, Arizona) to San Francisco. Who was De Anza? Juan Bautista de Anza was born in Fronteras, New Spain (today Sonora, Mexico) in 1736, in a family of Basque and military ancestry who lived on the northern border of New Spain. He enlisted in the Spanish militia. He was appointed captain in the Tubac Presidio (Arizona) in December 1759. His military duties consisted mainly in fighting against hostile Native Americans, such as the Apache Indians in northern Sonora (today Arizona). During the course of these incursions he explored much of what today is Arizona and received recognition. In 1770 the Spanish Crown already had more than 200 years in the New World. Its extensive empire included from what today is the Western United States, including Florida, until the islands of the Philippines, but still needed to ensure its possessions of the north Pacific coast against the Russian and English expeditions and incursions. The Spaniards actually began the colonization of Alta California with the expedition of Gaspar de Portolá of 1769-1770. The effort of Portolá required both a long sea voyage against the prevailing winds and the California Current, as a difficult land route from Baja California. Two small colonies were established in San Diego and Monterey, with a Presidio and Franciscan mission at each location. Colonize and supply Alta California was a difficult task and the journey very long, that they had to start from San Blas (Nayarit) in small vessels that could not bear a heavy load. The journey through Baja California was difficult, long and dangerous. To colonize and ensure Alta California, the Spanish Crown needed a more accessible route, a land route that departed from Sonora. In 1772, De Anza proposed to the viceroy of New Spain to make an expedition to Alta California. The proposal was adopted by the King of Spain and in January 1774 De Anza left from Tubac, with a small contingent of 30 persons. He crossed the Colorado River by Yuma and continued to Mexicali. The most difficult part was to cross the desert of Anza- Borrego and climb the mountains toward Hemet. He arrived at the San Gabriel Mission and then continued up to Monterey, the capital of Alta California, where they arrived on April 19. Anza spent some 74 days to make this initial reconnaissance trip. Soon he began to recruit volunteers and prepare provisions for a second expedition. On October 23, 1775 he left Tubac in front of 240 people, including friars, soldiers, Indian guides and settlers with their families, and with them 695 horses and mules, and 385 cows and bulls. (This was the origin of livestock and horses of California, country without predators, of abundant pastures and sporadic droughts, which allowed its rapid growth). The expedition followed a path similar to the previous one, but the trip was made more difficult by the winter weather. They arrived in Monterey on March 10, 1776. After having fulfilled the mission of the Viceroy, he continued with Father Pedro Font and a party of twelve men to explore the north and he found an interior route until the San Francisco Bay. Upon his return the viceroy appointed him governor of New Mexico. He died in 1788. ACTIVITIES OF SEPTEMBER Saturday, September 10: DON QUIXOTE AND THE STUDENT OF THE TWENTY-FIRST CENTURY We had a lovely afternoon in the House of Spain. Dr. Darci Strother, professor of Spanish at California State University, San Marcos, gave a very pleasant talk on "Don Quixote and the student of the twenty-first century". The dissertation was fascinating and filled the casita of members, friends, students and guests. After the talk we enjoyed delicious tapas, sangria and conversation. Thank you Darci for sharing with us your teaching methods and your love for Don Quixote. Thank you also to the volunteers who helped to prepare this event. Dr. Darci Strother giving her talk Another moment of her presentation Confía en el tiempo, que suele dar dulces salidas a muchas amargas dificultades. Set aside the date: January 29, 2017 Coming to San Diego is the renowned musician, leader and composer, the catalan Jordi Savall and his group Hespèrion XXI that interpret with old instruments the early music of the Renaissance and Baroque period. More details in future issues of our Bulletin. UPCOMING ACTIVITIES Come to our celebration HOUSE OF SPAIN LAWN PROGRAM Sunday, October 9, 2016 HALL OF NATIONS (Balboa Park) The paella will be served starting at 11:30 AM The music will begin at 2:00PM Come celebrate with us the National Day of Spain: Feast of the Hispanidad Wednesday October 12, 2016: from 6 to 8 PM Tapas and toast in the House of Spain- casita Reservation is necessary to [email protected] before October 10 OPENING OF THE CASITA We thank Bob and Maruja Williams, Antonio Guerrero and the students from San Diego High School and CSU San Marcos who attended as "ambassadors" to the public that visited us during September TRADITIONS OF SPAIN: THE CASTELLETS The castells or castellets are some human formations that, in the form of a tower, are performed in the holidays of some cities, mostly in the region of Catalonia. The strongest people are located at the base of the tower, while both weight as well as the constitution of its components decreases as one ascends. In the end a child usually crowns the tower. The people that make up this complex human network of arms and legs spend a good part of the year training the formation to be taking on practice and confidence. Before and after each rehearsal, a session of warm up and stretches are performed to prepare the muscles and avoid injury from the effort. As you can see in the picture, of people falling who are higher up on the castellet, these would be collected in a sea of arms that would diminish almost entirely the danger. Since some time ago, they put a protective helmet on the smallest to avoid further injury. In the 1980s they incorporated habitually women in the castelleros groups. Since then it has been seen as a natural process, since that to raise the castellets strength is not the main skill required, because the technique has the fundamental role and the castellers work together depending on the height and weight. The tradition of building human towers in Catalan squares began in Valls (Tarragona) 200 years ago and although at first was delimited to the area of Tarragona and in the Penedés region, it has spread throughout Catalonia in the last 50 years. In a castell a large group of men and women of all ages and physical constructions is involved who train throughout the year for competitions and performances. In addition, in the pinyo (the low part that supports and sustains, the bottom base) of each castell friends, family, amateurs and spontaneous spectators collaborate that join to the colla of the castellers -that pass to actively participate-. The castellers have a motto that summarizes the characteristics required: "Strength, Balance, Courage and Wisdom (seny, in Catalan)".