Finding New Mexico in The Threads of Memory The Threads of Memory Lecture Series

When Jerry Gurulé and Enrique Lamadrid were translating centuries-old Spanish documents for the book accompanying The Threads of Memory: Spain and the United States, they became fascinated by the pieces that related directly to their home state of New Mexico.

“Is this the opposite of `exotic’?” asked Lamadrid. “I think so.”

He and Gurulé will discuss those documents in the lecture, “Finding New Mexico in El Hilo de la Memoria," part of The Threads of Memory Lecture Series, at 2 pm, Sunday, Oct. 31, in the History Museum Auditorium. The event is free with museum admission (Sundays free to NM residents).

“As scholars, we were excited to see documents and maps that we hadn't seen before – as well as those that we have seen and worked with as copies of copies of facsimiles, etc. – generations removed from the originals,” Lamadrid said. “We started getting very excited about seeing the originals as we scrutinized high-resolution scans sent to us by the Archivo General de Indias.”

Gurulé and Lamadrid provided the English translation for the bilingual book The Threads of Memory: El Hilo de la Memoria (Fresco Publishers), which accompanies the U.S. debut of the exhibit The Threads of Memory: Spain and the United States (El Hilo de la Memoria: España y los Estados Unidos), featuring 138 rare documents, maps, illustrations and paintings – many of which have never been displayed outside of Spain.

While conducting their research, Gurulé found traces of his ancestry in hand-written inscriptions on a 1684 drawing on animal-skin parchment depicting the French ship La Belle. The notes were written by Jean de l’Archeveque and Jacques Groslet, who would make their way to New Mexico as “Juan Archibeque” and “Santiago Gurulé” and founded their own family dynasties.

"Paper is as ephemeral as the vegetable fibers from which it is made,” the two write in the Fall 2010 edition of El Palacio, the Museum of New Mexico’s quarterly magazine. “Wind scatters it like leaves from a tree. Rain dissolves and washes it away. …

“Yet paper can be as monumental and eternal as anything humans ever carved or built from stone. … Words on paper can move mountains. They can explode like gunpowder. Or they can become the soaring wings of peace. Words on paper are `threads of memory’ woven into a tapestry that some call history."

Gurulé is a retired historian-linguist for the National Park Service. He has conducted research in various archives in Spain and Mexico, including Spain's Archivo General de Indias in Sevilla. His publications include articles, books and other works on Spanish colonial history.

Lamadrid is a literary folklorist and cultural historian known for his work on Indo-Hispano cultural traditions, ballads, folk music, and literary recovery projects. He has won both the Américo Paredes and Gilberto Espinosa prizes for his writing and cultural work.

The Threads of Memory: Spain and the United States (El Hilo de la Memoria: España y los Estados Unidos) is sponsored by the Fundación Rafael del Pino and, along with the Archivo General de Indias (General Archive of the Indies), is co-organized with 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. The exhibition and lecture series are supported locally by the city of Santa Fe, BBVA Compass Bank, Wells Fargo Bank, Heritage Hotels, Santa Fe University of Art and Design and the Palace Guard.

Upcoming in the Threads of Memory Lecture Series:

Saturday, Nov. 6, 2 pm: “Por el Amor de Papel: For the Love of Paper,” a demonstration by Tom Leech, curator and director of the Palace of the Governors’ Print Shop and Bindery.

Sunday, Nov. 7, 2 pm: “An Afternoon with Pedro Menéndez,” performance by Chaz Mena, a New York-based actor, scholar and Chautauqua performer, on Pedro Menéndez de Aviles, first governor of Florida.

Friday, Nov. 12, 6 pm: “Scientists in New Spain: 18th-Century Expeditions,” lecture by California historian Iris Engstrand.

Sunday, Nov. 21, 2 pm: “Murder, Martyrdom, and the Struggle for La Florida: Rethinking Spanish Florida’s Mission History, 1565-1606,” lecture by Florida historian J. Michael Francis.

Sunday, Dec. 19, 2 pm: “Navio Quebrado: The Wreck of La Belle and the Failed French Colony in the Southwest,” lecture by maritime archaeologist Eric Ray.

Sunday, Jan. 2, 2 pm: “Kissin' Cousins: The Spanish Vihuela and the Modern Classical Guitar," performance by composer, guitarist and educator Greg Schneider.

Sunday, Jan. 9, 2 pm: “Tejiendo el Hilo: Weaving the Threads of History,” lecture by State Historian Rick Hendricks.