Galiza vista por Archer Milton Huntington: A Note-Book in Northern Spain (1898)

Abstract

[Resumo] En 1898, Archer Milton Huntington, futuro fundador da Hispanic Society of America, publica A Note-Book in Northern Spain, un libro de viaxes cuxos capítulos iniciais están dedicados a Galiza, especialmente á Coruña e a Santiago de Compostela. O obxectivo deste artigo é analizar a imaxe de Galiza plasmada no volume, no marco da representación de España construída polo ollar anglosaxón, particularmente o norteamericano, reflectido na literatura de viaxes, na incipiente produción académica hispanista e na moda hispana que se expande polas artes en Estados Unidos na viraxe do século, coincidindo cun momento de conflicto político entre ambos estados. Mostraremos como A Note-Book in Northern Spain combina as impresións directas do viaxeiro sobre Galiza, coa información proveniente de fontes librescas, singularmente de Galicia (1888) de Manuel Murguía, obra referente do rexionalismo galego, e de Recuerdos de un viaje a Santiago de Galicia (1880) de Fidel Fita e Aureliano Guerra, dos estudos xacobeos. A análise terá en conta a información complementaria das viaxes de Huntington a España e a Galiza recollida nos seus diarios.

[Abtract] In 1898, Archer Milton Huntington, future founder of the Hispanic Society of America, published A Note-Book in Northern Spain, a travel book whose initial chapters are dedicated to Galicia, especially to Coruña and Santiago de Compostela. The aim of this article is to analyze the image of Galicia captured in the volume, within the framework of the representation of Spain built by the Anglo-Saxon gaze, particularly the North American one, reflected in travel literature, in the incipient Hispanic academic production and in the Spanish Craze, that spans the arts in the United States at the turn of the century, coinciding with a time of political conflict between the two states. We will show how A Note-Book in Northern Spain combines the direct impressions of the traveler about Galicia with the information obtained from book sources, very uniquely from Galicia (1888) by Manuel Murguía, a reference work of Galician regionalism, and of Recuerdos de un viaje a Santiago de Galicia (1880) by Fidel Fita and Aureliano Guerra, of the Jacobean studies.The analysis will take into account additional information on Huntington's trips to Spain and Galicia, collected in his diaries.