The Ibero-American Exposition of 1929 (Spanish: ''Exposición iberoamericana de 1929'') was a
world's fair
A world's fair, also known as a universal exhibition or an expo, is a large international exhibition designed to showcase the achievements of nations. These exhibitions vary in character and are held in different parts of the world at a specif ...
held in
Seville
Seville (; es, Sevilla, ) is the capital and largest city of the Spanish autonomous community of Andalusia and the province of Seville. It is situated on the lower reaches of the River Guadalquivir, in the southwest of the Iberian Penins ...
,
Spain
, image_flag = Bandera de España.svg
, image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg
, national_motto = '' Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond")
, national_anthem = (English: "Royal March")
, ...
, from 9 May 1929 until 21 June 1930. Countries in attendance of the exposition included: Portugal, the United States, Brazil, Uruguay, Mexico, Peru, Argentina, Chile, the Republic of Colombia, Cuba, Venezuela, the Dominican Republic, Bolivia, Panama, El Salvador, Costa Rica, and Ecuador. Each
Spanish region and each of the
provinces
A province is almost always an administrative division within a country or state. The term derives from the ancient Roman '' provincia'', which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire's territorial possessions ou ...
of
Andalusia
Andalusia (, ; es, Andalucía ) is the southernmost autonomous community in Peninsular Spain. It is the most populous and the second-largest autonomous community in the country. It is officially recognised as a "historical nationality". The ...
were also represented. Spain’s Dictator General
Miguel Primo de Rivera
Miguel Primo de Rivera y Orbaneja, 2nd Marquess of Estella (8 January 1870 – 16 March 1930), was a dictator, aristocrat, and military officer who served as Prime Minister of Spain from 1923 to 1930 during Spain's Restoration era. He deepl ...
gave the opening address. Primo de Rivera allowed the Spanish King
Alfonso XIII
Alfonso XIII (17 May 1886 – 28 February 1941), also known as El Africano or the African, was King of Spain from 17 May 1886 to 14 April 1931, when the Second Spanish Republic was proclaimed. He was a monarch from birth as his father, Alf ...
to give the final words and officially open the exposition. The purpose of the exposition was to improve relations between Spain and the countries in attendance, all of which have historical ties with Spain through
colonization
Colonization, or colonisation, constitutes large-scale population movements wherein migrants maintain strong links with their, or their ancestors', former country – by such links, gain advantage over other inhabitants of the territory. When ...
(parts of
Spanish America
Spanish America refers to the Spanish territories in the Americas during the Spanish colonization of the Americas. The term "Spanish America" was specifically used during the territories' imperial era between 15th and 19th centuries. To the e ...
and the United States) or
political union
A political union is a type of political entity which is composed of, or created from, smaller polities, or the process which achieves this. These smaller polities are usually called federated states and federal territories in a federal govern ...
(Portugal and its former colony Brazil). Other countries were represented at the ''
International section'' in Barcelona.
The exposition was smaller in scale than the International Exposition held in Barcelona during that same year, but it was not lacking in style. The city of Seville had prepared for the Exposition over the course of 19 years. The exhibition buildings were constructed in
María Luisa Park
Maria may refer to:
People
* Mary, mother of Jesus
* Maria (given name), a popular given name in many languages
Place names Extraterrestrial
* 170 Maria, a Main belt S-type asteroid discovered in 1877
* Lunar maria (plural of ''mare''), large, ...
along the
Guadalquivir River
The Guadalquivir (, also , , ) is the fifth-longest river in the Iberian Peninsula and the second-longest river with its entire length in Spain. The Guadalquivir is the only major navigable river in Spain. Currently it is navigable from the Gul ...
. A majority of the buildings were built to remain permanent after the closing of the exposition. Many of the foreign buildings, including the United States exhibition building, were to be used as consulates after the closing of the exhibits. By the opening of the exposition all of the buildings were complete, although many were no longer new. Not long before the opening of the Exposition, the Spanish government also began a modernization of the city in order to prepare for the expected crowds by erecting new hotels and widening the medieval streets to allow for the movement of automobiles.
Spanish pavilions and exhibits
Spain spent a large amount of money in developing its exhibits for the fair and constructed elaborate buildings to hold them. The exhibits were designed to show the social and economic progress of Spain as well as expressing its culture. Spanish architect
Aníbal González designed the largest and most famous of the buildings, which surrounded the
Plaza de España. The largest of the exhibits housed in this building was located in the “Salón del Descubrimento de América.” The ''Salón'' contained documents, maps, and other objects related to the discovery of the
Americas
The Americas, which are sometimes collectively called America, are a landmass comprising the totality of North America, North and South America. The Americas make up most of the land in Earth's Western Hemisphere and comprise the New World. ...
, including a set of 120 letters and manuscript that had belonged to
Christopher Columbus
Christopher Columbus
* lij, Cristoffa C(or)ombo
* es, link=no, Cristóbal Colón
* pt, Cristóvão Colombo
* ca, Cristòfor (or )
* la, Christophorus Columbus. (; born between 25 August and 31 October 1451, died 20 May 1506) was a ...
, the last testament of
Hernán Cortés
Hernán Cortés de Monroy y Pizarro Altamirano, 1st Marquess of the Valley of Oaxaca (; ; 1485 – December 2, 1547) was a Spanish ''conquistador'' who led an expedition that caused the fall of the Aztec Empire and brought large portions of w ...
, and detailed dioramas of historic moments. An exact replica of Columbus's ship the "
Santa María," complete with a costumed crew, floated on the Guadalquivir River. The cities of Spain contributed structures designed to reflect their unique cultures to be placed in the "Pabellones de las regiones españolas" ("Pavilions of the Spanish regions"). Spain’s exhibits also included a large collection of art located in the Palacio Mudéjar ("
Mudéjar art palace"), Palacio Renacimiento ("
Renaissance
The Renaissance ( , ) , from , with the same meanings. is a period in European history marking the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and covering the 15th and 16th centuries, characterized by an effort to revive and surpass ide ...
palace"), and the Palacio de la Casa Real ("Palace of the Royal House"). The Institute of Art from the
University of Seville
The University of Seville (''Universidad de Sevilla'') is a university in Seville, Spain. Founded under the name of ''Colegio Santa María de Jesús'' in 1505, it has a present student body of over 69.200, and is one of the top-ranked universi ...
was moved to the Palacio Mudéjar for the duration of the exposition on the permission gained from the exposition committee by
Count Columbi
Count (feminine: countess) is a historical title of nobility in certain European countries, varying in relative status, generally of middling rank in the hierarchy of nobility. Pine, L. G. ''Titles: How the King Became His Majesty''. New Yor ...
. The committee also set aside funds from their budget to purchase materials for the Institute.
United States exhibits
The United States' contribution to the exposition consisted of three buildings and marked the end to a several year period in which the United States did not construct buildings for foreign expositions. The main building was to serve as the U.S. consulate office after the closing of the Ibero-American exposition, and housed a menagerie of electrical appliances including oil furnaces, electric refrigerators, airplane models, and miniature wind tunnels. The other two structures housed a movie theatre and government exhibits, including contributions from the Departments of Agriculture, Treasury, and Labor, the Commission of Fine Arts, the Navy, and the Library of Congress.
Ibero-American exhibits
Of the Ibero-American nations in attendance of the exposition, 10 constructed pavilions to display their exhibits. Other nations, including Bolivia, Panama, El Salvador, Costa Rica, and Ecuador displayed their native products in the "Galerías comerciales americanas" ("Commercial galleries of the Americas").
The largest of the ten pavilions was the Peruvian pavilion, which was designed by the architect Don
Manuel Piqueras Cotolí.
[Manuel Piqueras Cotolí (1885-1937): Arquitecto, escultor y urbanista entre España y el Perú. Luis Eduardo Wuffarden, Editor. Museo de Arte de Lima, 2003] The pavilion contained a large archeology collection consisting of three halls filled with pre-Columbian era artifacts, which were to be kept on permanent display. The pavilion also contained an agricultural exhibit filled with stuffed
vicuña
The vicuña (''Lama vicugna'') or vicuna (both , very rarely spelled ''vicugna'', its former genus name) is one of the two wild South American camelids, which live in the high alpine areas of the Andes, the other being the guanaco, which live ...
s,
alpaca
The alpaca (''Lama pacos'') is a species of South American camelid mammal. It is similar to, and often confused with, the llama. However, alpacas are often noticeably smaller than llamas. The two animals are closely related and can success ...
s,
llama
The llama (; ) (''Lama glama'') is a domesticated South American camelid, widely used as a meat and pack animal by Andean cultures since the Pre-Columbian era.
Llamas are social animals and live with others as a herd. Their wool is soft ...
s, and
guanaco
The guanaco (; ''Lama guanicoe'') is a camelid native to South America, closely related to the llama. Guanacos are one of two wild South American camelids, the other being the vicuña, which lives at higher elevations.
Etymology
The guanaco ...
s. The exhibit was complemented by a pack of live llamas grazing on the pavilion grounds.
The Republic of Colombia constructed a pavilion designed by Seville architect
José Granados
José Granados Navedo (born February 1, 1946), is a former Speaker Pro Tem of the House of Representatives of Puerto Rico. Married, with three children, he lives with his family in Florida.
Early years
While attending the Academia Catolica during ...
. The pavilion included a collection of sculpture and artwork by Colombian artist
Rómulo Rozo
Rómulo Rozo Peña (1899 Bogota – 1964 Mérida, Yucatán) was a sculptor. Some authors confirm that he was born in Chiquinquirá, Boyacá. He lived a major part of his life in Mexico. He married Ana Krauss in Czechoslovakia and had three ...
, and of Colombian emeralds, and a coffee café that demonstrated all of the steps in coffee cultivation.
The Brazilian pavilion also contained a coffee cultivation exhibit complete with panoramas and models illustrating the different phases of cultivation. Architect
Pedro Paulo Bernardes Bastos designed the pavilion, which also included a coffee bar.
Chilean architect designed the three-story building that served as home to Chile's exhibits. The exhibits included displays of Chilean industries, including detailed replicas of a nitrate mine and a copper plant,
Araucanian
The Mapuche ( (Mapuche & Spanish: )) are a group of indigenous inhabitants of south-central Chile and southwestern Argentina, including parts of Patagonia. The collective term refers to a wide-ranging ethnicity composed of various groups who sh ...
arts and crafts, and galleries displaying Chilean art and history.
The
Mexican pavilion, designed by
Manuel Amabilis, included exhibits on archeology, education, and the history of Spanish accomplishments in Mexico. Students in Mexican schools prepared some of the education exhibits.
Architect
Martin Noel designed Argentina's pavilion, which included a movie theatre and displays focusing on Argentinean industries and products.
Uruguay's pavilion included displays of its industrial schools, including the Institute of Agronomy and an art gallery filled with paintings and bronze sculptures.
Cuba contributed demonstrations of the sugar and tobacco industries to the exposition in their pavilion.
The Dominican Republic pavilion included a reproduction of the
Columbus's Alcázar.
Guatemala signed up late for the exhibition and as a result rather than resembling a huge palace its pavilion looks more like a school portable building with blue and white tiles on the front. The building contained exhibits relating to the resources found in Guatemala.
Venezuela also erected a pavilion containing displays of its resources.
Today, many of the pavilions from the exposition remain, notably the famous
Plaza de España, which chronicles each of the regions of Spain in ceramic provincial alcoves and benches, as well as some of the national pavilions, which have now been converted to Consulate-Generals. Many of the buildings have been converted into museums and the pavilion of Argentina is now a flamenco school. They have also been featured in a number of films, including ''
Lawrence of Arabia
Thomas Edward Lawrence (16 August 1888 – 19 May 1935) was a British archaeologist, army officer, diplomat, and writer who became renowned for his role in the Arab Revolt (1916–1918) and the Sinai and Palestine Campaign (1915–1918 ...
'', ''
The Wind and the Lion
''The Wind and the Lion'' is a 1975 American epic adventure film written and directed by John Milius and starring Sean Connery, Candice Bergen, Brian Keith, and John Huston. Made in Panavision and Metrocolor and produced by Herb Jaffe and Phil ...
'', and ''
Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones'', among others.
For Sevillans, the exposition marked the acceptance by the upper class of the ''
traje de flamenca
The ''traje de flamenca'' ("flamenco outfit") or ''traje de gitana', Nancy Pereda, 22 April 2015, Yo Dona, El Mundo (" Gitana outfit") is the dress traditionally worn by women at Ferias (festivals) in Andalusia, Spain. There are two forms: ...
'', an outfit worn by lower-class women.
[Traje de flamenca en la feria de Abril](_blank)
, altur.com.
See also
*
Barcelona Pavilion
The Barcelona Pavilion ( ca, Pavelló alemany; es, Pabellón alemán; "German Pavilion"), designed by Ludwig Mies van der Rohe and Lilly Reich, was the German Pavilion for the 1929 International Exposition in Barcelona, Spain. This building ...
designed by
Ludwig Mies van der Rohe
Ludwig Mies van der Rohe ( ; ; born Maria Ludwig Michael Mies; March 27, 1886August 17, 1969) was a German-American architect. He was commonly referred to as Mies, his surname. Along with Alvar Aalto, Le Corbusier, Walter Gropius and Frank Lloy ...
, was the
German
German(s) may refer to:
* Germany (of or related to)
**Germania (historical use)
* Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language
** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law
**Ge ...
Pavilion for the
1929 International Exposition in
Barcelona, Spain
Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within ci ...
.
The Exposition is reviewed by
Evelyn Waugh
Arthur Evelyn St. John Waugh (; 28 October 1903 – 10 April 1966) was an English writer of novels, biographies, and travel books; he was also a prolific journalist and book reviewer. His most famous works include the early satires '' Decl ...
in his collected travel writings, 'When The Going Was Good' 1946, Duckworth. See 'A Pleasure Cruise in 1929'.
References
* Martin, Percy Alvin. (1931) "The Ibero-American Exposition at Seville." Vol. 11, No. 3. ''The Hispanic American Historical Review.''
* "Seville Exposition." (20 May 2009) ''Time'' ''Magazine''. Retrieved on 4 March 2009.
* "A Seminar in the History of Art at the University of Seville." (1930) Vol. 3. No. 1. ''Parnassuss''.
* Williams, Mark. (1990) ''The Story of Spain.'' Malaga, Spain: Santana Books.
* Richman, Irving Berdine. (1919) ''The Spanish Conquerors: A Chronicle of the Dawn of Empire Overseas.'' New Haven, CT: Yale University Press.
{{Authority control
World's fairs in Seville
1929 in Spain
20th century in Seville
Arts in Spain