Apr
Within the framework of the actions taken by the Embassy of Spain in order to promote the figure of General Galvez in the United States, the Defense Attaché, accompanied by the Military Attaché and the Navy representative in Philadelphia held a working meeting with Mr. Michael C. Quinn, CEO of the Museum of the American Revolution.
Mr. Quinn explained that since 2012 he has been working on the project of the museum, located at the heart of historical Philadelphia. Its construction started in 2014, and its inauguration is planned to take place in April 2017. Within the exhibitions, there will be a specific area called Southern Campaigns, which will highlight the support of Spain’s Crown to the thirteen colonies that were seeking their independence.
As a follow-up to Mr. Gonzalo Quintero’s visit, from the Embassy, General Valcarcel offered the collaboration of the Institutes of History and Military Culture of the Spanish Army and Spanish Navy to establish an institutional cooperation framework with the museum. To that effect, Mr. Quinn confirmed that the person in charge of the exhibits area will travel to Madrid and Toledo to hold meetings with the directors of the Institutes and to visit the Army and Naval Museums.
Mr. Quinn was presented with a book, a comic, and a children’s book published on the occasion of the recent exhibition that the Spanish Army has held about General Galvez at the House of America in Madrid. Mr. Quinn showed a great interest in the possibility of having the exhibition moved to Philadelphia in 2018, which will help, he added, to inaugurate, precisely with Bernardo de Galvez, the great hall that the Museum will have for traveling exhibitions.
ue to the complexity of undertaking these types of projects and the economic effort that it entails, Mr. Quinn suggested that the exhibition should remain at the museum for at least nine months. He also considered it wise to move the exhibition to other museums in the United States to better promote the contribution of Galvez to the birth of the United States of America.
It would be ideal if the exhibition would take place from Easter Week until Christmas 2018 in Philadelphia to celebrate the first anniversary of the establishment of the museum, and take advantage at the same time of the three vacation periods. The possibility of moving the exhibition to an intermediate location, such as Pensacola, New Orleans, or San Antonio could also be considered. The plan is to finish at the National Museum of American History of the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C., where some of the pieces could remain in order for General Galvez to share a permanent place with General Washington and General Lafayette.
To implement this great project, it would be necessary to count with, not only the collaboration of the museums but also the sponsorship of businesses and companies interested in contributing to disseminate the rich legacy of Spain in the United States, which even today remains dormant. This should not constitute an unsurmountable obstacle since a million visitors could be reached between Philadelphia and Washington, D.C.
Another result of the meeting was the interest and commitment of the museum to participate in the sale of the last publications on General Galvez, including those mentioned Mr. Quinn, written in Spanish, to further, spread and consolidate the Spanish language in the United States.