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''La Ilustración Guatemalteca'' (''Guatemalan Illustration'') was a biweekly cultural magazine that was published in
Guatemala Guatemala ( ; ), officially the Republic of Guatemala ( es, República de Guatemala, links=no), is a country in Central America. It is bordered to the north and west by Mexico; to the northeast by Belize and the Caribbean; to the east by H ...
from 1 July 1896 to 15 June 1898. At a time when only 5% of the Guatemalan population could read, this magazine had extended articles aimed for the society elite and described numerous episodes of the later years of the presidency of general
José María Reina Barrios José María Reyna Barrios (24 December 1854 – 8 February 1898) was President of Guatemala from 15 March 1892 until his death on 8 February 1898. He was born in San Marcos, Guatemala and was nicknamed ''Reynita'', the diminutive form, bec ...
, especially the economic crisis that originated when coffee – principal export from Guatemala at the time – and silver international prices plummeted. It also described the
Exposición Centroamericana The Exposición Centroamericana (Central American Expo) was an industrial and cultural exposition that took place in Guatemala in 1897 and which was approved on 8 March 1894 by the National Assembly by Decree 253 by a suggestion made by presid ...
(Central American Exposition), an event that Reina Barrios organized to showcase the Interoceanic Railroad in Guatemala – at a time when the
Panama Canal The Panama Canal ( es, Canal de Panamá, link=no) is an artificial waterway in Panama that connects the Atlantic Ocean with the Pacific Ocean and divides North and South America. The canal cuts across the Isthmus of Panama and is a conduit ...
had not yet being built – and get Guatemala out of the crisis by means of international investors interested in move their products from the
Atlantic The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe an ...
to the
Pacific Ocean The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the continen ...
. The magazine presented a good amount of pictures made by
Alberto G. Valdeavellano Alberto G. Valdeavellano (Guatemala City, 5 August 1861 - Guatemala City, 16 July 1928) was the first landscape and sports photographer of Guatemala. Biography Little is known about Valdeavellano family and personal life; his parents got marri ...
, a photography pioneer from Guatemala.


History


1896-97: ''La Ilustración Guatemalteca''

''La Ilustración Guatemalteca'' appeared on 1 August 1896 aimed to entertain those who could read and were not involved in politics or religious issues. One of its main goals was to promote and inform about the
Exposición Centroamericana The Exposición Centroamericana (Central American Expo) was an industrial and cultural exposition that took place in Guatemala in 1897 and which was approved on 8 March 1894 by the National Assembly by Decree 253 by a suggestion made by presid ...
, an event that then president Reina Barrios had organized at very large cost from the national treasure in order to show the technological advances made in Central America – mainly the Interoceanic Railroad – to potential investors from abroad. Although it originally aimed not to take any side, it was openly liberal and anticlerical, following the official government policy in those days. It also took advantage of the free press guaranteed by president Reina Barrios, publishing accurate and alarming reports on the economic issues that affected Guatemala at the time due to the large investments in public infrastructure and the plummeting of coffee and silver international prices; it also reported the return of archbishop Ricardo Casanova y Estrada from his exile in
Costa Rica Costa Rica (, ; ; literally "Rich Coast"), officially the Republic of Costa Rica ( es, República de Costa Rica), is a country in the Central American region of North America, bordered by Nicaragua to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the no ...
who was pardoned by general Reina Barrios after former president general Manuel Lisandro Barillas Bercián expelled him to Cuba in 1887; and finally, informed about the attempts and manoeuvers Reina Barrios made to extend his constitutional mandate beyond 1898 and all the criticism he got for doing that. The magazine was a pioneer in sports coverage in Guatemala, presenting information about cycling, which by the end of the 19th Century was an exclusive sport practiced only by the country's elite; in every number the section ''Cycling Notes'' informed about the latest competitions and showed pictures of the Cycling club members. Even the board of directors of the Guatemalan Cyclist Union was presented in a number: (1) President: Miguel Llerandi – Spaniard immigrant-, (2) Vicepresident: Víctor Sánchez Ocaña – former director of the famed Instituto Nacional Central para Varones, former secretary of the Guatemalan Ambassy in Mexico, and director the National Statistics Office-, (3) trustee: M. Larreynaga – former secretary of the Guatemala Ambassy in the
United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
and former inspector of public instruction, (4) trustee: Arturo Petrili – Italian entrepreneur-, (5) trustee: José Lizarralde – coffee plantation owner who had just returned to Guatemala from
Brussels Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...
–, (6) Secretary: Mr. Gavarrete, and (7) Treasurer: José Quevedo V., – military officer and engineer graduated from the Guatemala Military Academy and current Secretary of the College of Engineering of the
National University A national university is mainly a university created or managed by a government, but which may also at the same time operate autonomously without direct control by the state. Some national universities are associated with national cultural or po ...
.


1897–98: ''La Ilustración del Pacífico''

Towards the end of its first year, the magazine changed its name for ''La Ilustración del Pacífico'' (''Pacific Ocean Illustration''). In the first issue of its second year, the editors wrote about all the issues they had to endure in the first year, and explained that they changed names because they were aimed for a broader audience since they were promised a lot of help and contributions when they first appeared, but none of that materialized and eventually the lost several sponsors due to the increasing costs generated by the economic crisis the country was undergoing at the time. The magazine was also criticized for its report about archbishop Ricardo Casanova y Estrada return – given the
Positivism Positivism is an empiricist philosophical theory that holds that all genuine knowledge is either true by definition or positive—meaning ''a posteriori'' facts derived by reason and logic from sensory experience.John J. Macionis, Linda M. G ...
that ruled over the intellectuals at the time – and for publishing the financial situation of the country in 1897, which scared their readers. The economic crisis affected the publisher as well, as the paper costs increased and some special paper needed for the photographs was heavily taxed by the government. In spite of all these problems, they decided to continue because the magazine was used abroad to portray what was happening in Guatemala. Ramón A. Salazar, a well known Guatemalan writer and politician, was the new editor in chief.


Gallery

''La Ilustración'' distinguished itself for showing portraits of the most representative ladies of Guatemalan society, groups of Guatemalan natives from the rural areas and the best students of the different educational institutions in the country. Most of the pictures were taken by photographer
Alberto G. Valdeavellano Alberto G. Valdeavellano (Guatemala City, 5 August 1861 - Guatemala City, 16 July 1928) was the first landscape and sports photographer of Guatemala. Biography Little is known about Valdeavellano family and personal life; his parents got marri ...
.


Socialites

File:Argeliabenton.jpg, Algeria Benton de Reyna, American artist and wife of general Reina Barrios File:Mezerville1897.jpg, Miss Leonor de Mezerville File:Julianovella.jpg, Miss Julia Novella File:Paquitaurrutia1896.jpg, Paquita Urrutia, daughter of well-known engineer Claudio Urrutia


Indigenous people from Guatemala

Image:Volcanfuego1897.jpg,
Alotenango Alotenango (''Alo-tenamitl-co''; translation "in the wall of the parrots") (variation: Atchalan) is a town and municipality in the Guatemalan department of Sacatepéquez. According to the 2018 census, the town has a population of 23,358. The mu ...
, with
Volcán de Fuego Volcán de Fuego (; Spanish for "Volcano of Fire", often shortened to Fuego) or Chi Q'aq' ( Kaqchikel for "where the fire is") is an active stratovolcano in Guatemala, on the borders of Chimaltenango, Escuintla and Sacatepéquez departments. ...
in the background Image:Chinautla1897.jpg,
Chinautla Chinautla () is a city and municipality in the Guatemala department of Guatemala. The city has a population of 104,972 (2018 census) making it the fourteenth largest city in the country and the seventh largest in the Guatemala Department. Admini ...
Image:Nahuala1897.jpg,
Nahualá Nahualá () is a municipality in the Sololá department of Guatemala. The town is sometimes known as Santa Catalina Nahualá in honor of the town's patron saint, Saint Catherine of Alexandria, but the official name is just "Nahualá". Formerly, ...
Image:Quirigua1897.jpg,
Quiriguá Quiriguá () is an ancient Maya archaeological site in the department of Izabal in south-eastern Guatemala. It is a medium-sized site covering approximately along the lower Motagua River, with the ceremonial center about from the north bank ...


Outstanding students

Image:Derecho1897.jpg, Law Studentes from Universidad Nacional. Image:Escuelaindigena1897.jpg, Studentes from the Indigenous Agricultural School Image:Profesorasbelen1896.jpg, Students from Normal Institute for Ladies


General José María Reina Barrios

Image:Rbarriosinstantanea1896a 01.jpg, General Reina Barrios during some military exercises on 28 June 1896. This was the first instant photographs ever taken in Guatemala; picture by
Alberto G. Valdeavellano Alberto G. Valdeavellano (Guatemala City, 5 August 1861 - Guatemala City, 16 July 1928) was the first landscape and sports photographer of Guatemala. Biography Little is known about Valdeavellano family and personal life; his parents got marri ...
. Image:Rbarriosinstantanea1896b.jpg, Another perspective of the military exercises. Image:CeliaBarriosdeReyna.jpg, Celia Barrios de Reina, mother of general Reina Barrios and sister of former president
Justo Rufino Barrios Justo Rufino Barrios Auyón (19 July 1835 – 2 April 1885) was a Guatemalan politician and military general who served as President of Guatemala from 1873 to his death in 1885. He was known for his liberal reforms and his attempts to reuni ...
. 1897. Image:Madrereinabarrioscapilla.jpg, Celia Barrios de Reina's wake. 1897.


See also

*
Alberto G. Valdeavellano Alberto G. Valdeavellano (Guatemala City, 5 August 1861 - Guatemala City, 16 July 1928) was the first landscape and sports photographer of Guatemala. Biography Little is known about Valdeavellano family and personal life; his parents got marri ...
* Antonio Macías del Real *
José María Reina Barrios José María Reyna Barrios (24 December 1854 – 8 February 1898) was President of Guatemala from 15 March 1892 until his death on 8 February 1898. He was born in San Marcos, Guatemala and was nicknamed ''Reynita'', the diminutive form, bec ...
* Rafael Spinola


Notes and references


References


Bibliography

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External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Ilustracion Guatemalteca Biweekly magazines Cultural magazines Magazines established in 1896 Magazines disestablished in 1896 News magazines published in South America Spanish-language magazines