|
 |
 |
|
ENGLISH by Oona Thommes Paredes Oona Paredes is completing her Ph.D. in Anthropology at Arizona State University page
1
|
The Newberry Library is located in possibly the most beautiful neighborhood in Chicago, known locally as the “Gold Coast.” It is in the heart of “The Loop” downtown and directly across the street from Washington Square, a quiet and unassuming park with a colorful history. The library is easily accessible from anywhere in the city through public transportation, lying equidistant to both the Clark & Division and Chicago stations on the “El” train’s red line. A great many bus lines also pass through this area. At certain times of the year, downtown Chicago is itself so pleasant to walk in that you might find yourself going past your regular El stop just to have a longer walk. All things considered, it is one of the most pleasant places I can think of to do archival and library research.
Archivo de la Provincia se San Nicolás de Tolentino Of all the archives described in this article, the Provincial archive of the Augustinian Recollect Order in Marcilla (ARM) may be the only true logistical challenge for the |
researcher. This is because it is located in a very small rural town (pop. 3,000 or less) in economically depressed northern Spain, and you will be at a loss to find accommodations. Also, no one in this town – including the Recoletos – speaks English, or will admit to doing so. This part of Spain went to Franco during the Civil War, and there remains a streak of conservatism that may prove a challenge for some, especially after such cosmopolitan centers as Sevilla, Madrid, and Chicago. People are no more religious here than in the rest of Spain, but they will nonetheless make it their business to know whether you are Catholic, and whether you in fact attend Mass regularly. That said, nowhere else in Spain was I welcomed so wholeheartedly into local people’s homes and made to feel like a treasured part of their lives. I made some real friends in Marcilla, and I miss them very much. The Recoletos have very significant historical tie to the Philippines, for that is where the Order spent their formative years as a missionary order, starting in the early 1600s. The Philippines, especially the Visayas and Mindanao, was their first mission field, and some of the Recoletos’ most important figures earned their stripes, and sometimes their martyrdom, there. As the Fathers and Brothers in Marcilla will tell you, the Philippines and Filipinos still hold an important place in their hearts. Marcilla itself has a special connection to the Philippines; until the mid-1980s this was where new Filipino priests
|
and brothers came to receive their theological formation (education) within the Order. In 1998, the Philippines was given its own Provincialate, and the Province of San Ezekiel de Moreno was born. Since then, the original Province of San Nicolás de Tolentino has focused on its remaining mission fields, primarily in the Americas. However, the Recoleto convent in Marcilla retains possession of the archives pertaining to its genesis as a Religious Order. This means that all their original records on the Philippines from the Spanish colonial period remain in Spain. However, Filipino Recoletos undertook a project some years ago in which a large portion of the original Provincial archive referring to the Philippines was scanned electronically and preserved on CD-Rom. Researchers in Metro Manila might want first to inquire about accessing those digital records before planning a journey to Marcilla. I compared the CD-Roms’ contents with the actual archive and can tell you that the scanned documents are of good quality and that the CD-Rom collection is quite comprehensive, with the documents arranged in the correct order, retaining the pagination of the original legajos, etc. But they do not include everything, and in the case of one very long document from Legajo 61, some pages were omitted. In any case, although holding the actual documents in your hand is, in my view, a singular experience, the CD-Rom version is a worthy substitute, especially for those who cannot afford to travel to Spain.
|
|
On the practicalities of using the ARM: the archive itself is in clausura (cloistered), but there is a general index that will help you decide what legajos to ask for. Since researchers rarely pass through, the procedures, schedules, and other terms will have to be negotiated with the Father archivist on an individual basis – and entirely in Spanish. The current archivist, Father José Manuel Bengoa, is himself a scholar and despite his young age has already published extensively on the history of the Recoletos. He is an outgoing, jovial person whose enthusiasm for his work and his vocation is a welcome change from the weighty scholars you will no doubt have met in the course of your research. He can speak Italian, but not English. The Convento itself is a very peaceful if lonely place to work, with all the modern conveniences, including efficient radiators and high-speed internet. The Marcilla convent of the Recoletos has a website at http://www.terra.es/personal2/recole01/, but you will not be able to find information about their archives there. Best to write the general email address, and then wait for the archivist to write back. Be patient, because he is often traveling. For the ARM archive on CD-Rom, the homepage for the Philippine Recoletos is http://www.recoletos.ph/page/home, and the contact information for their Provincial center in Quezon City is at http://ezekiel.pinoyrekoleto.com/contact_us.html.
|
The most direct route to Marcilla is to fly into Pamplona, take a taxi to the bus station downtown, then take the regular bus service, which is run by Conda S.A.. They have a good website with an English version at http://www.conda.es/index.php?idi=eng. The last bus that passes by Marcilla leaves at 8 pm daily and will drop you off rather unceremoniously an hour later at an unlit stop about 50 meters from the entrance to the Convento. The fare is almost negligible considering the distance they take you. You will of course not be staying at the Convento, unless you happen to have a relative in the Order, or are yourself a Religious from another Order. At present, there is only one commercial accommodation in Marcilla, a “hostel” (locally referred to as la fonda, or “the inn”) just a short walk away – but then again, everywhere in town is a short walk away. Fearing that the Recoletos would cloister me in the nunnery on the other side of town, I insisted on staying at the fonda. It certainly made for a very colorful experience, but if I could turn back time and do it all over again, I would beg Fr. José Manuel to place me with one of his parishioners. If you stay several weeks, as I did, then the fonda’s cheap daily rate (minimally edible food included) is just not worth it, unless you delight in sharing a single bathroom with anywhere from 2 to 6 (possibly more) other people who, like too many people in Spain, are incorrigible smokers. While I never felt my personal |
safety threatened there, I did not enjoy being the only female boarder at the fonda, and was relieved when the waitress – the most colorful character of them all – moved in temporarily to save money. Incidentally, the fonda will also do laundry for you, at a per-load price, in a doubtful washing machine. In sum, the fonda is on the dodgy side and not a place for the weak-hearted. The town of Marcilla itself has a government website at http://www.marcilla.es/ and an amateur website at http://www.telefonica.net/web2/marcillaot/. If you are planning to rent a car for your stay in the area, these websites will also point you to other commercial lodging options in some of the larger towns nearby. One thing to bear in mind is that Marcilla is at a relatively high elevation (almost 1,000 feet) and on the edge of the lovely Pyrenees mountain range. In April it can still get very cold there, sometimes even freezing, at night. But for this inconvenience you are rewarded with perhaps the most beautiful and sparsely populated natural landscape in Spain, and you will encounter some of its most considerate and good humored people. If you can find a way to take a drive through the countryside, through the well-preserved medieval towns, and into the neighboring Basque region, do not hesitate to do so.
|
Parting Word I hope that this information encourages others to explore some of these archival treasures, and that they come to be exploited as fully as possible by Philippinists. More potential repositories of records from the Spanish colonial period remain, including the archives of Mexico. In the meantime, please feel free to contact me directly if you have specific questions regarding the archives and places mentioned in this article. My contact information will be updated regularly on the Philippine Studies Group website, which is currently located at http://psg.csusb.edu/.
|
. Mis días corren con velocidad y encuentro que soy muy viejo (así me llaman muchos) para mi edad. Me falta la alegría de los corazones jóvenes... (Ayer MS 1417, p. 88). . In the early 1900s it became known as “Bughouse Square” and was a popular public space for political and artistic free speech. Later in the 20th century, the serial killer John Wayne Gacy reportedly prowled the park for victims. . See Caraga Antigua: The Hispanization and Christianization of Agusan, Surigao, and East Davao by Peter Schreurs, MSC. Published in Cebu by University of San Carlos Press, 1989 (ISBN:971-100-054-7). Even though I had read this book, which was written by a priest from neither Order, I was struck by the profundity of the Recoletos’ work in Mindanao, which in my view remains unacknowledged. Newspaper accounts from the 19th century, stuffed into the ARM legajos, indicate that a major political brawl erupted at that time between these two Religious Orders, not only for territory but also for proper recognition, which the Recoletos obviously lost.
|