THE NMI Council for the Humanities invites the public to attend a book launching ceremony for a new publication on Marianas history to be held at the Visitors Center Theater at American Memorial Park on Tuesday evening, March 20 beginning 5:30 p.m.
The book, “Beyond Distances: Politics and Deportation in the Mariana Islands,” was researched and authored by Spanish historian Carlos Madrid. It chronicles the events surrounding a sizable group of Spanish political prisoners exiled to the Marianas in the 1870s.
Immediately following the book launch at 6:30 p.m. Madrid will present a lecture entitled “Who Avenged Rizal? Spanish Politics in the 19th Century and the Philippine Connection.”
Madrid will explore how Philippine national hero Jose Rizal was perceived in Spain, and by whom, and how he is perceived in the Philippines now.
Madrid’s research, funded by the Humanities Council with grants from the Spanish Program for Cultural Cooperation and the CNMI Division of Historic Preservation, took him to archives in the Philippines, Spain, Guam and the United States.
He also conducted interviews with descendents of some of the deportees in Spain to collect surviving family histories and memorabilia.
The resulting 245-page, hard bound publication presents a comprehensive overview of this important but nearly forgotten chapter in the shared history of Spain, the Philippines and the Mariana islands.
According to history professor Dr. Anne Perez Hattori of the University of Guam, “ ‘Beyond Distances’ provides insights of everyday life in 19t century Mariana islands and makes superb use of rare documents to bring out native Chamorro voices and perspectives.”
Adding to the book’s value are numerous contemporary illustrations and photographs, including six images dating to the mid-1870s that are believed to be the earliest photos taken in the Marianas, an extensive bibliography of primary source documents, and appendices containing translations of pertinent documents.
Madrid will be present at the launching ceremony to sign copies of his book that will be available for purchase at $15 per volume.
Interested individuals are invited to contact council staff at 235-4785 for more information about the book launch and lecture.