A Trip to Colombia: Highlights of Its Spanish Colonial Heritage

By Mark J. Curran

Coming of Age with the Jesuits chronicles a young mans formative years from 1959 to 1968 studying on the undergraduate level at Rockhurst College in Kansas City, Missouri, and for the PhD at Saint Louis University in St. Louis, Missouri. Between junior and senior years, Curran had his first educational experience in Latin America studying at the National University of Mexico and traveling to Guatemala. This would lead to an increase in his love of languages and area studies and a future teaching career committed to the same at Arizona State University. The book is not an academic treatise on the Jesuits or their method of study, the Ratio Studiorum, but rather a chronicle of the experiences in their schools by a young man introduced to Jesuit ways and discipline followed by serious study along with college fun and travel. Students from the 1960s will surely recall, relate to, and enjoy similar moments in their own days with the Jesuits. The book chronicles as well the ongoing process of growing up of a small-town farm boy experiencing the big city, college, foreign travel, and the next step of serious study with more precise career goals on the graduate level.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Trafford Publishing
• Release date: Feb 14, 2013
• ISBN: 9781466979109

Mark J. Curran

Mark J. Curran is Professor Emeritus from Arizona State University where he worked from 1968 to 2011. He taught Spanish Language as well as the Survey of Spanish Literature, a seminar on "Don Quixote," and Civilization of Spain and Latin American Civilization. He also taught the Portuguese Language (Brazilian Variant) as well as a Survey of Luso-Brazilian Literature, Luso-Brazilian Civilization, and Seminars on Chico Buarque de Hollanda and Brazil's Folk-Popular Literature (the "Literatura de Cordel"). He has written forty-four books, eight in academic circles before retirement, thirty-six with Trafford in retirement. Color images of the covers and summaries of the books appear on his website: www.currancordelconnection.com His e-mail address is: [e-mail]

Book preview

A TRIP TO

COLOMBIA

HIGHLIGHTS OF ITS

SPANISH COLONIAL HERITAGE

Mark J. Curran

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© Copyright 2013 Mark J. Curran.

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ISBN: 978-1-4669-7911-6 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-4669-7910-9 (e)

Trafford rev. 02/12/2013

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Dedicated to My Best Friend and Wife Keah, A Courageous Traveling Companion

Part Two in the Series: Stories I Told My Students

Table of Contents

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS

PREFACE

INTRODUCTION

PART I. FIRST TRAVELS IN COLOMBIA

The Flight To Colombia

Arrival In Medellín

Paseo To Santa Fé De Antioquia, Colombian Province Of Antioquian Independence

The Return Trip To Medellín

Bogotá

Our Hosts The Emerys

Looking For The Colonial Heritage In Bogotá

La Casa Del Marqués De San Jorge

El Palacio Nacional De Gobierno

El Museo Colonial

The Gold Museum

The Church Of The Third Order Of St. Francis

The Church Of San Francisco

La Iglesia De La Vera Cruz

The Cathedral Of Bogotá

Church Of The Jesuits

The Museo Nacional

Tourism In Bogotá

PART II. TRAVELS TO THE WEST AND SOUTH—PARAPHRASING CERVANTES’ DON QUIXOTE: LA PRIMERA SALIDA

Girardot

Crossing The Andes: The Infamous Andean Derrumbes Or Landslides.

The Cauca Valley And Cali

On To Popayán

Popayán

Looking For The Colonial Heritage In Popayán

The Cathedral

La Torre Del Reloj

Iglesia De San Francisco

The Museum Of Sacred Art

The Museum Of Colonial Art

The Humilladero Bridge

La Iglesia De La Compania.

Uma Pequeña Salida: Popayán To Silvia And The Guambiano Indians

Popayán Once Again

Journey To The Archeological Site Of San Agustín

Arrival In San Agustín

San Agustín’s Pre-Colombian Culture

The Hotel Osoguaic And The Magic Mushrooms

Return To The Archeological Park

Mass In San Agustín

Return To The Hotel

Outing On Horseback

Summary Of San Agustín

Return To Girardot

The Leper Colony Of Água De Dios

National Politics And News

Musing In Colombia

PART III. BOGOTÁ AND BEYOND:

TRIP TO THE NORTH AND HISTORIC BOYACÁ STATE

The Return To Bogotá

Tourism To Monserrate

The Dora Luz Episode Once Again

A Social Moment At The Emerys

Sunday Scene In Bogotá

Tunja And Boyacá State

Arrival In Tunja And The Search For Its Colonial Heritage

The Central Plaza

The San Francisco Church.

The Dominican Convent.

The Cathedral Of Tunja.

A Literary Highlight: La Casa De Don Juan De Castelllanos

La Casa De Don Juan De Vargas

The Church Of Santa Clara

The Church Of Santa Bárbara

La Casa De Capitán Gonzalo Suárez Rendón

The Pantano De Vargas

La Hostería Ucuenguá

El Museo De Arte Religiosa En Duitama

An Outing To Sogamoso And Monguí

La Hacienda Suescún

La Laguna De Tota

The Country Bull Fight In Duitama

On To Villa De Leiva

Our Inn—El Molino De Mesopotamia

The Colonial Heritage In Villa De Leiva

History In Villa De Leiva

Movie Making In Colombia

The Ecce Homo Monastery

Arrival In Ráquira

Final Business In Bogotá

Trip To Zipaquirá

Return To Bogotá: Last Evening With The Emerys

PART IV. CARTAGENA DE INDIAS

Cartagena De Indias—Introduction And The Spanish Treasure Fleet

The Defense Of Cartagena

Searching For The Colonial Heritage

First Foray Into The Old City

La Torre Del Reloj

La Casa De La Inquisición

The Church And Convent Of San Pedro Claver

The Old City Of Cartagena

The Church Of Santo Domingo

The Cathedral Of Cartagena

Good Friday And Church Services In Cartagena

Good Friday Services

Fortifications Of Cartagena

The Club De Pesca And The Fort Of San Sebastián Del Pastelillo

The Fort Of San Felipe De Barajas

Don Blas De Lezo.

More Fortifications: The Boat To Bocachica

The Last Of The Fortifications: Las Bodegas (The Dungeons)

Resting From The Forts

PART V. EPILOGUE TO COLOMBIA:

LA ISLA SAN ANDRÉS, MICROCOSM OF THE CARIBBEAN

The History Of San Andrés—Microcosm Of The Caribbean

Tourism, R And R And The End Of The Colombian Odyssey

POSTCRIPT

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS

1. Keah and the Aero Condor 707

2. The Intercontinental Hotel, Medellín, and Its Amateur Bull Ring

3. Keah Smelling the Roses at the Medellín Bus Station

4. The Basílica in Santa Fé de Antioquia

5. Colonial Residential Architecture, Santa Fé de Antioquia

6. Jesus Nazareno Church, Medellín

7. The Emery Family, Bogotá

8. Casa del Marqués de San Jorge, Bogotá

9. El Capitolio, Bogotá

10. Baroque Entryway, Colonial Museum, Bogotá.

11. Painting of One of the Viceroys of Nueva Granada, Colonial Museum, Bogotá

12. The Golden Raft, La Balsa de Oro, The Gold Museum, Bogotá

13. Church of San Francisco. Bogotá

14. Downtown Bogotá Skyscrapers

15. The Author in the Plaza de Toros, Bogotá

16. The Liberal House near Água de Dios

17. The Market, Girardot

18. Landslide in the Andes, Stalled Trucks, Keah, on the Way to Cali

19. Mudéjar Tower on Church, Cali

20. The Monastery Hotel, Popayán

21. Keah at the Monastery Hotel, Popayán

22. Wooden beams through Window, Monastery Hotel

23. Pulpit of the Church of San Francisco, Popayán

24. Monstrance of Gold, Custodia de Oro, Popayán

25. House-Museum of Guillermo de Valencia, Popayán

26. Humilladero Bridge, Popayán

27. Guambiano Indians in the Plaza of Silvia

28. Otavalo Indian in White with Shawls for Sale

29. Otavalo Indian in Black Ruana Counting the Proceeds

30. End of the Market Day, Guambiano Indians, Silvia

31. Countryside outside of Silvia with Guambiano Indians

32. Mark outside the Country Hotel, San Agustín

33. San Agustín Idol

34. San Agustín Idol

35. Keah on Horseback, Pueblo de San Agustín

36. The Bridge of Boyacá

37. Monument at the Bridge of Boyacá

38. Plaza de Tunja with School Children, Cathedral and Statue of Simón Bolívar

39. Stone Doorway, Pórtico, in the Plaza of Tunja

40. Cathedral in the Plaza de Tunja

41. Arabesque Interior in La Casa de Don Juan de Vargas, Tunja

42. Gold Altar of the Church of Santo Domingo, Tunja

43. Church of the Jesuits, Tunja

44. Patio, Casa del Capitán Rendón, Tunja

45. Interior Ceiling Paintings, Casa del Capitán Rendón, Tunja

46. Monument of the Pantano de Vargas

47 Closer View, Monument of the Pantano de Vargas

48. Keah and the Hostería Ucuenguá, Boyacá State

49 Mark, Patio of the Hostería Ucuenguá

50. Plaza de Monguió as Viewed from the Church

51. Bell Tower of the Hacienda Suescún

52. Keah on the Veranda of the Hacienda Suescún

53. Mark on the Lane of the Hacienda Suescún

54. A Two-Fisted Drinker, the Indian Lady in the Market of Duitama

55. Country Bull Fight—Duitama

56. La Plaza, Villa de Leiva

57. Mark and Columns of the Plaza de Villa de Leiva

58. Entrance to the Molino de Mesopotamia Inn

59. Flowers and Patio, Molino de Mesopotamia

60. El Molino de Mesopotamia and Mountain in the Background

61. Colonial Street Scene, Villa de Leiva

62. Convent of the Carmelitas Descalzas Villa de Leiva

64. Making Movies in Colombia, the Blond German Hero and the Black Colombian Nuns

65. The Monastery of Ecce Homo

66. The Patio of the Monastery of Ecce Homo

67. The Church of Ráquira and Its Ceramics

68. The Salt Cathedral of Zipaquirá

69. The Torre del Reloj Watch Tower of Cartagena de Indias

70. The Portada or Entrance of the House of the Inquisition, Cartagena

71. The Inside Patio of the House of the Inquisition

72. The Façade of the Church of San Pedro Claver

73. The Interior Patio of the Church of San Pedro Claver

74. The San Ignacio Battery, the Walled Fort of Old Cartagena

75. Street Scene of Cartagena

76. The Church of Santo Domingo and the Crooked Tower

77. Entrance Door, Pórtico, La Casa del Marqués de Valdehoyos

78. Holy Week Procession, Cartagena

79. El Fuerte del Pastelillo

80. El Fuerte de San Felipe de Barajas and Don Blas de Lezo

81. Corner Guardhouse, San Felipe

82. Massive Lateral Side Construction, San Felipe

83. Queen Elizabeth II Steamship in Cartagena Harbor

84. Outside View, Fort of Boca Chica

85. Fort of San Fernando and Boat

86. The Fort of Las Bodegas, Cartagena

87. The Sea of Seven Colors, El Mar de Siete Colores," Isla San Andrés

88. Palm Trees on the Beach at San Andrés

89. Moto-Taxi, San Andrés

90. Mark and Keah on the Beach, The Aquarium Key, El Acuario," San Andrés

PREFACE

This book is a continuation in the series, Stories I Told My Students. These stories however are a departure from the area of my main research interest: Brazil, its literature and its folk-popular literature, the literatura de cordel. Colombia is a story born of necessity and enthusiasm: at Arizona State University and my post in the Department of Foreign Languages, a labor I enjoyed for 34 years full-time and 9 years part-time in early retirement, I would ask for and then inherit the senior level course SPA 472 Spanish American Civilization. The graduate professors in Spanish were not interested in the course, I surmise mainly because teaching the course would not lead to scholarly publications in literature or literary theory, and it truly took a jack of all trades to do the job well. It turned out to be my cup of tea due to both academic preparation (my Ph.D. minor in Latin American Studies had at least introduced me to similar material) and more importantly, love and curiosity of Latin America.

Furthermore, teaching the course forced me to expand my horizons in reading, preparation and travel the next thirty years. I found the endeavor altogether pleasant and rewarding, if not in publications (Brazil would take care of that), certainly in increasing my own knowledge and departing it to the students. I would always insist on teaching a split schedule at ASU each semester—two courses in Spanish and one in Portuguese—the latter really a matter of practicality with the far smaller enrollment in Portuguese Language and Literature. In this endeavor for SPA 472, however, months and years of study, teaching and travel would not only open the country of Colombia to me, but then the Pre-Colombian civilizations of Mesoamerica and the parts of Mexico, Guatemala and Honduras associated with them. And much later, there was more intense study and travel in Spain and Portugal, for indeed an introduction to Latin American Civilization had to begin with its roots. But all the latter is another story to be told later in the series.

The issue at present is Colombia. This country may be one of the most beautiful, varied and interesting countries of Latin America, even though its Pre-Colombian vestiges are minor compared to the Incas or the Mayas, or perhaps for a better word, different. What it did have, and what I badly needed to know about was Colombia’s rich colonial art and architecture and its major role in the development of Independence in South America. In the former, Colombia was rich in religious, military and residential architecture and arts. In the latter, its role for all of South America cannot be disputed. The country certainly ranks just below Mexico and Peru in its heritage and contribution to Spanish American Civilization. These attributes and interests will become evident in the narration.

The account is based on an intense period of travel, study and living in Colombia on a sabbatical leave from ASU in 1975. As I look back on the notes from that time, there as usual is some naiveté, but one of my mantras in class was, You have to start somewhere. The trip was made easier by some wonderful hosts, Mr. and Mrs. Emery, Lorentz and Elaine, and their son James who really sparked the idea after earning an A in the Spanish American Civilization class at ASU the preceding year to the sabbatical. I think Jim thought I was leaving out an important chapter in the big story of Latin America. They were our guides, companions and friends. Shortly after the trip Mr. Emery was killed in a crash in the high Andes on the same roads we braved and careened around on in buses just a few short months earlier. He was not