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THE
FUNDACIÓN XAVIER DE SALAS
The objectives of the Fundación Xavier de Salas, as
set out in its articles of association, are the study and
dissemination of the historic relationships between Extremadura
and America. This corresponds to our awareness of the importance
of these relationships and the need for their careful study. At
the same time, the Foundation also aims to contribute towards
Extremadura becoming a region in which advanced research is
undertaken. The field of sociological, historical and
anthropological research is most in accordance with the region’s
cultural tradition. Finally, the Foundation also desires to bridge
the gulf between academic work and the general public. Experiences
such as the exhibition on Cultures of the Amazon (in 1987)
and that on Brazilian Popular Religiosity (in 1990),
confirm the great demand for such initiatives in our region. Our
support for research is completed by our desire to contribute
towards the training of new researchers, while at the same time
spreading cultural awareness to as wide a public as possible.
The Foundation is the culmination of the activities begun
in 1969 by Carmen and Xavier de Salas in Trujillo. The Association
of the Friends of Trujillo, which they founded, allowed a
considerable part of the historic quarter of the town to be saved
from ruin. They then wanted to make a permanent contribution to
the town, in accordance with its historical significance. Hence
the decision to establish the Foundation in 1981. Its situation in
the historic quarter of Trujillo allows its activities to benefit
from and emphasise the emblematic character of this town in Ibero-American
history. The fact that the present-day socio-economic status of
the town is not in consonance with its historical importance,
paradoxically propitiates its image as a place with a cultural
vocation.
The Convent of La Coria. The Convent of San
Francisco el Real, popularly known as the Convent of La Coria,
given to the Foundation by its founders Carmen and Xavier de Salas
when it was established, was originally a convent of Poor Clares (Franciscan
nuns). The decorative motif of the Order, the knotted rope girdle,
can still be seen in the ruins of the church. The Convent is
situated on the city wall, beside the gate marking the starting
point of the road to Coria, and hence the current name. We must
stress the importance of the landscape viewed from the Convent, a
clear expression of the poverty of the environment and the
harshness of life for the country
people in a region with a traditional vocation for a life of
travel and
military exploits.
The restoration and rehabilitation of the Convent of La
Coria was initiated by Carmen and Xavier de Salas in 1970. Work
still continues, while other rehabilitation projects have been
started and completed in Trujillo with relatively greater speed.
The difficulty of recuperating a building dating back originally
to the 15th century and abandoned for many years, and the need to
obtain finance for the project, meant that only from 1980 onwards
was it possible to progress from the laborious stage of clearing
away rubble and reinforcing the foundations to the effective
rehabilitation of the building.
The recovery of the building has meant more than simply the
effort to obtain a worthy setting for the future activities of the
Foundation. It is nothing less than one more aspect of the effort
to recover the past, as demanded by the articles of association.
Therefore, while the restored building has indeed been adapted to
the requirements of modern life, the aim has always been that it
should reflect the architectural and craft tradition from which it springs. It has proved possible to carry out a major
restoration employing centuries-old techniques of stone-masonry,
iron working and, to a lesser extent, carpentry. Many items, which
otherwise would have been lost, have also been saved from
demolition sites and incorporated into the Convent of La Coria, so
finding a setting worthy of their aesthetic and historical
importance.
A glance at the groundplan accompanying this text will
allow the reader to appreciate the functions assigned to the
different parts of the building. The lower floor, with the rooms
for the Museum, and the large meeting hall on the first floor, are
designed for events involving the presence of the public. The Church
is basic to the organisation of such events, providing a
meeting place for visitors and those attending. On occasion, when
the weather permits, events have been held in the church itself,
which has excellent acoustic properties.
Rooms A, E and C on the lower floor are devoted to the Didactic
Museum, the aims of which are mentioned below. Room D may also
be used for the Museum, as its restoration is now totally
completed.
Also on the lower floor, and also entirely completed, is room E,
which is available for seminars and may eventually be used for
audiovisual media.
On the intermediate floor is the main Meeting Hall
with a magnificent series of arches in the ceiling, which survived
from the original building prior to the rehabilitation of this
wing. The hall has capacity for 250 persons seated, though this
number can be exceeded if the dais installed at one end is removed
(11).
Also on this floor are two bedrooms with their respective
bathrooms (1 and 3), a sitting room (2), a dining room that can
also be used for meetings (5), and a small kitchen (4), which can
be supplemented by the new one recently completed in the annexe
(6). This group of rooms, which are not normally open to the
public, are used for other purposes of the Foundation,
particularly hospitality to visiting researchers who wish to work
in Extremadura and can use the installations of the Convent of La
Coria as a place of residence and, at least in part, of work. This
function of the building is completed with the Library (10), and
by the wing intended as a residence on the upper floor, which
still awaits completion as resources permit (7).
Activities of the Foundation. A) Increasing awareness of
the historic relationships between Extremadura and America, and
support for the cultural life of Extremadura.
The original intention of the Founders was to offer
Extremadura an
institution that was basically academic in character. However, it
was soon realised that attention should also be paid to increasing
awareness in the general public of subjects in which the
Foundation is interested. It is clear that a growing number of
people wish to devote at least part of their free time to cultural
pursuits. The process of economic and social transformation, which
has intensified in the last decade, means that culture is seen as
a means of satisfying new interests and enthusiasms. The success
of the exhibitions on Indigenous Cultures of the Amazon and
Brazilian Popular Religiosity served to confirm this intuition,
but it is not the only test and perhaps in the long term not the
most important one. Greater significance is attached to the
thousands of visitors who come to the Convent of La Coria each
year, and we believe that the Didactic Museum is the Foundation’s
most significant achievement in this respect. It contains 50
panels distributed in three rooms, describing different aspects of
the voyages of discovery, the encounters of the Spaniards with
autochthonous cultures, and the new cultures that arose from these
encounters. The basic intention of the team of specialists that
prepared the panels was:
a) To recount the fundamental historical facts in a
strictly accurate manner and in such a way as to be accessible to
the general public;
b) To place particular emphasis on the cultural dimension
of these
encounters as the most significant aspect, while not ignoring the
military and political elements;
c) To stress the existence prior to the Spaniards’
arrival of
highly-developed autochthonous cultures;
d) To achieve maximum historical veracity by using
contemporary texts insofar as possible, often written by the
protagonists of the events described, both Spaniards and
indigenous people.
The Museum contains very few objects. Here we need only
mention the bust and the reproduction of the skull of Francisco
Pizarro, donated by the University of Florida in 1986. The bust is
a forensic reproduction of the skull recently rediscovered in the
crypt of Lima Cathedral, which allows us to contemplate a
plausible approximation to the real features of the Spanish conquistador.
Also worthy of mention is the fact that the public
facilities of the Convent of La Coria have been made available to
appropriate persons and institutions, whose interests coincide
with those of the Foundation. Mention can be made of the Royal
Academy of Extremadura, the Office of
“Extremadura Enclave 92”, the Centre for Initiatives
and Tourism in Trujillo (which for some years has organised the Coloquios
Históricos de Extremadura at the Convent), the Culture
Department of the Regional Government of Extremadura, “Arquetur”,
and citizens’ organisations in Trujillo.
“La Coria Popular University” of Trujillo started its
activities in 1996. This institution is independent of the
Foundation, with which it has signed an agreement for the use of
our premises and infrastructures in carrying out its activities.
“Popular universities” provide adult education courses on
subjects allowing the students to obtain qualifications for new
jobs, or simply to increase their general knowledge. In this way
also, the Foundation aims to satisfy the cultural demands of the
town.
Activities of the Foundation. B) Creation of the
infrastructure of a research centre.
The Foundation’s primary objective is to support research.
Such support does not consist of financing projects, except in
exceptional cases and for limited amounts. What can be achieved is
to arrange for other institutions outside Extremadura to provide
resources for projects, while the Foundation offers the basic
infrastructure.
1. The Convent of La Coria as a Research Centre. The
Foundation offers its premises as an ideal setting for academic
meetings. It is also planned to offer residential facilities: two
bedrooms are available already, and in the future it is hoped to
complete a wing with a further four rooms. The aim is to
facilitate the possibility of academic researchers coming to
Extremadura
to study local subjects, and also to offer contacts with young
researchers from Extremadura itself, so providing a channel for
communication, collaboration and mutual support.
2. The Consolidation of a Centre for Historical
Information. Library and Archive. The Foundation must be able
to offer researchers the facilities needed for research, and above
all a library in which, while it may not be possible to find the
most specialised works, at least the basic reference works and
those of a general nature should be accessible. At the present
time the Library contains over 6,600 volumes, which have been
received as gifts or purchased, and which it is intended gradually
to increase.
3.
Ediciones La Coria. Up
to the start of 2002, some 30 volumes have appeared containing
work undertaken at the Convent of La Coria, many of them published
by Ediciones La Coria.
Activities of the Foundation. C)
Promotion of Research Projects.
One of the Foundation’s aims is to collaborate in the
development of research programmes on Hispano-American and
Extremaduran subjects in its areas of interest. It has played an
active role in developing such research programmes as De Palabra y
Obra, Music for the Encounter of Two Worlds, Hispano-German
Academic Encounters, Hispano-French Academic Encounters (“Great
Landmarks of French Literature”), and the First Academic
Encounter between Extremadura and New Mexico. These programmes
have received the support of various Spanish and international
institutions (Comisión Nacional del V Centenario, Universidad Autónomo
de México and Herzog August Bibliothek of Wolfenbüttel, among
others), and have led to the conclusion of collaboration
agreements with the Regional Government of Extremadura, New York
State University at Albany and the University of New Mexico, in
addition to the University of Extremadura.
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