“The Threads of Memory: Spain and the United States” Exhibit Opening Kicks Off Lectures, Panel Discussions, Musical Performances and More

Dignitaries to Attend U.S. Debut of Rare Spanish Documents

“The Threads of Memory: Spain and the United States” Exhibit Opening Kicks Off Lectures, Panel Discussions, Musical Performances and More

Santa Fe (Aug. 31, 2010) – From a 1602 field drawing of a buffalo to portraits of President George Washington, Spanish explorers, colonists and diplomats have played key roles in American culture for five centuries. An exhibit coming to the New Mexico History Museum from Spain explores the first 300 years of those encounters – from the friars who made first contact with Native peoples through Spain’s timely assistance to American forces in the Revolutionary War.

The Threads of Memory: Spain and the United States (El Hilo de la Memoria: España y los Estados Unidos) opens Oct. 16 with a ticketed event featuring New Mexican and Spanish dignitaries, including D. Jorge Dezcallar de Mazarredo, Spanish ambassador to the United States. Tickets are $100 at the Lensic Box Office: 505-988-1234; www.TicketsSantaFe.org.

On Sunday, Oct. 17, from 10 am to 5 pm, the public is invited to enjoy the U.S. premiere of nearly 140 rare documents, maps, illustrations and paintings – many of which have never been displayed outside of Spain. Sundays are free to NM residents. The Museum of New Mexico Women’s Board will provide refreshments in the Gathering Space from 3-5 pm. The exhibit closes Jan. 9, 2011 before traveling travels to the El Paso Museum of History and the Historic New Orleans Collection.

The opening also marks the start of the Threads of Memory Lecture Series, with keynote speaker Luis Laorden of Madrid, Spain. The series includes lectures, musical performances, panel discussions and more that further explore the role Spain has played in shaping America as it is.

The exhibition is sponsored by the Fundación Rafael del Pino and is co-organized by the Archivo General de Indias (General Archive of the Indies) and the State Corporation for the Spanish Cultural Action Abroad (Sociedad Estatal para la Acción Cultural Exterior, or SEACEX), in collaboration with Spain’s Ministries for Foreign Affairs and Cooperation and Culture.

Also accompanying the exhibit, which is presented in Spanish and English, is a full-color, bilingual catalog, The Threads of Memory, detailing all of the documents on display. Highlights among them:

Juan Ponce de León’s letter reporting his discovery of the “island of Florida.”

The instructions given to Fray Marcos de Niza to explore northern New Spain, and accounts of his discoveries here, including Cíbola and other towns.

A 1701 map by Father Eusebio Kino showing California missions.

A letter signed by Fray Junípero Serra giving the viceroy of New Spain news of the missions of Monterey.

The first known map of the lower Mississippi Valley, dated 1544; the oldest known map of New Galicia, dated 1550; and a 1602 map of New Mexico showing pueblos and Spanish settlements.

A 1684 drawing of the ill-fated French ship, La Belle, which wrecked in present-day Matagorda Bay, Texas, dooming Robert de La Salle’s dreams of a Texas colony.

Drawings of the uniforms issued for soldiers in 1804.

Spanish portraits of President George Washington.

Lectures and performances in The Threads of Memory Lecture Series are free with museum admission. (Fridays 5-8 pm free to everyone; Sundays free to NM residents; children 16 and under always free.) The events will be held in the museum auditorium, unless otherwise noted. The schedule: