–Who was Ramón Marcote?
–An emigrant from Fisterra, who emigrated to Cuba in 1898 and despite being a person who was almost self-taught, without training or studies, he soon came into contact with the intellectuality of the time and became part of the Galician Center as a librarian. From that moment He becomes a reference figure for Galician culture from Havana, which in those years was a very important focus for our culture. and where all the identity feeling of Galicia is born. Ramón Marcote has a great role in the dissemination of Galician culture.
–Come into contact with the Galician Columbus theory
–Yes, he was a voracious reader, despite being a self-taught person. He was of humble background, the son of farmers and sailors, as was the Fisterra of the time, but he always had that need to read. Upon coming into contact with the works of De la Riega and other people, he became aware of the need to reclaim the figure of the Galician Columbus from Cuba. At that moment It articulates a very important network through the pro-Spanish Columbus committees in which it brings into contact and involves many people, convenes competitions, organizes talks, colloquia, and sends thousands of letters. so that people become aware of that reality.
–He states that he was very impressed with the figure of De la Riega, creator of the hypothesis
–It was very marked because As an emigrated Galician, the fact of being in America, that it was a Galician like him who had also arrived to that continent, felt almost like an essential need to claim it.. He felt that “this person is like me, he comes like me, from Galicia”; and he had that sensitivity that fit a lot with De la Riega’s speech and with not having those prejudices of feeling as if we were less than anyone, that Galician complex that it seems that we have to value the other, what is on the other side, yes. It is ours, we are going to put stones in the way. In that sense Ramón Marcote was an ambassador of the Galician Columbus thesis, promoted by a great Pontevedra native like De la Riega.
–A few years after the death of De la Riega he wrote a book in which he vindicated the theory.
–Indeed, that book is titled Colón pontevedrés and he published it in 1920, but since 1917 he had already published those articles in the main newspapers in Cuba, in Galicia, Heraldo, Vida gallega, Cultura gallega… In the most important newspapers he published those articles, and in the end he decided to compile them in that book, Colón pontevedrés, where goes one step further and it was no longer just the identity of the Galician Columbus, but to place him specifically in the province of Pontevedra. For him it was evident: it was in the toponymy, in the speech of Columbus, in the Pontevedra documents… There was too much evidence that needed to be put on the table and shed light on this issue.. It’s a very interesting book.
We cannot forget that the Royal Galician Academy was born in Havana, it was founded here with money from Cuba. Also in Cuba, the Galician flag is raised for the first time, the anthem is sung for the first time, Follas Novas by Rosalía, the History of Galicia by Murguía are published… Everything that has to do with the symbolic character of Galicia is born in Havana , and we owe that, among other people, to Ramón Marcote
–He insists that he is an unjustly forgotten figure
–Totally, Ramón Marcote is aa reference of Galician culture unjustly forgotten And it is not by chance.
–What is the reason for this lack of memory and why it is not vindicated like other authors?
-I think it’s because He supported De la Riega, who in turn had a personal conflict with Murguia. This was the patriarch at that time, let’s say the one who controlled the canon, and due to a personal issue there were those discrepancies between them, there was that tension that is fully demonstrated today, despite the respect they had for each other because they were two recognized historians. The fact that Murguía controlled the canon explains the marginalization of both De la Riega and his followers. What Murguía did not think was that De la Riega had such a reputation and that Through the committees promoted mainly in America, the thesis of the Galician Columbus was booming for decades.
–Why did Murguía, then president of the Royal Galician Academy, oppose De la Riega’s thesis?
–For his sensitivity in favor of the Celtic identity as a differentiating mark from other cultures, which was good for Galician culture. He clashed a bit with the other position defended by De la Riega, which did not deny Celticism but recognized other substrates. In fact Now I believe that this position is unanimous, which is that Galicia obviously has vestiges that link us with Celtic culture but also with others, Castrexa, Roman… Today no one questions that De la Riega was absolutely right in differing from Murguía’s very radical position, perhaps necessary at that time, I do not deny it, but that it was very unfair. And silencing De la Riega also implied silencing a figure like Ramón Marcote, despite being so decisive and who supported Galicia so much, because we cannot forget that the Academy was born in Havana, it was founded here with money from Cuba. Also in Cuba, the Galician flag is raised for the first time, the anthem is sung for the first time, Follas Novas by Rosalía and the History of Galicia by Murguía are published… Everything that has to do with the symbolic character of Galicia is born in Havanaand we owe that, among other people, to Ramón Marcote.
–He launched the Biblioteca da Fisterranía, which rescues little-known authors. Is there a lot of Galician talent to discover?
–Yes, the Fisterrania Library is a very important project for me because I believe in Cicero’s phrase “talk about your village and you will be universal.” We have in mind the fact that the universal is Hollywood or New York, and the most universal is your village, what is close to you, in the most immediate environment. The Biblioteca da Fisterranía evokes those cultural references that are part of our tradition and are hidden, because until now they had not been published because the texts were hidden or, simply, those authors had not published work.
The millionaire inventor of foosball who hijacked a plane and published the greats of Latin American literature
–The Library will include Alejandro Finisterre, who is known for inventing table football but hardly anything is known about his extensive work as an editor.
–People know him for foosball, yes, but he was a great editor who promoted the Latin American boom. Vargas Llosa, García Márquez, Ernesto Sábato, Carlos Fuentes published their first books at Editorial Finisterre in Mexico. It is also being talked about now because correspondence appeared indicating that it seems that he had a relationship, which remains to be proven, with Frida Kahlo.. I had quite a relationship with him in the last years of his life, he never mentioned that personal story to me but now the correspondence of that supposed story has come out. He was an adventurer, a very important figure, and it hurts me that people only know him for table football because he himself said, “with everything I did.” And it’s true: He published hundreds of books, to the best authors, he was the executor of León Felipe’s will, he kept all his rights; He hijacked a plane, escaped from Franco’s rule, arrived in Nicaragua and escaped from a dictatorship. He then went to Mexico, where he was also persecuted. He was an exciting movie character.. Carmen Balcells was going to publish her memoirs when she died and, of course, for me it is important that it be known that Alejandro Finisterre is much more than the inventor of table football. And, of course, in the end it is the game that is played all over the world. What life is. He patented many other inventions: when he was recovering from a bombing during the civil war, passing paper with his foot, for people who couldn’t use their hands, but the foosball thing was the best: The patent made him immensely rich, money he spent on publishing. He was also a good poet, very avant-garde, he treated the entire generation of ’27, and he was a great republican. He also edited Mario Moreno, Cantinflas.
2023-11-19 05:06:34
#mind #universal #Hollywood #universal #village
