Canary Islands beach view
UTSA hosts March 8 symposium on Texas-Canary Islands connection
(March 4, 2003)--The University of Texas at San Antonio and the Friends of the Canary Islands Foundation will present a symposium, "Canary Islands - Texas: The Historical Connection," from 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Saturday, March 8 in Buena Vista Street Building Room 1.328 at the UTSA Downtown Campus. The event is free and open to the public.
The symposium site, recently named Aula Canaria (or Canary Lecture Room) in honor of the Canary Islanders, will be the site of cultural and scientific events. Additionally, the UTSA Downtown Campus library will house a Canary Island book collection.
Speakers at the symposium include: Francisco Aznar Vallejo, vice councilor for institutional relations, Canary Islands, Spain, who will dedicate the Aula Canaria; Javier Ruperez, Spanish ambassador to the U.S.; Felix D. Almaraz Jr., UTSA professor of history and symposium coordinator; Francisco A. Marcos Marin, UTSA visiting professor of modern languages and literatures; Rev. David H. Garcia, San Fernando Cathedral rector; Ted Flato, San Antonio architect; Antonio Tejera Gaspar, University of La Laguna, Tenerife, Canary Islands; and Guillermo Alonso Meneses, College of the North Border, Baja California, Mexico.
Fifty-six Canary Islanders (or "Islenos") arrived in 1731 to establish what is known today as San Antonio. Ordered by King Philip V of Spain to establish the settlement, the Islanders organized the municipal government, and the first mayors of the city were original settlers or their descendants. In 1738 the Islanders began construction of a church, now the oldest part of San Fernando Cathedral. Islenos descendants were instrumental in developing the culture and institutions of San Antonio.
The Canary Islands are often described as Spain's tropical paradise. In mainland Spain, they are synonymous with holidays, as they are for thousands of foreign tourists who pack the islands' resorts year round. Colonized and populated by Spaniards, the seven islands lie 1,150 kilometers off the west coast of Africa.
The symposium is sponsored by the UTSA Office of the President, the UTSA Department of History and the Friends of the Canary Islanders Foundation.
Parking is available on the upper level of the UTSA parking garage on Pecos-La Trinidad Street. Simultaneous translation equipment will be available on a first-come, first-served basis.
For more information or to pre-register for the symposium, contact Pablo Villarreal at (210) 458-4333 or Felix D. Almaraz Jr. at (210) 458-2616.
Visit the Friends of the Canary Islands Web site.
For more information about the Canary Islands, visit the Tourist
Office of Spain Web site.
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© The University of Texas at San Antonio, 2003