The Taracena Flores Collection In
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Anuario de Estudios Centroamericanos, Univ. Costa Rica, 12 (1): 139-144,1986 THE TARACENAFLORES COLLECTION INTHE BENSONLATIN AMERICAN COLLECTIONAT THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS,RELATING TO CHURCHAND * STATEMATERIALS INGUATEMALA, 1945-54 Hubert J.Miller Department ofHistory Pan American University. Edinburgh Texas to My first acquaintance with the Taracena Flores visits the Benson Collection, this paper will in as Collection (TFC) occurred in Guatemala in 1959. survey themost significantmaterials the TFC At the time I was on a Smith-Mundt Student they relate to Church and statematters during the Exchange Grant, doing research on the presidencies of Juan Jose Arevalo Bermejo and Guatemalan Liberal Revolution of 1871 and the Jacobo Arbenz Guzman. Justo Rufino Barrios administration (1873-1885). The University of Texas's acquisition of the to My main focus was the study of Church and state Collection dates back 1963, when Arturo relations during La Reforma (1871-1885), as the Taracena Flores contacted Prof. Richard Adams period is commonly known. While working in the about the university's interest in his Collection. At national archives and the cathedral archives in the time, Mr. Tarecena's eyesight was failing and Guatemala City, it was not unusual to run across he was interested in seeing that thematerials inhis references to imprints that had been published possession would be well preserved and made during La Reforma and were pertinent to my available to scholars studying Guatemala. His research interests. Unfortunately these materials contacts with University of Texas students frequently could not be located in the archives nor convinced him of the interest that institution had were they available in the Biblioteca Nacional. My in his country's history and influenced him to personal contacts in the city suggested I contact select The University of Texas, as a permanent Arturo Taracena Flores forhelp. Itwas a lead that home for his Collection (1). proved most helpful on any number of occasions In the words of Prof. Nettie Lee Benson duringmy stay in that country from July 1969 to "Arturo Taracena Flores is that rare type of book the following July. The fact thatMr. Taracena was collector that librarians of special research able to supply me most graciously with these collections prize but seldom expect to find" (2). needed imprints enabled me to fill gaps in my He loved his native country and formore than historical investigations. The use of thesematerials sixty years, he collected all imprints pertaining to - convinced me that he had a most rich collections Guatemala, on which he could lay his hands. The a collection I wanted to study in greater detail end result was a collection fo some five thousand when I had more time. Little did I realize at the books, an equal number of panphlets and time, that Iwould have that opportunity when the broadsides, periodicals, maps, newspaper clippings, Benson Latin American Collection acquired the programs, invitations, funeral announcements, entire Taracena Flores Collection. pictures and maps (3). The opportune moment to study the Collection Not only did Mr. Taracena collect imprintsbut at great length came in the summer of 1984 when he tried to obtain information on the authors of I received an NEH travel grant to spend a couple the imprint. This could include a picture of the of weeks in Austin to look into Church and state author and newspaper documents relating to the relations during the Arevalo-Arbenz writer. Needless to say, this enhances the value of administrations, 1945-54. Based on the study of the imprints for scholarly use. For instance, he the Collection under this grant and subsequent supplied extensive information on such key Guatemalan figures as Justo Rufino Barrios, Pedro (*) Presentado en el Southwestern Council of Latin Molina, Lorenzo Montufar, Rafael Carrera, Miguel American Studies March 28-30, 1985. Garcia Granados, Mariano Rosell y Arellano, Jose 140 ANUARIO DE ESTUDIOS CENTROAMERICANOS Milla y Vidaurri, Jorge Ubico and others. He did work on the holdings in the Benson Latin the same for certain topics pertaining to his American Collection. Our focus is on TFC country's history, such as Central American imprints from 1945-1954, relating to Church and unionist moment in 1920, political parties and State issues. theirprograms and elections (4). TFC imprints authored by President Arevalo Mr. Taracena's collection of writings of are mainly two kinds: speeches and writings. His individual authors is very representative. He discourses include those he delivered prior to same on followed the policy in collecting materials becoming president and the ones he gave while all aspects of Guatemalan life-be they scientific, president. The first group mainly treats or same literary,politicat, social economic. At the pedagogical and philosophical subjects. Included time the Collection contains many valuable among his presidential addresses are his inaugural materials relating to other Central American speech in 1945 and reports he gave to congress. republics (5). Actually these are a very small sampling of his The focus of Mr. Taracena's work was on the numerous talks he gave during his presidency. years 1821 to 1962. To understand better the size Many of his other addresses can be located in the of the Collection, we need to compare it to other holdings of the Benson Collection. The same Gilberto Valenzuela's four volume Bibliografia is true for his writings; in fact, there are few guatemalteca covering the years 1821-1900, which imprints carrying the designation TFC. Again most lists 2,739 imprints, including books, pamphlets of Arevalo's published writings are available in the some same and broadsides. For the time span, the other Benson Collection holdings. over TEC has 3,000 imprints, not including The religious issue in the president's inaugural novenas calendarios, and books (6). address received scant attention. He repeated the The Collection is especially helpful to scholars conventional Liberal sentiments of the 19th for 20th century newspaper clippings during century; namely, the Catholic Church should not of periods crises, which the collector arranged engage in politics. Catholics who wish to improve according to subject matter or dates. Equally socio-economic conditions should do it, not are valuable his collection of short-lived literary, through the institutional Church, but through the religious, political and labor publications. These formation of political parties and the election of are not always complete but again Mr. Taracena's candidates committed to the desired changes. to efforts select representive and significant items Only two of Arevalo's writings are cited as TFC are verymuch in evidence (7). items. Both treat the topic of imperialism The entire TFC has been integrated into the confronting Latin America, especially Central Benson Latin American Collection. The only America. Of these the better known is his Fabula reference note to show it was of part the original del tiburon y las sardinas (1956). The other is Collection is the on designation TFC, that appears entitled Guatemala, la democracia y el imperio the card and on the item or catalogue imprint (1954). Both publication dates reflect the itself. the into the Integrating Collection overall ex-president's concern about U. S. involvement in Latin American holdings helps the researcher to the overthrow of the Arbenz administration in locate more easily materials in the Collection, that 1954. are to area of pertinent his/her investigation. Arevalo was a prolific writer and being a The TFC focuses more on 20th century teacher many of his earlier works focused on materials than on 19th items. The valuable century pedagogical and philosophical themes. Church and for the imprints Arevalo and Arbenz state issues are not primary concerns in these administrations demonstrate the assidiousness of publications. In fact, a reading of theseworks and Mr. Taracena in 20th collecting century imprints. his speeches leaves the impression that religious Here can be found printed presidential addresses, issues have a low priority. selected issues of a rather set Verbum, complete of Jacobo Arbenz became president in 1951. His issues of Accion Social Cristiana, broadsides and background was a military one and he was not a letters of pastoral Archbishop Mariano Rosell y speech maker or a writer as was the case with his Arellano. For a review of items in comprehensive predecessor. The TFC has only three of his the Collection with the beginning Arevalo addresses. Of importance to the Church and state to the researcher needs to presidency 1962, question is his address on May 1, 1953, theDay of consult Ann-Hartness-Kane's recently published the Workers, in which he was critical of MILLER: The Taracena Flores Collection 141 Archbishop Mariano Rossell y Arellano for raising The year 1945 witnessed the drafting of a new the issue of Communism whenever the government constitution, which retained many of the attempted to bring about reforms. The fear of anti-clerical provisions of the 1879 one and President Arbenz's being a Communist had already introduced socio-economic reforms, similar to been voiced the previous year with the those in the Mexican Constitution of 1917. promulgation of the Law of Agrarian Reform. Broadsides auhored by Catholic lay groups Passage of the law aided the spread of rumors, protested the inclusion of the old Liberal which aroused fear about the expropriation of anti-religious articles and argued that true Church property. In his radio address of June 20, separation of Church and state requires that the the president sought to dispel the rumors by Church lawfully own property. There also was fear reminding his listeners that the agrarian reforms that the governmentmight restrict freedom of the have nothing to do with Church property. press, thereby adversly affecting publications by Furthermore, he pointed out that churches cannot Catholic groups. be expropriated since according to the Broadsides defending the government urged constitution they are national monuments.