Museos de Sevilla - Archivo General de Indias

Every building in Sevilla´s center is a museum, intact exteriors and extant subterrany, thousands of lifetimes. Constructions projects surely factor in archeological studies as part of the timeline. How much higher is street level in modern times--10 feet, 20 feet, or more?

El Archivo General de Indias captured my imagination in an exhibit called El hila de memoria, The Threads of Memory: Three Centuries of Spanish Presence in the United States. From 1513 to 1822, Spain explored, established missions and forts, and supported the United States in its fight for independence. The exhibit says that this presence is unfamiliar to many Spaniards. It is my pentimento, tracings of a language and culture familiar on many levels of my life in Texas.

People, places--Coronado, Álvarez de Pineda, Navarette, Dolores, San Antonio de Bejar, Los Adaes. . . Maps of the Texas coast, muster books for presidios listing pay owed to foot soldiers and commandantes, correspondence from George Washington.


Coastal map of the Gulf of Mexico, 1544
Archivo General de Indias, Sevilla, España

Designated a UNESCO World Heritage site, the Archivo is a treasure trove of original documents detailing Spain´s history in the Americas. Fittingly, it is housed in a building that once served as a merchant´s exchange, the focal point for Spain´s commerce with its empire.

I eye this thread of entwined history with Spain; it is not yet unraveled.