HIDDEN HISPANIC HERITAGE
MENU
  • HOME
  • ABOUT US/QUIENES SOMOS
  • CHAPTERS/CAPITULOS
  • EN ESPAÑOL
  • ON FACEBOOK
  • IN THE NEWS/NOTICIAS
  • ACCOLADES/ELOGIOS
  • VIDEO LECTURES/CHARLAS
  • MIGUELPEREZ.COM
    • MY STUDENTS
  • ABOUT/SOBRE MIGUEL
  • VIDEOS WE LIKE
  • CONTACT US/CONTÁCTENOS
  • TIMELINE/CRONOLOGIA
  • THE HISPANIC AMERICAN HISTORY MUSEUM
  • THE GREAT TOUR/LA GRAN GIRA
  • CALIFORNIA ROAD TRIP
  • NYC HISPANIC LANDMARKS
  • NYC HISPANIC ART
  • ON THE ROAD AGAIN
  • EN EL CAMINO OTRA VEZ
  • OUR MEDALLIONS SAGA

On the Road Again
​Searching for Our Hispanic Heritage

En español, clic:
​
​EN EL CAMINO OTRA VEZ
HI FOLKS!
​My third interstate road trip to visit Hispanic heritage sites has finally concluded after reporting from 40 stops along the way. Did you follow my reports? Do you want to do it again in Spanish?

I covered 3,728 miles driving from North Jersey to South Florida and back, following two different routes, using 21st century GPS maps to keep up with conquistador maps from the 16th century!

Tired of driving? A little. But I would do it again without hesitation. In fact, I will do it again soon, in a different direction, to continue visiting more Hispanic heritage sites and gathering research to complete my book.

For now, complying with many requests on social media for me to publish my ON THE ROAD AGAIN trip in Spanish, I will be posting translations of my 40 reports in the same orden as they were originally posted in English.

So, check out our a new section called "EN EL CAMINO OTRA VEZ" — Buscando Nuestra Herencia Hispana." I hope you will share it with your friends who prefer reading in Spanish. ´Mil gracias!​
​HOLA AMIGOS!
​Mi tercer viaje por carretera interestatal para visitar sitios del patrimonio hispano finalmente concluyó después de informar sobre 40 paradas en mi camino.
™Seguiste mis informes? ™Quieres hacerlo de nuevo en español?

´Cubrí 3,728 millas conduciendo desde el norte de Jersey hasta el sur de Florida y de regreso, siguiendo dos rutas diferentes, usando mapas GPS del siglo 21 para mantenerme al día con los mapas de los conquistadores del siglo 16!

™Cansado de conducir? Un poco. Pero lo volvería a hacer sin dudarlo. De hecho, lo haré nuevamente pronto, en una dirección diferente, para continuar visitando más sitios de la herencia hispana y reuniendo detalles para completar mi libro.

Por ahora, cumpliendo con muchas solicitudes en las redes sociales para que publique mi viaje ON THE ROAD AGAIN en español, publicaré las traducciones de mis 40 informes en el mismo orden en que se publicaron originalmente en inglés.


Entonces, echa un vistazo a nuestra nueva sección llamada "EN EL CAMINO OTRA VEZ" — Buscando Nuestra Herencia Hispana".​ Espero que las compartas con tus amigos que prefieren leer en español. ´Mil gracias!
Picture
SOUTHBOUND: North Jersey, Camden, N.J., Yorktown, Va., First Landing State Park, Va., Jamestown Settlement, Va., Santa Elena, N.C., Ponte Vedra Beach., Fl., Fort Mose State Park, Fl., St. Augustine, Melbourne Beach, Miami.
Picture
NORTHBOUND: Miami, Bradenton, St. Petersburg, Tampa, Tallahassee, Arlington, Ga., Milledgeville, Ga., Franklin, N.C., Morganton, N.C., Monticello, Va., Washington, D.C., North Jersey!

40th stop: ​​Smithsonian Steps Up
and says 'PRESENTE' at D.C.'s Museum of American History

The exhibit is quite good, clearly showing the potential of the Smithsonian Institution to put together a great collection of Hispanic heritage artifacts. It was long overdue — about time for them to step up and say "´presente!"

In fact, that is what they are calling this exhibit 
at the Smithsonian Museum of American History in Washington D.C.: "PRESENTE — A Latino History of the United States."
Picture
This exhibit is an anticipation of the "National Museum of the American Latino," which was finally approved by Congress in 2020 and is expected to be built on the Washington Mall in the next few years, although the location is still in question.

As readers of my columns know, I have been calling for the creation of this museum for many years, and it's great to see it being realized. (See links to my 2011 and 2015 columns below).

This goes all the way back to 1994, when looking at itself in the mirror, the Smithsonian realized it wasn't painting an accurate image. That's when 
a Smithsonian task force issued a report, titled "Willful Neglect," which concluded that they had ignored the contributions of Hispanics/Latinos in their exhibitions — and that a new national museum was needed to fill the huge void they had left in their many museums.
Picture
So, 30 years later, I expect to see this dream under construction by 2024, if we are lucky! ´Dios mio, dame paciencia!

​But perhaps it could be a little sooner and at an appropriated site after President Joe Biden recently endorsed a push by the Congressional Hispanic Caucus to build this museum on the National Mall in Washington. Once they decide on a site, the dream will become reality much sooner.
However, I would have called it the "National Museum of Hispanic American History." I fear that without "Hispanic" in the name, it would be hard for the museum to represent that period of history when we were not yet Latinos, especially our Spanish ancestors who came in that first century before the British arrived. And without "History" in the name, I fear that it could easily turn into a pop culture museum.

Already, the PRESENTE exhibit is mostly about U.S. Latinos in the 19th and 20th centuries. I saw very little about our ancestors from that first HISPANIC century They were hardly presente!
Picture
Picture
After visiting Fort Mose in Florida (our seventh stop) a few weeks ago, I was glad to see the exhibit recognizes Capt. Francisco Menéndez. But I could not find the huge historial figures we saw in Florida museums during this trip. Juan Ponce de Leon, Pánfilo de Narváez, Juan Ortiz, Estevanico, Alvar Nuñez Cabeza de Vaca, Pedro Menéndez de Aviles, and Hernando De Soto were not presente! And neither were Francisco Vasquez de Coronado and many other explorers who came north from present-day Mexico during that first Hispanic American century.

Was that more "Willful Neglect?" I certainly saw that kind of intentional snub of U.S. Hispanic history as this very museum when I visited in 2015 and 2018, and the main American history exhibit began in 1776, conveniently omitting that first Hispanic American century. See my 2015 column, Smithsonian Omits Hispanics In U.S. History Exhibit.
Picture
Picture
So let's hope that omitting our early Hispanic history is not a prevailing problem at the Smithsonian. And let's give them time. After all this is a preliminary exhibit in a limited space. However, the new museum should be much more inclusive of the entire timeline of our history. In fact, it should have an entire gallery devoted to that first Spanish American century that began when Ponce de Leon landed in Florida in 1513.
Picture
For now, however, I have to say I was satisfied. I liked what I saw. Although falling short on our early history, with a limited space the PRESENTE exhibit displays a variety of photos and artifacts that truly illustrate the immense diversity of our Hispanic/Latino community, and it clearly tries to represent all our Latin American nationalities, which is not easy.

If I have any criticism, it's because I want to see more U.S. Hispanic history, in a bigger space and a lot sooner.
Picture
Picture
But for now, I think this article - merged with the two I have previously written — A Long-Overdue Museum and Smithsonian Omits Hispanics in U.S. History Exhibit — is likely enough for me to write a chapter in my book. Potential chapter title: "The Smithsonian and Hispanics/Latinos: From Willful Neglect to Mucha Paciencia." What do you think?
​This is the last of 40 reports from my recent 3,728-mile road trip to visit Hispanic heritage sites across 10 states. Some will help to update and enhance some of the existing chapters in this website and others will become new chapters. Did you follow my reports? Do you know someone who would like to read them in Spanish? In a few days, I will begin posting them again, en español, in the same order as they were originally posted in English. Will you help me by sharing them with your friends?

​´Gracias!

39th stop: ​​Revisiting Don Quijote
in Thomas Jefferson's Library

​When people tell me they have never heard of Monticello, I usually chuckle and ask them if they have a nickel. They are likely to be carrying the image of Thomas Jefferson's estate in their pocket and don't even know it.

​But I have been here before. So, why did I need to revisit the third president's beautiful mansion? My students know! They know what happened during my first visit. They know that I went looking Jefferson's favorite Spanish novel, and that I was astonished when told that Jefferson used Don Quijote de La Mancha to learn French! WHAT?

Picture
Picture
This is why I needed to return. Although that tour guide apologized and explained that he meant to say Spanish instead of French, I needed to know that other tour guides were not misinforming people. I had to take that tour again!
Much to my surprise, although no photos were allowed during my first visit (and I had to sneak a quick snap of Jefferson's books), this time we were told we could take as many photos as we wanted. Of course, shooting photos of anything in a glass enclosure is always a problem. You can't get rid of the reflections! Although most of Jefferson's books are in the Library of Congress, and although even most of the books on this shelve were not really his, the only the ones behind the glass-covered shelve were truly his books -- including a four-volume edition of Don Quijote.

​Much to my delight, this time the guide knew that Spain's greatest novel is actually in Spanish! LOL

​She didn't even bring it up. I had to ask, "Where is Don Quijote?" But after pointing to a four-volume set, she recognized that it is written in Spanish. I felt relieved!

​"Actually, he taught himself Spanish with those books," I told the tour group, causing others to take a closer look and stick their heads in the way as I tried to take photos. LOL See my original report on my first visit to Jefferson's Spanish Library

Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
For our next and final stop of this road trip — Number 40! — we are going to Washington D.C., to check out the new Smithsonian exhibit meant to serve as a preview of the long-awaited "National Museum of the American Latino." Are you coming?
Picture
Picture
Picture

38th stop: ​Juan Pardo's Fort San Juan,
​in Native American 'Joara,' N.C.
​Digging out our Spanish roots!

Some 27 years after the Hernando de Soto expedition passed through Joara, the great Native American regional center of Mississippian culture near present-day Morganton, N.C.,  another Spanish expedition built a fort here. It was called Fort San Juan and it was the first European settlement in the interior of North America.     

While De Soto trekked to this area in 1540 from south, after landing in Tampa Bay, the 1567 Juan Pardo expedition came from the east coast — from the Spanish settlement of Santa Elena in present-day Parris Island, S.C. We were there for our fifth stop on this road trip. Remember? No? Scroll down!
Picture
Santa Helena was the second major settlement established by Pedro Menendez de Aviles, the governor of Florida and founder of St. Augustine. At that time "La Florida" extended all the way north to the Carolinas and all the way west to Texas (see map), and Santa Elena was established in 1566 to spearhead further Spanish expeditions into the interior of North America. It was Menendez de Aviles who ordered Captain Pardo to explore the interior 0f "La Florida."

Pardo led two expeditions from Santa Elena, both on a northwesterly course across present-day South Carolina, North Carolina, and into Tennessee. He was looking to expand the Spanish empire into the interior, create trade with natives to relieve food shortages in Santa Elena, convert the natives to Christianity, and establish a route all the way to the Spanish silver mines of Zacatecas, in present-day Mexico.

On the first expedition, starting on Dec. 1, 1566, he led 125 men until he reached Joara, in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains, which the Spanish spelled "Xuala" on their maps (see images on this page). He built a good rapport and became an ally of Mico Joara, the village ruler, and with other village chiefs in present-day North Carolina.

​​But they where slowed by a heavy snowfall and decided to build Fort San Juan, a blockhouse structure, near Joara. After a couple of weeks, Pardo 
garrisoned the fort with 30 men under the command of Sergeant Hernando Moyano de Morales and continued his exploration until returning to Santa Elena in March of 1567.
Picture
Picture
However, the Spanish alliance with some Indian chiefs got them involved in fights with others. Siding with Mico Joara meant war against his enemies. And so, with the help of Sergeant Moyano and some 15 Spanish soldiers, Mico attacked and defeated the Chisca natives in present-day Saltville, Va.

Yet, on his second expedition, when Pardo returned to Fort San Juan in September of 1567, he was told that Moyano and most of his men were in Chiacha, a native village near present-day Dandridge, in northeast Tennessee, where they were surrounded by Chiahan Indians and confined to a small fort they had built there. 

Pardo, arriving with 120 additional 
soldiers, was able to retrieve Moyano and his men back to Fort San Juan, where he again left a garrison of soldiers and moved on to establish more forts, always ​leaving a small contingent of Spanish soldiers and Jesuit missionaries at each one. He and his men built six forts — the first European settlements in South Carolina, North Carolina and Tennessee, predating the earliest British settlement at Roanoke Island, N.C. by 18 years. The forts were meant to furnish supplies along the land route to Zacatecas.
Picture
However, while Pardo was back in Santa Elena, to resist French attacks there, the natives resisted his interior settlements. They attacked and burned the forts, and within 18 months, killed all but one of the 120 soldiers and missionaries Pardo had left behind. Pardo never returned to the interior. That was the last time the Spanish tried establish a trail to Zacatecas, or to impose their colonial claim in the interior of the continent. Some 18 years later, British efforts to build the Roanoke Colony, on the east coast of North Carolina, in 1585 and 1587 also met strong native resistance and failed. Several decades passed before British colonists finally settled in this area.
Picture
Picture
​Although Joara's and Fort San Juan's exact location had been lost for centuries and disputed for many years, in 2009, while still unsure of the fort's exact location, the State of North Carolina erected a very visible, white, "Fort San Juan" historical marker in Morganton. This was based on earlier archaeological work that had revealed Spanish trade goods and tools suggestive of a Spanish settlement. The historical marker still stands on State Highway 181 (North Green Street), at the intersection with Bost Road, in Morganton (see photo).
Picture
Berry archeological excavation site in July 2022
The Joara/Fort San Juan location was finally confirmed at the Berry archeological site, eight miles north of Morganton, in July on 2013, when archeologists from three universities announced that they had definitive evidence proving that they found Joara's Mississippian artifacts and Fort San Juan — from its aged remains to its defensive moat.

And their admirable work continues today, through the non-profit Exploring Joara Foundation, an organization which administers research excavations at Joara and Fort San Juan. They have a variety of community and education programs, including "dig days" for students and the general public. I have been here before, and this is the second time I miss one of their "dig days," but I want to come back to get my hands dirty!
Picture
Visiting the Berry archaeological excavation site in 2015 with my friend Rafael Prieto and my dog Don Quijote
"Our story is literally changing history books," says the Foundation on its website. "Did you know that nearly 20 years before The Lost Colony, 40 years before Jamestown, and 53 years before the Mayflower landed in Plymouth, the Spaniard Juan Pardo had built a series of six forts from the coast of South Carolina into the mountains of east Tennessee?"

Well yeah, now we do!

​
Check out their YouTube video. They are literally digging for our Hispanic roots!

Next Stop: Thomas Jefferson's Monticello. "So what does Jefferson's house have to do with our Hispanic heritage? you ask. "Why are we going there?" That's easy. I have been there before, and there is something I must go back to investigate. Check out: Jefferson's Spanish Library
Picture
Picture

37th stop: Following De Soto's Trail in North Carolina

At the entrance to Big Bear Park on the Little Tennessee River Greenway, in Franklin, N.C., there is a small "De Soto Trail" monument recognizing that something very significant occurred here almost five centuries ago.

"Near this spot in 1540," says the plaque on this landmark,  "Hernando de Soto and his men crossed this stream which flows into the waters of the Mississippi River."

​They were on Spain's first mission to explore what is now a huge portion of the U.S. mainland, and to search for gold! In North Carolina, as in the nine present-day states they crossed, they had peaceful relations with most of the native villages they encountered. But they fought with some natives, especially when they took sides between warring 
tribes.

Picture
Here in western North Carolina, a part of the country where four current U.S. states nearly meet — Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina and Tennessee — the De Soto expedition went as far northeast at the village of Joara (near present-day Morganton, N.C.), then changed course and began heading southwest across portions of Tennessee, Alabama, Mississippi, Arkansas and Louisiana, until they found the Mississippi River.

Their journey took four years and 4,000 miles, wiggling across today's U.S. map from Tampa Bay to 
Mexico. But the expedition lost its leader and will to keep exploring when De Soto died of a fever and was buried in the Mississippi River in May of 1542. Dodging attacks by natives, the survivors made their way to Mexico, where they knew they could hook up with other Spaniards. Of some 600 who started this journey, some 300 
survived.
Picture
But when the expedition was here and crossed the Little Tennessee River in western North Carolina, De Soto was already leading them back in a southwestern direction.

Nevertheless, I say we should keep going north to Joara. After all, some 27 years after De Soto was there, other Spanish explorers built a fort there. Let's go!


Picture
Picture

36th stop: Following the Trail of Conquistadors in Milledgeville, Ga.

Some 175 miles north of Arlington, Ga., where we found a historical marker for the Hernando de Soto expedition, another Georgia town still recognizes their route. "Many scholars believe that this was the general area where the De Soto expedition visited April 3-8, 1540," says the historical marker in downtown Milledgeville, Ga.

"​In May 1539 Hernando de Soto landed in Florida with over 600 people, 220 horses and mules, and a herd reserved for famine," the marker claims. "Fired by his success in Pizarro's conquest of Peru, De Soto had been granted the rights, by the King of Spain, to explore, then govern, southeastern North America."
Picture
 And wouAfter spending the winter in the Tallahassee area, the expedition "set out on a quest for gold which eventually spanned four years and crossed portions of nine states," the marker says. While recognizing that "this tremendous effort" forever changed the lives of the Indians who were infected with old world disease or killed in battle, the marker also notes that "this was the first recorded European exploration of the interior of the Southeast" and that "over 300 members died on the expedition, including De Soto in 1542."

The marker also explains that the Indians of the Chiefdom of Altamaha "ferried the Spanish across a large river in dugout canoes" and traveled northeastward. And wouldn't you know it? That's the direction we are taking! We are not taking canoes, lol, but on this road trip we are following the trail of conquistadors! Are you coming?
Picture
Picture

35th stop: ​Hernando de Soto
in ​Arlington, Georgia!

Many of the historical markers identifying the route of the 1539-42 Hernando de Soto expedition are no longer there! There are state-sponsored websites that tell you where to find them, so that you can then realize that you have been mislead. ´Ay Dios mío! Some websites actually warn you, in tiny red letters, that some signs are gone. But if you are persistent, and willing to drive a few miles to confirm that some still exist, you can still find them!

I found this one in Arlington, Ga. It explains that in April of 1538, De Soto sailed for Cuba from San Lucar, Spain, with nine ships and 600 men, and that he spent a year in Cuba preparing for the expedition to Florida. After landing in the Tampa Bay area in May 1539, trekking north and spending the winter in the Tallahassee area, the marker explains that in March 1940, De Soto began an "indefinite route" across Georgia.
Picture
"His exact route is unknown and certain landmarks mentioned by the scribe of the expedition remain unidentified," the marker explains. Yet it also notes that Alligator Spring, near Arlington, “has the best claims of existing springs to identification with the ‘White Spring’ (Fuente Blanca) at which Hernando de Soto and his army encamped on the night of March 17-18, 1540.”​

The De Soto expedition trekked across territory that later became Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, Tennessee, Alabama, Mississippi, Arkansas and Louisiana. Their four-year, 4,000-mile hike finally lost its drive when de Soto died of fever at the banks of the Mississippi River, where he was buried in May 1542.

I don't intend to follow those footsteps, lol, but I say we should keep looking for historical markers on our way north! Are you coming?
Picture
Picture

Before we leave ​Tallahassee
​Previous Visit:
De Soto's winter encampment
Site of first American Christmas

Coming from Hernando de Soto's landing site in Tampa Bay and heading north to follow the trail of his 1539 expedition, I would be remiss to leave Tallahassee before noting that this is the site of De Soto's winter encampment, where historians believe America's first Christmas was celebrated — in Spanish!

It was recognized as the location of "America's First Christmas celebration" by the Florida House of Representatives in 2013. I was here in 2014.
Picture
Picture
Photo: Florida Park Service Collection
Picture
"The route of de Soto has always been uncertain, including the location of the village of Anhaica, the first winter encampment," a historical marker explains. "The place was thought to be in the vicinity of Tallahassee, but no physical evidence had ever been found. Calvin Jones' chance discovery of 16th century Spanish artifacts in 1987 settled the argument. Jones, a state archaeologist, led a team of amateurs and professionals in an excavation which recovered more than 40,000 artifacts . . . These finds provided the physical evidence of the 1539-40 winter encampment, the first confirmed De Soto site in North America."
Picture
Picture
After the Spanish took over Anhaica, which had been forcibly abandoned by its Apalachee natives, they were under constant attack by the Apalachees. According to the signs here, perhaps that is the reason why accounts of that portion of the expedition mostly detail those raids and fail to mention Christmas celebrations.

Yet historians believe that "the three priests who accompanied the De Soto expedition would have ensured that Christmas traditions were upheld,"
according to another sign titled "De Soto's Christmas in Tallahassee."

The signs also explains that, "from this location the De Soto expedition traveled northward and westward making the first European contact with many native societies."

We are not heading west folks, not on this road trip. But since we are heading north, I say we should follow De Soto's route, at least through Georgia and the Carolinas? Are you coming?
Picture
Picture
Picture
Reenactment of De Soto's landing in Tampa Bay
Picture
To enlarge these images, click on them!

34th stop:
​
The lessons begin even before you enter Tallahassee's
Museum of Florida History

When you get there, even before you go inside the Museum of Florida History in Talahassee, you are immediately struck by a tableau of impressive statues, representing three Florida Native American groups.

So the history lessons begin even before you walk in! "Movin' On" shows a Miccosukee family of the 1930s; "Seminole Family" depicts a Seminole Indian family of the 1830s; and "American Royalty," presents a group of the indigenous people of the "European Contact Era" (mid-16th century) and shows a king, his servant and queen.
Picture
Picture
"Movin' On" — 1930s Miccosukee family.
Picture
1830s "Seminole Family."
Picture
"American Royalty" - 16th century indigenous king, his servant and his queen.
​​Once inside, of course, you are likely to be impressed over and over again. This museum is exceptional. It allows you to walk through the entire timeline of Florida history, with fascinating exhibits. I don't have the space to take you through all the history covered here, but I've been here before and made a few wax sculpture friends, so let me introduce you to them!

​​
Two of them are standing together, Juan Ortiz and Estevanico, because they are both survivors of the 1528 Panfilo de Narváez expedition to Florida. Ortiz was captured by natives shortly after their arrival and lived among the Uzíta and Mocoso Indians near Tampa Bay for 11 years, until he hooked up with the Hernando de Soto expedition and, having learned the native languages and customs, became De Soto's guide and interpreter. Estevanico was a slave and one of four other Narváez expedition survivors who spent almost eight years to get from Tampa Bay to Mexico City — mostly on foot!
Picture
Juan Ortiz and Estevanico
Picture
Captain Francisco Menendez
​I don't remember seeing Captain Francisco Menendez when I was here in 2014, but after visiting Fort Mose in our seventh stop a few weeks ago, I was glad to see the captain of the black Spanish militia and leader of Fort Mose recognized here. He deserves it! "Captain Menéndez played a crucial role in the establishment of the first legally-authorized free-black community in what is now the United States," the exhibit explains.

But let me introduce you to some of the others:

• Ana Méndez, barely a teenager in 1539, pretended to be a young man to end up becoming one of two Spanish women with the Hernando de Soto expedition. She worked as a servant for one of the expedition members., and she was the only female survivor.

​• Fray Luis Cáncer de Barbastro, a Spanish priest and experienced missionary of the Dominican order, came to Florida in 1549 "to preach peacefully to the Indians" and became an advocate for humane treatment of the Florida natives. 

• Francisco Pellicer, born on the Spanish island of Menorca (Minorca), worked as a carpenter at New Smyrna, a large indigo plantation in East Florida where conditions were so harsh that surviving Minorcan settlers eventually abandoned the plantation. According to folks stories told by their descendants, it was Pellicer who (with 
Father Pedro Camps) led the settlers to St. Augustine. Do you remember that we covered "New Smyrna" in our 15th stop?

​• Anna Madgigine Jai Kingsley, who was born in Senegal in West Africa, was captured and enslaved as girl. Zephaniah Kingsley, a plantation owner and slave trader, brought her to Florida. And yet according to this exhibit, "he later freed her, and she eventually managed her own land and enslaved blacks."

​• Saturiwa was a Timucuan chief in northeast Florida. "In 1564, the French, and later the Spaniards in 1565, established settlements within or near his chiefdom," the exhibit explains.​

• Cacica Doña Maria Meléndez was the Timucuan Indian woman chief 
of the Nombre de Dios Mission, near St. Augustine, in the late 1500s. She was a Christian who led one of the earliest mission villages established by Spain.

​Fascinating stuff, right? This museum has too much of it, lol, at least to report as part of this road trip. But I'm just getting started. 
My research and photos will undoubtedly produce many more chapters for this webpage, and a book-in-progress.

So where are we going now? Where is our next stop? I say we should head north and pick up the trail of the De Soto expedition! Are you coming?
Picture
Ana Méndez
Picture
Fray Luis Cáncer de Barbastro
Picture
Francisco Pellicer
Picture
Anna Madgigine Jai Kingsley
Picture
Chief Saturiwa
Picture
Cacica Doña Maria Meléndez
Picture
Picture

33rd stop: The Tampa Bay Hotel:
​Now a history museum with its own Spanish-Cuban-American history!

Even before you enter this museum, the building's stunning Moorish and Turkish architecture has you awed. It's the grand old Tampa Bay Hotel, opened in 1891, which is now the Plant Museum at the University of Tampa. It was also the headquarters for the U.S. Army during the Spanish-Cuban-American War.

It has an impressive collection of memorabilia from that war and its huge connection with Tampa. In fact, the museum is named after Henry B. Plant, a transportation tycoon who built the hotel and convinced the U.S. government to make Tampa the official port of embarkation for U.S. Army troops, because he had the railroad to take the soldiers to Tampa and the steamships to take them on to Cuba.

Although this 500-room luxury resort was built to draw tourists to Florida and remained open until 1932, it was used by the U.S. Army in preparation for the invasion of Cuba in 1898. "Officers and war correspondent resided in luxury at the Hotel — rocking on the veranda, sipping iced tea and planning strategies," a museum exhibit explains. "The enlisted men were encamped in tents (in seven Tampa area camps) fighting mosquitos, eating spoiled food and enduring stifling temperatures in their wool uniforms."
Picture
Picture
With Azucena Abed, my guide to Hispanic Tampa.
Other exhibits explain that the Army embarkation from Tampa was "chaotic" and "utterly mismanaged." Apparently, the soldiers were so anxious to get out of Tampa that they held celebrations, like the one illustrated in an exhibit image (see below) showing the soldiers dancing when they received orders to go to war.

​"In the end, the Americans were able to board only about 16,000 fighting men, along with 89 war correspondents and artists, 11 foreign military observers, 30 civilian clerks, 272 teamsters and 107 stevedores — the largest military expedition that had ever left the United States," an 
exhibit explains.

Here you learn about all the factors that triggered the American involvement in the war, starting with the years-long struggle for Cuban independence and the involvement in that struggle of Tampa's Cuban cigar manufacturing community in the 1890s.

Other exhibits tell you about "the ruthless and brutal measures the Spanish army resorted to in Cuba to put down insurgents," and the yellow journalism practiced by New York newspaper publisher William Randolf Hearst, who "day after day" reported on Spanish atrocities in Cuba, "both real and imagined." Hearst allegedly told his war correspondents, "You furnish the pictures, I'll furnish the war."
Picture
Now and . . .
Picture
. . . then.
Picture
With the American public already calling for war, thanks competing yellow journalists, the final straw that led to a naval blockade of Cuba and a declaration of war against Spain came after the battleship U.S.S. Maine mysteriously blew up in Havana Harbor, killing 266 of its 354 crew members on Feb. 15, 1898. The the identity of possible saboteurs is still being debated, but it sparked an anti-Spain frenzy and gave the United States an apparently credible reason to go to war.

Although the war was fought for 10 weeks in 1898, American troops remained in Cuba until the island was granted its independence in 1902. Yet, as a result of the Treaty of Paris, which ended the war, the United States obtained possession of the former Spanish territories of the Philippines, Puerto Rico, and Guam. The Philippines were granted independence in 1946, but Puerto Rico and Guam have remained as unincorporated U.S. territories.

​And it was all launched from Tampa's Ybor City, by Cuban exiles who organized the Cuban Revolutionary Party led by José Martí,
and from the Tampa Bay Hotel, by the U.S. Army led by Theodore Rosevelt. Both the hotel/museum and Ybor City are now designated as National Historic Landmarks.

Back 1973, when I was a junior at the University of South Florida, I was also a reporter for The Tampa Times. And so I thought I knew this city, at least a little. But there is so much that has changed that I could hardly recognize it. Frankly, I might have been a little lost, had it not been for my friend Azucena Abed, who became my guide to Hispanic Tampa and took me to many more places than I expected to visit. It was great! Azucena: ´Mil gracias!

To get to our next stop, we will follow the path of two 16th century Spanish expeditions, led by Panfilo de Narvaez and Hernando de Soto. We're going to Tallahassee!
To enlarge these images, click on them! ——-->
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture

32nd stop: ​​Tampa Bay History Center
A city's unique relationship with Cuba

I had seen this photo before, but not large enough for me to get in it! LOL I had to sit on the floor of the Tampa Bay History Center to get in this photo, and it was worth it! I'm pointing to José Martí, the apostle of the Cuban War of Independence from Spain, as he is speaking to his followers in Ybor City, Tampa sometime in the early 1890s.

At the Tampa Bay History Center museum, visitors get an impressive lesson on the history of this city's long and unique relationship with Cuba — from the time when Cuba was a Spanish colony to today's communist dictatorship.

​After all, a war with two difference names — the Cuban War of Independence and the Spanish-American War — was launched from here!

Picture
A SELFIE WITH JOSÉ MARTÍ
One exhibit here calls it "the Spanish-Cuban-American War," which is a much more accurate description. This is both where Cuban exiles led by Martí organized their revolution against Spain in the 1890s and where more than 15,000 U.S. Army soldiers led by Col. Teddy Roosevelt ​embarked for Cuba in the summer of 1898. 

"With Cigar City's largely Cuban workforce, the issues of Cuba were those of Tampa," a History Center exhibit explains. Calling Tampa the "Cradle of Cuban Liberty," the exhibit notes that "During the 1890s, nearly every Cuban member of the Tampa workforce willingly pledged on day's salary per week toward Cuba's independence from Spain . . . From Tampa, Martí and other revolutionary leaders found a place to rally, recruit and train a growing force of insurrectos."
Picture
​Here you learn that Tampa's cigar industry "turned out millions of cigars annually and left long-term cultural impacts on the growing City of Tampa." While the first of Tampa's cigar factories opened in 1886, by 1920, there were as many as 300 working at full capacity, employing thousands of workers. And it was not until 1950s that Ybor City began transforming from an industrial center into a tourist attraction.

The amazing still-living history we saw in my last two stops in Ybor City is well-documented here. Even on the Tampa Riverwalk, just outside the History Center, there is a bust of Paulina Pedroso, introduced in my previous stop at Ybor City's Parque Amigos de José Martí. It was she and her husband Ruperto who ran the boardinghouse where Martí stayed when he was in Tampa. The plaque below her bust describes her as a "freedom fighter" who raised money to buy munitions for the Cuban rebels. "Ostensibly a humble cigar maker, her natural political skills made her a factor in winning Cuba's independence from Spain."
Picture
Picture
But of course, Florida's Hispanic history dates back much further than Ybor City, and that history is also well-represented here, from Juan Ponce de Leon's discovery of Florida in 1513, to Pedro Menendez de Aviles' establishment of St. Augustine in 1565, to the many famous conquistadors who first landed in the Tampa Bay area –  Pánfilo de Narváez, Álvar Nuñez Cabeza de Vaca, Estevanico, Juan Ortiz, Hernando de Soto.

Here you learn that "the first cattle introduced to the American landscape arrived in Florida, from Spain, in the early 1500s — long before the legendary herds of the West and the famed American cowboy." Here you see the coins and other artifacts recovered from Spanish shipwrecks off the coast of Florida.
Picture
Picture
There are extensive exhibits on the history of Cuba, Tampa and Florida, especially its native people. In fact, the presentation of how the Florida natives were treated by the U.S. government, after the Spanish had left, is hair-raising! It makes visitors see the huge difference in the way the Spanish and the Americans treated the Indians. In a nutshell: The Seminoles that the Americans couldn't kill were either driven into the Everglades swamps or forcibly moved to Indian reservations in Oklahoma! And yet nowadays, we have Black Legend-influenced people who blame the Spanish for the "genocide" of Florida natives. Not too many Americans are even aware of the three "Seminole Wars," because our history books avoid our shameful chapters. But this museum doesn't avoid it. Check out my photos from their exhibit on: The Seminole Wars.
Picture
For me, this museum brought back emotional family memories. I saw how my grandfather met my grandmother! An exhibit recreating a cigar factory shows a lector reading to the workers and a woman rolling cigars. In the days before radio, factories hired "lectors" to entertain the workers by reading newspapers, magazine and novels. Since I was a kid, I've heard stories about how my grandfather Miguel, a lector, impressed and romanced my grandmother Ofelia when they both worked in a cigar factory in Cuba. It all came rushing back to me in this museum. Sometimes my search for our Hispanic roots gets very personal!
​
Next stop: Much more on Tampa's role in the Spanish-Cuban-American War, from another Tampa museum!
Picture
Picture
Picture
My grandparents in Havana

31st stop: ​
​Cuba Without a Passport!
​Parque Amigos de José Martí
​Ybor City, Tampa

You don't even need a passport to step on Cuban soil here. Once you enter Parque Amigos de José Martí in Tampa's Ybor City, you are on Cuban territory! The property is owned by the Cuban government!

It was donated "to the people of Cuba" because here stood the boarding house where Cuban patriot José Martí stayed when he came to Tampa to organize the movement for Cuban independence from Spain 
near the end of the 19th century.
Picture
Although Martí lived in Manhattan during his 15 years in exile, he came to Tampa frequently, because Ybor City's large Cuban exile community is where he found moral and financial support for his cause, not only from Cuban tobacco workers, but from Spanish tobacco factory owners.

​It was Martí's fiery speeches in Ybor City that earned him the title of
 “Apóstol de la Libertad de Cuba” (Apostle of Cuban Freedom).

​The boarding house belonged to Ruperto and Paulina Pedroso, the Afro-Cuban couple who nursed Martí back to health after he has poisoned by two Spanish agents in 1893. Cuban folklore says that many years later, before she died back in Cuba, Paulina requested to be buried with a photo of Martí. On the back, it was dedicated "to Paulina, my black mother."


Needless t0 say, this place is bursting with history! The park has a statue of Martí, a bust of Cuban independence General Antonio Maceo, a modest mural-map of Cuba, and the Cuban and American flags. It is covered with soil from each of the original six Cuban provinces! At the nearby Tampa Riverwalk, where the city's most prominent citizens are recognized, there is a bust of Paulina Pedroso.

The Pedroso house went through several transactions until it was purchased in the early 1950s by Cubans wishing to recognize its historic significance. When ownership was transferred to the Cuban government in 1956, at first there was talk of turning it into a museum. But when it was severely damaged by a fire, it was decided to turn it into a small park -- "Parque Amigos de José Martí -- dedicated to the memory of the patriot, poet, and journalist who led the island's revolution to win independence from Spain."

However, the new Cuban Revolution delayed the park's opening until 1960. Tampa city officials agreed to maintain the park's lights and irrigation, but leave the landscaping and operation responsibility to the Cuban-American community in Tampa.

So, other than the Cuban embassy in Washington, D.C., this is the only Cuban territory in the United States. And for Cuban exiles like me, who for many years have longed to step on free Cuban soil again, without having to deal with communists, this is it!

It was great to be there! But frankly, it was not the same as the Cuba I knew. I think I will have to wait until the rest of Cuba is free.

Next stop:
Martí's story continues, at the nearby Tampa Bay History Center.
Picture
Picture
General Antonio Maceo
Picture
Picture
Picture
Paulina Pedroso
Picture
Pedroso guest house, demolished in 1956. Became a park in 1960.

3oth stop: ​​Ybor City, Tampa
The 'Little Havana' of the 19/20th Centuries

YBOR CITY, TAMPA - They didn't call it Little Havana then, but let's face it: This is the original Little Havana, the mecca of Cuban immigrants in the late 19th century and early 20th.

They called this section of Tampa "Ybor City," because this is where, in 1886, Vicente Martinez-Ybor, a wealthy Spanish cigar manufacturer, moved his Havana and Key West factories and began developing a community of mostly Cuban cigar makers. This became known as "The Cigar Capital of the World."

But it was also "The Cradle of Cuban Liberty." It was also the mecca for Cuban exiles when they organized to fight for Cuba's independence from Spain. This is where José Martí organized the Cuban Revolutionary Party. This is where there was an attempt on his life!

The Ybor City Historic District, declared a National Historic Landmark,  "includes more than 1,300 buildings, nearly a thousand of which are historic," according to the sign at the main entrance. And throughout this district, there are numerous historic markers telling its story. 

"Late 19th and early 20th century Cuban immigration to the United States was impressive for the craft talents brought to the country," a historic marker explains. "Along with their Spanish counterparts, skilled Cuban cigarmakers made Tampa's hand-rolled cigars world famous."

Another marker explains that
by the end of its first year,  Tampa's first cigar factory was producing 500,000 hand rolled cigars per month. "This world famous cigar center gave Tampa its rich and exotic Latin Heritage," yet another marker proclaims.

As you walk around Ybor City, historical markers teach you fascinating lessons. There is a marker about the attempt to poison Martí and another marker about Ruperto and Paulina Pedroso, the couple who gave him refuge. There is even a marker about dueling in the early years of Ybor City, explaining how men "sometimes fought over honor, women, and at least once over an argument regarding which novel was appropriate to be read by the lector of a cigar factory."

Another sign marks the spot 
where Col. Teddy Roosevelt and his "Rough Riders" watered their horses during the Spanish-American War. And another marker covers Tampa's Cuban bread history, started by a Sicilian, and explains that at the peak of production, 35,000 loaves of Cuban bread were produced weekly.

"Tampa's Latin Loaf is like no other bread in the world," the marker adds. "It is leavened with emotion, flavored with tradition, and eaten with a large helping of nostalgia."

Actually, that describes not just the bread, but how I feel about Ybor City!


Regrettably, I also saw some new construction that threatens the district's historic flavor, like a new building about to cover a colorful Hispanic mural on the side wall of a historic Afro-Cuban clubhouse. (See photos).

The markers also tell you about the Cuban and Spanish social clubs which served as mutual aid societies, attending to even the educational and medical needs of their members. Each of them ​had their own clubhouse building, some of which are still here and considered National Historic Landmarks. And they also had the "Hotel de la Habana, for newly arrived tobacco workers and Cuban political exiles."

Among the clubs here were 
El Centro Español de Tampa, for Spanish immigrants and other Hispanics; El Centro Asturiano de Tampa, for Spanish immigrants from Asturias; El Circulo Cubano, for Cuban immigrants; Sociedad La Union Martí-Maceo, for black and white Cubans involved in the Cuban independence movement; El Liceo Cubano, a Cuban social center where Marti delivered his two famous speeches, "Con Todos y Para Todos" and "Los Pinos Nuevos."

Although he lived in New York City and spent the last 15 years of his life writing profusely from his Greenwich apartment, Ybor City is the place where Martî came to lay the foundation for the Cuban independence realized three years after his death in 1895. New York recognizes him with a very impressive statue in Central Park. But in Ybor City, Martí is everywhere!

​So let's move on to our next stop: Ybor City's Parque Amigos de José Martí.


To enlarge these images, click on them! --->
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture


29th stop: ​
​Salvador Dalí Museum,
St. Petersburg, Fl.

It may be controversial in this country, but when you see it through Salvador Dalí's eyes, "The Discovery of America by Christopher Columbus" is actually a beautiful, mesmerizing work of art.

​You can look at it for a half hour and still not recognize all the Christian symbolism that is hidden there.

But that is true of many of the amazing works of art in St. Petersburg's (Salvador) Dalí Museum. You need to plan to spend some time at this museum! Each work of art is enthralling and requires deep concentration.

There are images within the images and images you may recognize (like a portrait of Abraham Lincoln) depending on how far you stand. Everywhere you turn, there is candy for your eyes and stimulation for your mind!

Part of the entertainment here is watching people react as they suddenly discover images that where right before their eyes and yet unseen.

"Oh yeah, I see Lincoln now!" a young man proclaimed.

"Where? I don't see him,' his girlfriend replied.

"Take a few steps back and look again," he said. 

"Oh wow!" she cried out. "I see him."

Amazingly, that effect even works with the photo I took of the painting. Just click on the Lincoln photo on this page to enlarge it. Then look at it up close, and from a few feet back. It goes from the posterior of a naked woman, his wife Gala contemplating the Mediterranean Sea, to our 16th president!  And if you look at Lincoln's forehead closely, you will see an aerial view of Christ on the cross! That unique perspective of Christ on the cross is also in 
"The Discovery of America by Christopher Columbus." Can you see it?

I have been here before - Salvador Dali is my favorite artist - and so this time I made plans to spend three hours - and it wasn't enough! It took me more than four hours to look into the mind of this eccentric Spanish artist. This guy was a genius! 

This is the world's second largest collection of Dalí works and the largest collection of his masterpieces. It was gathered by Reynolds and Eleanor Morse, an Ohio philanthropist couple who started collecting Dalí's art since they were married in 1943, befriended Dalí and his wife Gala, and kept acquiring his works for many years. They even purchased one of his masterpieces, The Hallucinogenic Toreador, before it was completed!

In 1971, they opened the original Salvador Dalí Museum near their home in Beachwood, Ohio. But in 1982, when their collection had grown and required more space, St. Petersburg community leaders convinced them to relocate in Florida. And so, with the financial support of the city and state, the collection was moved to a rehabilitated warehouse near the St. Petersburg waterfront. In 2011, it was moved again to its current location, a larger, "storm-secure," and surrealism-inspired building on the downtown waterfront. 

btw, prints 
"The Discovery of America by Christopher Columbus" and "The Hallucinogenic Toreador" have hung in my home for many years.

Next stop: The Little Havana of the 19th century! Do you know where we are going?
Picture
"The Discovery of America by Christopher Columbus"
Picture
"The Hallucinogenic Toreador" - Can you see the bullfighter?
Picture
Picture
Picture
"Lincoln in Dalivision"
Picture
TO ENLARGE THESE IMAGES . . . . . . . . CLICK ON THEM!
Picture
"The Disintegration of the Persistence of Memory"
Picture
"Geopoliticus Child Watching the Birth of the New Man"

28th stop: ​St. Petersburg:
Jungle Prada de Narvaez Park, Whitewashing Hispanic History? 

 When I first came to St. Petersburg's Jungle Prada de Narvaez Park in 2014, I reached the landing site of the 1528 Panfilo de Narvaez expedition by boat. I wanted to see those nearly impenetrable Tampa Bay mangrove jungles from the perspective of the conquistadors who came here almost five centuries ago. See: On the Trail of Conquistadors

But this time, reaching this park in my car was a little confusing. I kept looking for a sign that is no longer there!

In 2014, once I got off the boat and walked to  the street entrance of the park, I found a huge concrete sign declaring that "Here landed Pánfilo de Narváez, April 15, 1528. From the site of this ancient Indian village was launched the first exploration by white man of the North American continent." It was so impressive that I asked my friend and travel companion Gustavo Villageliu to take my photo there.


But it's gone! It has been replaced by a historical marker with a lot more writing, and many more interesting details about the Tocobaga people who once lived here. The marker also explains that "some historians also attribute this general vicinity to the April 12, 1548 landing of conquistador Pánfilo de Narváez's expedition to colonize Florida."

So they went from a very affirmative "here landed" on a huge sign to "
some historians also attribute this general vicinity" on a much smaller historical marker. 

​The new marker, sponsored by the City of St. Petersburg, Pinellas County and the State of Florida, apparently replaced the concrete sign in 2021. It corrects the landing date from May 15 to May 12 and contains more information about both the natives and the conquistadors. But try reading as you drive by at 40 mph. LOL Unless you stop and walk there, you are not reading it.

So why couldn't they keep both signs? Was it an effort to minimize Narvaez? Or was it the recognition that the Spanish conducted "the first exploration by white man" that needed to be erased? Is the Black Legend still whitewashing our Hispanic history? Rhetorical questions!

For the record: The ill-fated Narváez expedition was composed of some 300 mostly white Spanish men, of whom only five (including a black man) survived. Four of them spent eight years 
living among the natives and trekking from Florida to Mexico - mostly on foot! And one of them, Juan Ortiz, was held captive by Florida natives until he hooked up with the Hernando de Soto expedition some 11 years later.

Two still encouraging signs, pardon the pun, are the ones that recognize the most famous surviver of the Narváez expedition, Alvar Nuñez Cabeza de Vaca, who led the survivors who made it all the way to Mexico, and then wrote a book about their eight-year journey. These signs don't say much about his great achievements, but they are still there. So I had to take photos, in case they disappear!​

I called my friend Gustavo this week and told him about the missing sign. He said the obvious new efforts to downplay the Spanish and promote the Indians is part of an unfortunate new trend. "But there were Indians everywhere," he said. "What makes that place special is the Spanish landing!"

​Well said!

Next stop: A quite different perspective of "The Discovery of America by Christopher Columbus." We're going to the Salvador Dalí Museum! 
Picture
Picture
THIS SIGN HAS BEEN REPLACED . . .
Picture
. . . BY THIS SIGN
Picture
According to Google Maps: Before 2021
Picture
According to Google Maps: After 2021
Picture
Picture
Picture

27th stop: De Soto National Memorial, Bradenton, Fl.

At a point where the Manatee River converges with Tampa Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, where the 1539 Hernando de Soto expedition is believe to have landed, the De Soto National Memorial covers 26 acres of pristine mangrove jungle, with a three-quarter-mile trail that takes you though it - just like De Soto probably saw it almost five centuries ago.

At the park's visitors center, you are met by ​fascinating exhibits, a video history lesson and opportunities (lol) to take selfies with a mask-wearing Spanish conquistador. What more can you ask for?
 
But once you go out to explore the jungle on the "De Soto Expedition Trail," you find life size images of Native Americans and conquistadors scattered throughout the place. You are not just trekking through a tropical forest here; from the markers along the way, you are getting an education!

Here you learn that, in 1538, Spanish King Charles V granted De Soto a royal contract to govern Cuba and “conquer, pacify and populate” La Florida - the land that Juan Ponce de Leon had discovered in 1513 and failed to conquer when he returned in 1521. And the land that another conquistador, Panfilo de Narvaez, had also failed to conquer 1528.

You learn that De Soto was already a wealthy and renowned conquistador from having plundered the Inca empire in Peru, that he invested his fortune on the new expedition and came to Florida seeking similar fortune. You learn that he led a nine-ship flotilla with close to 700 men, a few women, 350 horses, a herd of pigs, several packs of bloodhounds and "equipment necessary to sustain an expedition of conquest."

Since La Florida was then understood to be much bigger than the current State of Florida, De Soto understood his commission to cover limitless territory. And so you learn that "in their relentless pursuit of gold and riches," De Soto's army spent the next four years exploring "much of the interior of southern United States, from Florida to Texas."

​
You learn that De Soto first established a base camp at the Indian village of Uzita, and within this park, you visit a small replica of the Uzita camp. You learn that this lush mangrove forest once covered much of the Tampa Bay coastline and presented an almost impenetrable obstacle for the De Soto expedition.

As I explain in a Chapter 49, On the Trail of Conquistadors, because they were cutting through mangroves, while herding pigs, horses, war dogs and fighting natives who stood in their way, it took them three months just to reach the Florida panhandle - less than a five-hour drive nowadays!

When they reached the Apalachee village of Anhaica, in what is now Tallahassee, Fl., they fought with the natives, settled for the winter, and celebrated the first Christmas in what is now the United States. See: America's First Christmas was Celebrated in Spanish.


Their four-year, 4,000-mile hike finally lost its drive when De Soto died of fever and was buried in the Mississippi River in 1542.

In this park you see that, contrary to popular belief, Florida natives were already a warring people when the Spanish arrived. You learn that before the Spanish raided Indian villages, the Indians were already raiding each other's villages. On the contrary, you also learn that De Soto had vowed to kill any Indian who would dare lie or betrayed him.

Clearly, this park tries to be objective in its presentation of the Spanish conquistadors and those first encounters with native Americans. Without holding back, it shows that both were equally violent. Two more examples:
 
“Emboldened by the conquest of the gold-rich Aztec and Inca civilizations in Central and South America several years earlier, the Spaniards came prepared for battle with armor, helmets, arquebus, crossbow, lance or pike in hand, some on horseback or with war dogs,” one marker explains.

“Those people are so warlike and so quick,” another marker quotes a conquistador. “Before a crossbowman can fire a shot, an Indian can shoot three or four arrows, and very seldom does he miss what he shoots at.” 
 
This park asks you to deal with the reality of living in 16th-century Florida!

For our next stop, let's visit the landing site of the 1528 De Narvaez 
expedition. It's only 35 miles north of here!
Picture
Picture
Picture
You see? LOL Even the conquistadors wore masks!
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture

26th stop:
​Hernando de Soto in Bradenton, Fl.

While the east coast of Florida mostly honors Juan Ponce de Leon, now that we have reached the west coast I expect to see similar honors -- for Hernando de Soto!

After all, the 1539 De Soto expedition landed near here before trekking north across territory that later became the states of Florida, 
Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, Tennessee, Alabama, Mississippi, Arkansas and Louisiana. Their four-year, 4,000-mile hike finally lost its drive when de Soto died of fever at the banks of the Mississippi River, where he was buried in 1542.

​That's some 265 years before the much more acclaimed Lewis and Clark expedition. Yet here and along the west coast of Florida, and in many of the states De Soto explored, there are landmarks and historical markers recognizing that "the De Soto expedition came through here." I intend to visit some of them.
 

This De Soto statue guards the Bishop Museum of Science and Nature in Bradenton, Fl. In this city, they even have a De Soto Historical Society!​ Unfortunately, they were closed when I drove by their offices, so I went back ON THE ROAD AGAIN!

But we don't have to go far for our next stop. Some six miles west of here is the De Soto National Memorial. Let's go there next.
Picture
Picture
Picture

Before we leave Miami,
​​
​Previous Visit: Ancient Spanish Monastery,
​                  North Miami Beach

So here is one more amazing South Florida Hispanic heritage site I must tell you about before moving on with our road trip in search of our Hispanic heritage. While visiting Florida in 2020, right before Covid slammed the breaks on my plans to continue traveling to Hispanic heritage sites, my daughter Lilia and I (and her boyfriend Ryan, who took this photo) spent some time at a Spanish monastery built between the years 1133 and 1141. What?” you ask. “Is Miguel going crazy? Florida was not even discovered by Spain until 1513.”
 
Well, the “Ancient Spanish Monastery,” in North Miami Beach, was originally built in Sacramenia, Spain! It was occupied by monks for several hundred years, until it was purchased in 1925 by an American, William Randolph Hearst, dismantled stone by stone, packed in some 11,000 wooden crates, kept in a Brooklyn warehouse for some 26 years, and rebuilt in Florida as a tourist attraction in 1953. Time magazine called it “the biggest jigsaw in history.”
 
Is this one more chapter for my series on America’s hidden Hispanic heritage? You bet!

For now, it's time to head back north, not the way we came, of course not. We are about to explore the Hispanic heritage on the west coast of Florida! 
Next stop: Bradenton!​
Picture

Before we leave Miami,
​Previous Visit: Freedom Tower,
The Historic Cuban Refugee Center

Before we leave Miami and move on with our road trip in search of our Hispanic heritage, let me clarify: If there are South Florida Hispanic historical sites I did not visit on this trip, it’s probably because I’ve been there and wrote about those places before. Here's one huge example:

When I came to Miami’s Freedom Tower, also known as the Cuban Refugee Center, in 2015, I intended to write a new chapter for my website about this National Historic Landmark that is now a museum.

After all, I told myself, I was part of this history. ​As an 11-year old Cuban refugee boy, I also found assistance in this wonderful building.


So, when I heard that the museum had an exhibit about those days when the building was a refugee center, I practically ran there!

And I found much more!

​See: Finding Dad in a Museum
Miguel Perez at Freedom Tower
Picture
Picture

25th stop:
​Cuban Memorial Monument
at Tamiami Park, FIU

When I graduated from Florida International University in 1974, this impressive monument was not here. In fact, the Cuban Memorial Monument was inaugurated in Tamiami Park, next to the university, exactly 40 years later, in 2014, and I had never been here!

Around this huge four-sided Cuban flag tower, there are four black granite walls listing the names of the thousands of victims of the communist dictatorship in Cuba, and the place and date when they were killed. It reminded of the Vietnam War Memorial in Washington D.C. Seeing all those names makes it all very real.

These are the victims of Cuban firing squads, prison brutality, political assassinations, disappearances, deliberately sunk refugee boats, rescue airplanes shot down by the
 Cuban regime and those who died fighting for Cuba's freedom at the Bay of Pigs and elsewhere. 

And as if that wasn't enough to make you see the inhumanity of that regime, the wall also 
features several photos of Cubans at the moment they were shot by firing squads. ​Frankly, they are too horrifying to share with you here.

The monument actually began in 2002, as a symbolic cemetery! Every February, thousands of white crosses were planted on the lawn of Tamiami Park. They each had the name, day and place of death of the victims, giving their surviving friends and relatives an opportunity to visit the park to mourn their passing.

These temporary annual symbolic-cemetery monuments continued every February until the permanent monument was inaugurated on February 22, 2014, and the names on the crosses were carved on black marble walls.

A moving experience? That would be a huge understatement!

Next stop? Well, before we leave Miami, I must tell you about two stops I made at significant historic sites here
a few years ago. Stay tuned.
Picture
Picture
Picture
Old Memorial 2002-2014

24th stop: HistoryMiami Museum,
A Mostly Undiscovered Treasure
​in Downtown Miami

It happens to all of us. When we travel, we tend to visit museums and other attractions much more frequently than we do in our own hometown. This why I wonder how many Miamians know that they have this jewel called "HistoryMiami," the biggest history museum in Florida, in downtown Miami.

I would not call it the best history museum in Florida, because this state has some great ones and I would hate having to rank them, but it is definitely among the best. It opened in 1962 as the Historical Museum of South Florida, moved to its present location in 1984, was renamed MiamiHistory Museum in 2010, and doubled in space in 2014.

As opposed to other history museums in St. Augustine, Tampa and Tallahassee, which devote much space to the history of northern Florida, MiamiHistory covers South Florida like no other, and with very impressive exhibits. It's like walking through a fascinating book!


​One of the museum's permanent exhibitions, "Tropical Dreams: A People’s History of South Florida," takes you on a timeline trip from the Seminole natives, through the Spanish colonial days, the British occupation years, the second Spanish period, and the American takeover of Florida. And of course, it keeps going all the way to the present. And through it all, you see immense Hispanic influence - even on the name of the Indians!

One exhibits explains that the Florida Seminoles were actually Creek Indians who had severed their ties with the Creek Nation in Georgia and migrated to Florida. "The Spanish called them cimarrones, a term applied to anything wild or untamed, because they had left their settled towns to live in the uninhabited areas of Florida," the display explains, "The Indians, unfamiliar with the Spanish "r" pronounced the word simalones, and eventually Seminoles."


It teaches valuable lessons about pirates, forts, settlements and slavery. And some of those lessons are eye-openers! For example, you learn about black runaway slaves who escaped from American colonies in the early 1800s, came to live with the Seminoles, and were still treated as slaves!

"Many slaves escaping from plantations in Georgia and Alabama found refuge among the Seminoles in Florida," an exhibit explains. "Although most of them became slaves to the Indians, they were allowed to live in their own villages and raise their own crops and livestock, giving a percentage to their masters."

​Fascinating!

Next stop: We go back to my alma mater, Florida International University, to see the Cuban Memorial Monument that was built there long after I graduated.
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
This exhibit took me back to the early 1960s, directly to the Woolworth soda fountain counter. I ordered a banana split. LOL Just like old times!

23rd stop:
​Another Varela statue
​that should be in NYC

Remember the statue of Father Felix Varela we found outside the Cathedral of St. Augustine in Stop 13? Well, I found an identical statue outside la Ermita de la Caridad in Miami. But they went even further to honor this Cuban priest here: They have a bust sculpture of him too!

​As I noted in Stop 13, Cubans recognize him as "the main ideological founder of the Cuban nationality." At our previous stop, perhaps you noticed his image, at the top of the mural inside the Shrine for Our Lady of Charity.

But New York should recognized him, better that with an inconspicuous plaque, (see stop 13), for the 25 years he spent building nurseries and
 orphanages for poor minorities, especially Irish and Italian immigrants in New York City.

That includes 11 years when he served as the Vicar General of the Catholic Archdiocese of New York, which covered New York States and Northern New Jersey.
Read more: ​Saluting an exile: Father Felix Varela
Picture
Picture
Picture

22nd stop:
​Miami's Ermita de la Caridad

Back in 1973, when I was a rookie reporter for The Miami Herald, I teamed up with another rookie, my buddy Chuck Gomez, and together we convinced the newspaper to allow us to cover a real big story.

​We knew it was going to be front-page news, but even more importantly, as Cuban-Americans, we wanted our names on the story that recorded that historic day.


"La Ermita de la Caridad" (Shrine of Our Lady of Charity) was about to open, thousands of worshipers were expected to attend, and we wanted to be the ones who told their story.

And we did!

Of course, Our Lady of Charity, patroness of Cuba, has her own chapel in El Cobre, near Santiago de Cuba, but now Cubans in exile were opening a new chapel for the Cuban version of the Virgin Mary.

For spiritual, sentimental and patriotic reasons, Chuck and I still feel that for us, this was a life-changing experience.

​I chatted with Chuck electronically this week. He says the story had such an impact of him that he still remembers the first sentence, describing an elderly woman who attended the inauguration: “Huddled in a wheelchair like a delicate sparrow, she clutched a tiny Cuban flag in trembling wrinkled fingers.”


I go there every time I visit Miami. For me, Our Lady of Charity has very special, family-history significance. My father believed that it was she who saved me from having an arm amputated when I was a kid. Back in 1962, he would not leave Cuba until he kept his promise to go across the island, to El Cobre, to thank 'la virgencita.'

And we did!
Picture
Picture
Picture

21st stop: ​Little Havana, USA
Back to my childhood turf

This is Orlando (Landy) Zamora, my first friend in the United States! We met in fourth grade, shortly after arriving from Cuba in 1962. It was in the very beginning of "Little Havana."

​We were both 11 years old and we have been like brothers ever since. So much so that he and his wife Mary insisted that I stay at their home during my stay in Miami. And since they have a backyard that is amazing (somewhere between a botanical 
garden and a Caribbean resort), I had a wonderful time!

But Landy and I also went back to our old stumping ground, looking for the Little Havana that "used to be there." At least that's what we kept telling each other when we remembered landmarks that are now missing. There is so much that has changed!

Yet Little Havana has managed to preserve the essence of what our barrio was all about. In fact, the beauty of our Cuban culture is better showcased on Calle Ocho than ever before. There are shops selling all kinds of Cuban stuff, from posters to T-shirts. There are 0pen-door restaurants and cafes blasting live music out to the street. There are galleries for Cuban artists and monuments for Cuban patriots. There are Cuban expreso coffee stands everywhere! There is a park just to play dominoes! There are stars on the sidewalks recognizing our greatest artists. And there is a multitude of people taking it all in as if the were in Disney World!

Designated 
as a "national treasure" by the National Trust for Historic Preservation, Little Havana has become a magnet for tourists! 

​
LOL I don't remember buses of tourists coming to visit our barrio when we were growing up there.

​
So now let us move on to another Miami site that has become "historic" during my own lifetime, a place that holds very personal significance for me. Next stop: La Ermita de la Caridad - The Shrine for Our Lady of Charity!
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture

Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture

20th stop: ​Juan Ponce de Leon Landing,
The real 'first landing' on the mainland

In spite of what we saw in Virginia, when we visited "First Landing" State Park in my third stop, this is the site of the first European landing in what is now the U.S. mainland. This is where Juan Ponce de Leon first landed in 1513, some 94 years before the British landed in Virginia.

​For many years, it was believed that Ponce de Leon landed in the St. Augustine area. But that changed in 2013. That's when my friend, the late Samuel Lopez, a Puerto Rican from New York, and my friend John Ayés, a descendant of Ponce de Leon, got historians to agree and convinced authorities to recognize the actual spot where the conquistador first landed and named Florida.

It is some 125 miles south of St. Augustine - in Melbourne Beach! The efforts of a group of Hispanic history activists led by Lopez and Ayés are detailed in my column, "Marking America's Birthplace."

So now let us move on to a place that has become "historic" during my own lifetime, the place where I grew up: My Little Havana!
Picture
Picture
Picture

19th stop: ​St. Augustine's statue
​             of Juan Ponce de Leon

They are all very similar, but if you pay close attention, you realize that they are not exactly the same.

This is the Juan Ponce de Leon statue in the center of downtown St. Augustine, which is quite similar to the one we already saw in Punta Vedra Beach, and the one that stands in the center of Old San Juan, Puerto Rico.

The former governor of Puerto Rico, who discovered and named Florida in 1513 has long been associated with St. Augustine and with a misguided tale about his search for a Fountain of Youth.

The pedestal notes that Ponce de Leon "landed near this spot." But Florida historians no longer believe this is true. They say he landed much further south. They also don't believe he was even looking for a Fountain of Youth.

As if it wasn't enough, he discovered the mainland that is now the United States of America! All other tales are efforts to subtract from his great achievement.

​Do you remember our third stop at Virginia's "First Landing Park" a few weeks ago? Well, we are still heading south, to "Ponce de Leon Landing Park" - the real first European landing on the U.S. mainland. Should we go there next?
Picture

18th stop: ​St. Augustine's statue of its founder

As if still guarding the settlement he established in 1565, Pedro Menéndez de Avilés stands in front of St. Augustine City Hall, a very impressive statue and equally majestic building.

In this mecca of Hispanic culture, where American tourists learn history just by going for a stroll, where they see all the history that was left out of their American History books, Menéndez de Avilés, is still a superstar.

You can read more about him in "A Tale of Two Cities," my column on Jamestown and St. Augustine. But after revisiting both, that column is about to get a lot longer -  a book chapter! 

For example, I took new notes from the plaque on the pedestal of this statue. "I
n memory of him," the plaque recognizes "the debt owed by the New World to Spain for the civilization, culture and progress contributed to Florida and to the Republic of the United States of America."

Can we get more Americans to read that plaque, please?


Of course, those same words also apply to the man who discovered Florida in 1513, Juan Ponce de Leon. He still stands a few blocks away, and we'll visit him next.
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture

17th stop:
Florida's ​Oldest House

Starting in about 1650, a succession of thatched wooden structures occupied this space. But the current coquina shell stone house was "built soon after the English burned St. Augustine in 1702," according to a historical marker here. That makes it "The Oldest House" in the city -- and the oldest surviving Spanish colonial dwelling in Florida!

There are other (still standing) houses in the United States that were built before this one. St. Augustine would probably have older houses had it not been for so many raids, fires, storms and changing colonists and occupiers over the years.

Mind you, in about 58 years, between 1763 and 1821, control of the city went from the Spanish to the British and then back to the Spanish and then to the United States. Those changes had an amazing impact on the people, the culture, the language and the architecture of this city, and "The Oldest House" is now a museum showcasing
that evolving history.

Also known as the "Gonzalez-Alvarez House," after its owners during the first and second Spanish occupations, it was originally a one-story, two-room house. But over the years, various alterations made it a much bigger structure, reflecting both Spanish and British architectural styles. As a museum, the house is furnished to represent the different periods of its history.

Owned and operated by the St. Augustine Historical Society, this complex includes Florida’s Oldest House, two museums, a gallery, a garden, and a museum store.

It opened as a museum in 1893, and it is recognized as a National Historic Landmark! It is truly a reflection of colonial St. Augustine, offering great history lessons - like walking through a book!
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture

16th stop: St. Augustine's 'Oldest Wooden School House in the USA'

In the heart of the St. Augustine historic district, "The Oldest Wooden School House in the U.S.A." was closed when I arrived. But I have been there before, and it is a fascinating place.

​This was the home Juan Genopoly, who turned a portion of his house into a classroom for the children of the Minorcan community that had settled on the north end of George Street, just inside the city gate, in St. Augustine since 1777. Genopoly started his school when he bought the house in 1780, and since they were in British occupied Florida, the children were taught English too! Two of Genopoly's own four children went on to also teach there, and classes continued until 1864!

But if this is the oldest school house, you ask, where is the oldest house? We are going there next!
Picture

15th stop: ​St. Augustine's statue of Father Pedro Camps, spiritual leader
​of the ​Minorcan colony in Florida

During the 20-year British occupation of Florida (1763-1783), workers (indentured servants) were brought to plantations from the Spanish Mediterranean island of Minorca, and then were mistreated and exploited, especially by Scottish Dr. Andrew Turnbull, a physician who ran indigo plantations in New Smyrna, some 70 miles south of St. Augustine.

Turnbull named the area New Smyrna in honor of his wife's hometown in Greece, although Smyrna is now called Izmir and is part of Turkey (since 1922). In Florida, the area is now called New Smyrna Beach.

Indeed, some of the workers Turnbull brought to Florida were also Greeks from the Mani peninsula. But in 1777, when the colony was reduced to some 600 to 800 people (according to varying reports) -- due to Indian raids, insect-borne diseases and mistreatment of the colonists, Turnbull fled to South Carolina and the colony collapsed.

This statue honors Father Pedro Camps, the Minorcan priest and spiritual leader who led them on a 70-mile march to St. Augustine, where both the Minorcans and Greeks were able to relocate -- especially since most of the city's Spanish residents had moved to Cuba and other parts of New Spain during the British occupation.


Both the Minorcans and Greeks remained in St. Augustine when Florida went back to Spain in 1783. These were the first Greek Orthodox church members in North America! 

The plaque next to this statue notes that it depicts Father Camps and a group of Minorcan colonists, and that it was "erected in 1975 by Minorcan descendants in memory of their spiritual leader who kept the Catholic faith alive in Florida during the British occupation."

Next stop? How about a Minorcan school house? The 
oldest wooden school house in the U.S.A.!
Picture
Picture

14th stop:
St. Augustine's Historic District

Sure, it's a tourist attraction, but all the fantasy worlds in Orlando can't compete with the historic sites of St. Augustine. This is the real thing!

This is the nation's oldest city and it is proud to show it! 


This is where many American tourists come to grips with the fact that St. Augustine was established 42 years before the British built Jamestown. This is where many realize that Spanish American history was almost a century old when the British arrived.

As they visit the many attractions here, these tourists are learning history! - Spanish American history!

Everywhere you look in the "Historic District" of St. Augustine, you see opportunities to go back in time, back to the days when this was the capital of Spanish Florida.

In my opinion, no theme park can compete with the majestic beauty and the history lessons offered by St. Augustine.

Too many tourists? Yes! But we need more of this kind of tourists. Imagine if all Americans got to spend a week in St. Augustine. Imagine those who like to send Hispanics "back to where you came from" realizing that we were here first!

Picture
Picture

13th stop:
​St. Augustine statue of Father Felix Varela

So why do we have to go to St. Augustine to visit a statue that should also be in New York City? After all, Father Felix Varela, born in Cuba, did his most important pastoral work when he was a priest in New York City fr0m 1823 to 1848, including 11 years when he served as the Vicar General of the Catholic Archdiocese of New York.

In 1848, severe asthma forced him to retire and move to St. Augustine, where he died in 1853. This statue is outside the Cathedral of St. Augustine.

He is also recognized with similar statues in Miami and Cuba because he is also considered "the main ideological founder of the Cuban nationality," according to a plaque here. It also notes that he was an "educator, philosopher, speaker and writer. Advocate of human and civil rights in Cuba and U.S.A. Father of the underprivileged. Advocate of popular education and religious freedom. Pioneer of American Catholic journalism."


But in exile from his beloved Cuba, Varela devoted himself to helping poor minorities, especially Irish and Italian immigrants in New York City, where he founded nurseries and orphanages. He organized the New York Catholic Temperance Association, and virtually lived in hospitals while caring for cholera victims during an epidemic in 1832. And he also published El Habanero, the first Spanish-language newspaper in the United States.

The U.S. Postal Service recognized him with a commemorative stamp in 1997, but in New York City he is only recognized by a small plaque at The Church of the Transfiguration in lower Manhattan, a parish he established. Why doesn't he have a prominent statue in New York?

Before we visit other important St. Augustine monuments, check out my column on Varela, which will now need to be updated with new information and photos, especially since I'm on my way to also visit his monument in Miami!
​Saluting an exile: Father Felix Varela
Picture
Picture
The 1997 Padre Félix Varela USA stamp
Picture
Plaque at the Transfiguration Church, NYC

12th stop:
​Cathedral of 
​St. Augustine
​and my favorite mural

​This church is absolutely beautiful. But for me, what makes it truly special is its wonderful murals depicting the early days of the city of St. Augustine, especially the Spanish interaction with the Timucuan natives of the area. I took photos of many of them, and I'll be sharing them on this website later.

But one particular mural, across the back wall and near the 
ceiling, is the reason why I keep going back to this church every time I visit St. Augustine. LOL I'm always trying to get a better photo of this beautiful image depicting St. Augustine's first Catholic Mass and America's first Thanksgiving involving Europeans and Native Americans.

​Celebrating the Mass is F
ather Francisco López de Mendoza Grajales, and kneeling before him is Pedro Menéndez de Avilés, who led the expedition to La Florida and founded St. Augustine in 1565. Following the Mass, Menéndez hosted a Thanksgiving feast for his crew and Timucan natives. See: Our Pre-Mayflower Thanksgivings

Next, we are not leaving the Cathedral yet, because just outside, there is someone else I need to visit, on our next stop.
Picture

11th stop: ​St. Augustine,
Nombre de Dios Mission
​and Our Lady of La Leche

When you get to "America's Most Sacred Acre," and you begin to walk on its beautiful grounds, you feel inexplicable peace. But then you stop to think about it, and you begin to realize that this is the place where the first Catholic Mass was celebrated in St. Augustine  -- the site of our first Thanksgiving!

And then you see one of the most beautiful chapels you will ever see, Our Lady of La Leche, and you stand there just to contemplate its beauty. The signs tell you that it was first "erected in the early days on the spot called Nombre de Dios, where Pedro Menéndez de Avilés landed in 1565 and laid the foundation for the first permanent Spanish colony in the new continent." The signs also tell you that the chapel has been destroyed by storms and British and pirate raids, and rebuilt several times. But they also note that, "Timucuan Indians were singing Sunday Mass in Latin by the 17th century."

This chapel is also known as a pilgrimage destination for mothers-to-be. "The Spanish designation is Nuestra Señora de la Leche y Buen Parto (Our Lady of the Milk and Happy Delivery)," another sign explains. "This devotion to Mary as patroness of mothers and mothers-to-be was brought to Nombre de Dios from Spain in 1603."

And then, as you keep exploring the "Nombre de Dios" grounds, you reach the site's "Rustic Altar," depicting the one where 
Father Francisco López de Mendoza Grajales, the chaplain for the Pedro Menéndez de Avilés’ expedition to La Florida, celebrated that first Mass on Sept. 8, 1565.

"Following Mass, Pedro Menéndez hosted a feast for his companions and their new native friends," the sign there explains. "Thus began the first permanent Christian settlement in what is now the United States of America."

There is an impressive mural depicting that Thanksgiving feast at the Cathedral of St. Augustine, so let's go there next!
Picture
Picture
Picture

10th stop: ​St. Augustine,
Fr. López & The Great Cross

Meet Father Francisco López de Mendoza Grajales, the chaplain for the Pedro Menéndez de Avilés’ expedition to La Florida in 1565. The plaque for this impressive statue notes that, ”On September 8, 1565, Fr. López held the cross as Menéndez proclaimed this land in the Name of God (Nombre de Dios).”

Behind him is “The Great Cross” (208 feet high), erected in 1966 to mark the 400th anniversary of that momentous day, and “the approximate site where in 1565 the cross of Christianity was first permanently planted in what is now the United States."

According to the plaque next to his statue, “Father López celebrated the first Catholic parish Mass, provided counsel to Menéndez, and is considered the “first pastor” of the United States.”


Within walking distance is the "Nombre de Dios" Spanish mission, where that first Mass was celebrated. So let's make that our next stop.
Picture
Picture
Picture

Ninth stop:
St. Augustine, Fl.,
Castillo de San Marcos

It is perhaps the most recognizable Hispanic heritage site in the United States. And it deserves the recognition. Castillo de San Marcos is a sight to behold!

The star-shaped fort was completed in 1695, but it took 23 years to build!


Made of "Coquina" (small seashells bonded together), which is similar to limestone, the Castillo was built to replace five wooden fortifications that guarded St. Augustine, the Spanish capital of Florida, and it was completed by workers brought from Havana, Cuba.

It is surrounded by a moat and fortified by powerful cannons. It was built to defend St. Augustine from British and pirate attacks, and it successfully sheltered the city's entire 1,500 population during a two-month British siege in 1702.

I have been here several times, and it is always a wonderful, enriching experience!​
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
MY FIRST NINE STOPS

Eighth stop:
St. Augustine, Fl.,
The "Old City Gate" at our first permanent settlement

Many people need the image of Castillo de San Marcos to identify St. Augustine. But would they know the nation's oldest city by looking at its official entrance?

This is known as the "Old City Gate," and still serves as the main entrance to the city's historic district. But there was a time when all of St. Augustine was surrounded by a wall.


“Open for trade during the day, but locked up at night, this city gate is the entrance to early 1800s civilization,” according to a National Parks Service marker. “Here in St. Augustine, Spaniards on the frontier feel safe."
The marker is an illustration of farmers approaching the gate, bringing crops and food from their fields surrounding the town. 

“The Spanish build this gate when they reconstructed the city’s northern wall (the Cubo Line) in 1808, more than 100 years after the Castillo was completed,” the marker explains. “Having wrestled possession back from the British, the Spanish fortified the town to keep the Americans out. The gate was a critical part of improvements to the city’s fortified defense.”

Of course, the Castillo is only a five-minute walk away. So why don't we make that our next stop?
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture

Seventh stop:
​Fort Mose Historic State Park, Fl. The first free African American community - in Spanish Florida!

I have been here twice, but I only got as far as the gate. Both times the park was closed. This time, I timed my trip so I could arrive on a day this precious, historic site was open for me to explore! 

And all I can tell you is Wow! I'm really going to enjoy writing a column and showing you photos of this place -- perhaps as much as I enjoyed (in spite of a scorching sun) walking its paths and learning more about its history.

This is the place where runaway slaves from the British Carolinas built a fort to defend Spanish St. Augustine. After arriving in Florida, they had been given their freedom by Spanish authorities. This is the place where the first free African American community was born!

This is not only Hidden Hispanic Heritage. It's hidden African heritage!

Two of my students have already written essays about Fort Mose. But now I will have so much more first hand experience to describe what remains of this amazing place, from its wonderful exhibits and walking trails to its plans to build a replica of the original fort. I even got to watch a great movie about the park's history. And I had an opportunity to interview Billy McNaught, the ranger ("park services specialist") who runs the place.

"The fort will be rebuilt," he told me. "That's for sure. We already have a million dollar grant to pay for it." Stay tuned for my upcoming column on Fort Mose. But now we have to move on to St. Augustine. We have many places to visit there!

For now, an essay by my students on Fort Mose:

Runaway slaves establish Fort Mose,
​the first free African-American community​

Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture

Sixth stop:
Juan Ponce de Leon at
​Ponte Vedra Beach, Fl.

In spite of what this blue marker says (click to enlarger it), prominent Florida historians now agree that Juan Ponce de Leon never reached this far north.

Nevertheless, it is good to see how many places in Florida still pay tribute to the man who discovered and named "La Florida" in 1513.

This statue, identical to those in Old San Juan and St. Augustine, with De Leon pointing inland, is at the center of a beach parking lot in Ponte Vedra Beach - just south of Jacksonville, Fl.

​If you are following my maps you can see that St. Augustine 
appears to be our next stop. But there is one more cite I want to visit before we get to the nation's oldest city.

Can you guess where we are going? It's a 
place more Americans should know, especially African Americans!
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture

Fifth stop:
​Santa Elena, S.C.

Near the southeastern tip of Parris Island, which is mostly a U.S. Marine Corps recruitment and training facility in South Carolina, there is a treasure trove of what I call Hidden Hispanic Heritage.

It's not easy to get there. First, you have to pass through a gate were Marine police check your IDs "to make sure you don't have a criminal record." But once they wave you in, and you drive to the fathest tip of the island, you find a sign that says, "Aqui Estuvo España" -- "Spain Was Here."

And then you find a series of markers that let you know that you are in Santa Elena, the site of a 1566-1587 Spanish settlement, and two Spanish Forts, San Felipe and San Marcos.

This place has a lot of Spanish history. This was "the northernmost known bastion of Spanish Florida" -- back when Florida reached all the way up to South Carolina. After St. Augustine, this was the second major settlement established by Pedro Menendez de Aviles and the point of Spanish conflicts with Indians and French and British explorers.

There is a great column to be written about Santa Elena! But for now, we must keep moving south. So, where should we go next? Stay tuned!
​
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture

Fourth stop:
​Jamestown Settlement, Va.

On the north banks of the James River and less than two miles apart, there are two Jamestowns in Virginia. "Historic Jamestowne" is the actual site of the 1607 British colony, which I visited a few years ago and which is mostly the site of archaeological excavations. And the "Jamestown Settlement," which I have just visited, is a living-history museum and a magnificent recreation of both the 1610 James Fort and a Powhatan Indian village.

And yet both Jamestowns project the false impression that this country began in Virginia, when the British arrived.
Historic Jamestown calls itself "America's Birthplace," and the Jamestown Settlement proclaims that "In the beginning, all America was Virginia."

Of course, this is according to historians who begin counting American history when the British arrived. In fact, when the British arrived, European-American history was almost a century old, and it was mostly Spanish!

Thanks to this stop, and hopefully an upcoming stop in St. Augustine, Fl., I will surely be expanding my chapter on 2. A Tale of Two Cities

But we are still moving south. Can you tell where we could be going next? Hint: At the next stop, I don't expect to be updating an existing chapter, but writing an entirely new one. Stay tuned.
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture

Third stop:
​'First Landing' State Park, Va.

They call it "First Landing" State Park, giving people who visit the beautiful beaches in the northeast tip of Virginia the impression that this was the site of the first European landing in what is now the United States.

But it isn't. Florida may have something to say about that!

There is a "Ponce de Leon Landing" site in Florida that predates this site by 94 years! Ponce de Leon discovered and named Florida on April 2, 1513.

Virginia's First Landing State Park marks the place where British sailors came ashore on April 26, 1607. So it could be called Virginia's First Landing, or British First Landing. But without such clarity, the park's name is misleading.

This is apparently common in Virginia, where Jamestown is called "America's Birthplace" -- ignoring the birth of St. Augustine, Florida, some 42 years earlier.

While some of the stops I'm making on this road trip will 
undoubtedly help me produce new chapters for this website, some stops are aimed to help me expand and enhance some of the chapters I have already written, as I turn this website into a textbook.

A few days ago, my stop at Walt Whitman's house game me new information to enhance chapter "12. Whitman's Prophetic Letter." Now, First Landing State Park gives me some paragraphs to add to my chapter 
on Jamestown and St. Augustine. "2. A Tale of Two Cities." 

So, since we are on a road trip, should we go to the real "first landing" site in Florida? Stay 
tuned! 
Picture
Picture

Second stop:
​Yorktown
​Battlefield, Va.

So there we were, my childhood friend Gustavo and I, touring the battlefields at Yorktown, Va., admiring how French and American soldiers defeated the British in the last major battle of the American Revolution.

But of course, we were looking to see how much credit is given there to those who paid for the Yorktown victory. Do they acknowledge that the money to support George Washington's troops came from Spaniards in Cuba?

Of course, that will be the subject of a future column. But I can tell you this: Gustavo was not happy!
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture

First stop: 
Walt Whitman's House,
​Camden, NJ

If you have read chapter 12 on this website, about Walt "Whitman's Prophetic Letter," you know why I wanted to visit his home (now a small museum) in Camden, N.J.

​In 1883, while living in Camden, Walt Whitman wrote a letter exalting the merits of Hispanic Americans, explaining that "we Americans have yet to really learn our own antecedents," and that it was time to dismiss the distortions of history "inherited from English writers of the past 200 years."

I wanted to see the place where Whitman wrote his famous letter, published in the New York Times, to expand my Chapter 12 with more interesting details. So, I made it the first stop of my new road trip, and the details I found were not just interesting, but totally unexpected!

When Whitman wrote that letter in 1883, he had not yet moved to the house that is currently a museum! He moved there in 1884!

"So where did Whitman write this letter?" I asked tour guide Rick Starr, a former federal parks ranger who gave me a great one-on-one tour of the two-story home and its many relics from Whitman's life.

Starr explained that in 1883, Whitman was still living with his brother George. "Just a couple of blocks from here, on Stevens Street," he said, "but that house is no longer there."

Yet in his surviving house, which Whitman bought for $1,750 in 1884, I saw his favorite chair, his family photos, even the bed where he died in 1892. I saw photos of his funeral. I was able to leaf through the original copy of Whitman's "Leaves of Grass."

Yes, I have much more to add to Chapter 12. But that will have to wait until I finish my road trip, which is just getting started.

Now it's time to move on to my next stop.
Are you coming?
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
To enlarge these images, click on them!

Picture
Picture
So what do you think? / ™Entonces, qué piensas?
Please join our dialogue on Facebook / Por favor únete a nuestro diálogo en Facebook
Hidden Hispanic Heritage

​And to share, please click on these buttons:

Y para compartir, por favor haga clic sobre estos botones:

                   CHAPTERS/CAPITULOS

1. Our Pre-Mayflower Thanksgivings
Nuestros Días de Acción de Gracias Pre-Mayflower
               
2. A Tale of Two Cities
                 
3. Our Pre-Hispanic Heritage
              

4. The Black Legend Returns

4. La Leyenda Negra Regresa
                
5. Even on HBO, The Black Legend Lives
                   
6. Our Spanish Heritage
                     
7. Exalted or Offended?
                    
8. We are all 'Americanos'
                  
9. Latinos are Failing
                  
10. Hispanic, Columbus or Indigenous Day?
10. 
™Dia Hispano, De Colon o Indigena?
                   
11. Two Good Places to Rest
11. Dos buenos lugares para descansar
                  
12. Whitman's Prophetic Letter
12. La Carta Profética de Whitman
                  
13. America’s Cradle
13. La Cuna de America
                 
14. Our Quincentennial is Coming!

14. ´Nuestro Quinto Centenario Se Avecina!
                   
15. 
This chapter was merged with Chapter 29
                
16. A Time To Welcome the Spirits
                  
17. A Hispanic Christmas
17. Una Navidad Hispana
                  
18. JOSE MARTI:
     His Legacy Lives Here
     Su Legado Vive Aquí 
                
19. Hyphenated and Proud!
                   
20. Politicizing Education

21. Speak Any Spanish Lately?
              
22. Happy Three Kings Day!
22. ​
´Feliz Día de Reyes!
               
23. 
This chapter was merged with Chapter 29

24. A Long-Overdue Museum
                 
25. America's First Christmas was celebrated in Spanish
25. La Primera Navidad Americana fue celebrada en español

26. The Grand Canyon
and the Bucket List
 Of Hispanic Heritage
26. El Gran Canyon
y la Lista de Lugares de la Herencia Hispana

                  
27. Now That Fiesta Month Is Here,
Can We Talk About Heritage?

27. Ahora que el mes de fiesta hispana esta aquí,

​™Podemos hablar de nuestra herencia?
                  
28. Our Hispanic Heritage: On Exhibit and Yet Hidden
28. Nuestra Herencia Hispana: En Exhibición y Sin Embargo Oculta

29. Florida's Birthday Should Be a National Holiday

             
30. A Local Celebration that Should be National               

31. 
This chapter was merged with Chapter 30               
​

32. The Conveniently 'Forgotten War'
32. La Guerra Convenientemente Olvidada

33. Guantanamo Has a History  June 4, 2013

34. Exposing the Social Media Bigots  June 18, 2013
34. Exponiendo a los Intolerantes
     de los Medios Sociales June 18, 2013

35. Thinking of Cusi On the Fourth of July
35. Pensando en Cusi en el Cuatro de Julio

36. The Discovery of White Hispanics
36.  El Descubrimiento de los Hispanos Blancos

37. Let's Build a Timeline Of Hispanic-American History
37. Vamos a Construir una Cronología
     De la Historia Hispanoamericana

38. In the Name of Heritage
38. En el Nombre de la Herencia

39. Hispanics or Latinos?
39. ™Hispanos o Latinos?

40.  Hollywood's Hidden Hispanic Heritage
40. La Herencia Hispana Oculta en Hollywood

41. Obliviously Living in ‘The Land of Estevan Gomez’
41. Viviendo Inconscientemente
       En la ‘Tierra de Estevan Gómez’

42. Marking America's Birthplace
42. Marcando el Lugar de Nacimiento De Estados Unidos

43. Hispanics in Denial Should Be Infamous
43. Los Hispanos en Rechazo Deben Ser Infames

44. 
Gay Marriage's Hidden American History
      Started in Spanish
 CABEZA DE VACA'S JOURNEY
44. La Historia Oculta del Matrimonio Gay
      En América Comenzó en Español
        EL VIAJE DE CABEZA DE VACA​

45. Super Bowl Coke Commercial
       Draws Out Ugly Americans

45. Comercial de Coke en Super Bowl
     Hace Relucir a los Americanos Feos


46. 
The 'Discovery' of Self-Loathing Hispanics
46. El ‘Descubrimiento' de los
     Hispanos que se Auto Desprecian


THE GREAT HISPANIC AMERICAN HISTORY TOUR 
June 2014 - January 2015


47. My Pilgrimage to San Xavier
47. Mi Peregrinaje a San Xavier

48. The Great Hispanic American History Tour
48. La Gran Gira por la Historia Hispanoamericana

49. On the Trail of Conquistadors
49. En el Camino de los Conquistadores

50. Beyond St. Augustine
50. Más Allá de San Agustín

51. A Hidden Hispanic Role Model
51. Un Modelo Hispano Oculto

52. The Hispanic Flank of the American Revolution
52. El Flanco Hispano de la Revolucion Americana
​

53. New Orleans Has a Spanish ‘Ne Sais Quoi’
53. Nueva Orleans Tiene Un ‘Ne Sais Quoi’ Español

54. Galveston: Still the Isle of Misfortune?

55. Extracting Compacted History
     Unveils Hidden Hispanic Heritage

56. 'Remember The Alamo' Was a Spanish Mission

57. San Antonio: The Showcase Of Our Hispanic Heritage

58. There Was Compassion On the Spanish Mission Trail

59. A Hidden Latina Role Model

60. Time Portals on the Road

61. The First Thanksgiving
     In the (Southwest) United States

62. The World's Biggest Statue
of a Nameless Horseback Rider


63. A River Runs Through Our Hispanic Heritage

64. A Beacon of Hope On a Border Mountaintop

65. A Mexican-American Town
65. Un Pueblo Mexico-Americano

66. The Crossroads of Conquistadors

67. Hiking In Search of Coronado's Trail

68. The Real American Pioneers

69. Keeping My Pledge to San Xavier

70. If They Knew Arizona's History,
     They Wouldn't Be So Xenophobic

71. 'Tucson' is a Spanish Adaptation

72. Under a Utah Lake, Hispanic Heritage Lives

73. A Hilltop View Of Hispanic Heritage

74. Searching for Coronado's Quivira

75. The Spanish Savior of St. Louis

76. 
Jefferson's Spanish Library

WASHINGTON, D.C.
February-June 2015

77. When Galvez Came to Congress
77. Cuando Gálvez Vino al Congreso


78. A Tour of Our Extraordinarily Hispanic U.S. Capitol

79. Searching for Not-S0-Hidden
Hispanic Heritage in Washington, DC


80. Smithsonian Omits Hispanics In U.S. History Exhibit
80. Smithsonian Omite a los Hispanos
     en Exhibición de Historia de EE.UU.
MIAMI - August 2015
​
81. Finding Dad in a Museum
81. Encontre a Mi Padre en un Museo


​CALIFORNIA ROAD TRIP - 2018
82. International Friendship Park ​at U.S.-Mexico Border
​- A Jagged Corner of the World


83. Old Town San Diego State Historic Park
​
84. Cabrillo National Monument

85. ​It took more than 2 centuries

86. Presidio Park: The Birthplace
of the Spanish Colonization of California


87. Junípero Serra Museum Transcends the Story of a Great Man

88. Mission Basilica San Diego de Alcalá:
California's First Spanish Mission


89. Old Mission (Padre) Dam: California's First Aqueduct

90. Even at the beach in San Diego, you can't avoid Spanish history

91. Chicano Park: Mexican-American ​painted under highway ramps

92. Balboa Park: Candy for your eyes amid a painful controversy!

93. San Diego: An American Town
Named After the Saint from Alcalá

93. San Diego: Un Pueblo Americano
Lleva el Nombre del Santo de Alcalá


94. San Luis Rey de Francia: The King of the California Missions
94. San Luis Rey de Francia: ​El Rey de las Misiones de California

95. San Antonio de Pala:
A Sub-Mission to Reach
 the Natives of the Interior
95. San Antonio de Pala:
Una Asistencia para Alcanzar los Nativos del Interior

96. San Juan Capistrano:
The Home of the Mission Swallows
 from Argentina
96. San Juan Capistrano:
El Hogar de las Golondrinas Desaparecidas ​de Argentina

97. San Gabriel Arcángel: A Mission that Launched Cities
97. San Gabriel Arcángel: Una Misión Que Lanzó Ciudades

98. El Pueblo de la Reina de Los Ángeles:
Hispanics had to be imported

98. El Pueblo de la Reina de Los Ángeles:
Hispanos tuvieron que sen importados


99. La Plaza de Cultura y Artes:
A Walk through Mexican-American History

99. La Plaza de Cultura y Artes:
Un Paseo por la historia 
​mexicoamericana


100. Strolling the Hispanic Walk of Fame
​100. Caminando por el Paseo Hispano de la Fama

101. San Fernando Rey de España Teaches
California's Colonial History

101. ​​San Fernando Rey de España Enseña
la historia colonial de California


​102. Mission San Buenaventura Survived Earthquakes and Pirates
102. Misión San Buenaventura Sobrevivió Terremotos y Piratas

​103. Father Serra Cross: On a hill,
​overlooking ​the land he shepherded

​103. La Cruz del Padre Serra: En una colina,
​con vistas a la tierra que pastoreaba


104. The Birthplace of Santa Barbara
104. El Lugar de Nacimiento de Santa Barbara

105. The Queen of the Spanish Missions
105. La Reina de las Misiones Españolas

106. Mission Santa Ines: Built to relieve other overcrowded missions
106. Misión Santa Inés: Construida para aliviar otras misiones superpobladas

107. Mission La Purísima Concepcion:
​Going back in time ​to Spanish California

107. Mision La Purísima Concepción:
Retrocediendo en ​el tiempo a la California española


XXX. Saluting an exile: ​Father Félix Varela
XXX. The Meaning of 'Sotomayor'
SPECIAL SECTIONS
• Great (pro-Hispanic) Americans
​
• 16th Century in the Hispanic American History Timeline
• 17th Century in the Hispanic American History Timeline
• 18th Century in the Hispanic American History Timeline
​
• Spanish-American expeditions before Jamestown
• NYC ​Hispanic Landmarks
• NYC Hispanic Art
• Do You Know/Sabes?
• Garita Art
​
• Do You Speak Spanglish?
HISPANIC AMERICAN HISTORY TIMELINE
​1513 Ponce de Leon Discovers North America, Names Her 'Florida'

April 22, 1513 ​Alaminos discovers the Gulf Stream

1517 De Cordoba, wounded in Yucatan, stops in Florida

1518 Grijalva Reaches Galveston Island

1519 De Pineda confirms Florida ​is not an island​

1521 Ponce de Leon Returns to Florida, Falls Mortally Wounded

1524-25 Estevan Gomez Explores North America's East Coast

1526 Ayllón lands in S.C., settles in Georgia


1528 Narváez expedition succumbs to storms and natives

1528-36 Cabeza de Vaca treks across North America

1537-42 Cabeza de Vaca Returns to Spain, Writes 'La Relación'

1539 De Niza Searches for Golden Cities of Cibola
​

1539-42 De Soto celebrates first American Christmas

1540 Hernando de Alarcon Reaches California

1540-42 Coronado Explores the Southwest,
Cardenas Discovers ​the Grand Canyon


1542-43  ​Cabrillo explores California coast​

1559 De Luna Builds Santa Maria de Ochuse​


1565 Pedro Menendez de Avilés Establishes San Agustin

1566 Santa Elena Built in South Carolina

1598 ​Juan de Oñate Explores New Mexico

1602 Sebastian Vizcaino ​explores the West Coast

1610 Pedro de Peralta establishes Santa Fe

1610-26 The Birth of San Miguel, oldest church in the U.S.A.

1613 Juan Rodriguez becomes the first Manhattan immigrant

1633 Misión San Luis de Apalachee is born in Tallahassee

​1682 San Antonio de la Ysleta becomes first mission in Texas

1691 Father Eusebio Kino builds Tumacácori and Guevavi

1692 ​Father Kino builds San Xavier del Bac 

1692 Diego de Vargas leads ​'Bloodless Reconquest" of Santa Fe

1695 Castillo de San Marcos ​Completed in St. Augustine

1718 Mission San Antonio de Valero is born
​- long before it became The Alamo
​

1738 Runaway slaves establish Fort Mose,
​the first free African-American community​


​1738 Francisco Menendez Leads Fort Mose

1742 Spanish Soldiers ​Open Fort Matanzas

1752 Spanish Soldiers Build Presidio de Tubac

1763 Spanish Florida Goes to England

1765 Juan Antonio Maria de Rivera ​explores ​Colorado and Utah
​
1769 
Father Serra opens ​San Diego de Alcalá,
California's first ​Spanish mission


1771 Father Serra establishes San Gabriel Arcángel

1772 Good hunting determines site
​of ​Misión San Luis Obispo de Tolosa


1775 Captain Hugh O’Connor
​builds Presidio San Agustin del Tucson


​1776-83 Hispanics in the American Revolution

1776 The Birth of San Francisco

1781 Spanish troops defeat the British, capture Pensacola

1781 Pobladores of Los Angeles are imported

1791 ​Alessandro Malaspina Alaska Reaches Alaska

1797 Fermín Francisco de Lasuén
Establishes Misión San Fernando Rey de España


1797 The Birth of Villa de Branciforte

Herencia Hispana Oculta de America:
La Lista de Lugares, Ideas, y Evidencia Historica para Reconectár a los Americanos con sus Raíces Hispanas

Picture
America's Hidden Hispanic Heritage:
The Bucket List of Places, Ideas and Historical Evidence to Reconnect Americans with their  Hispanic Roots
  • HOME
  • ABOUT US/QUIENES SOMOS
  • CHAPTERS/CAPITULOS
  • EN ESPAÑOL
  • ON FACEBOOK
  • IN THE NEWS/NOTICIAS
  • ACCOLADES/ELOGIOS
  • VIDEO LECTURES/CHARLAS
  • MIGUELPEREZ.COM
    • MY STUDENTS
  • ABOUT/SOBRE MIGUEL
  • VIDEOS WE LIKE
  • CONTACT US/CONTÁCTENOS
  • TIMELINE/CRONOLOGIA
  • THE HISPANIC AMERICAN HISTORY MUSEUM
  • THE GREAT TOUR/LA GRAN GIRA
  • CALIFORNIA ROAD TRIP
  • NYC HISPANIC LANDMARKS
  • NYC HISPANIC ART
  • ON THE ROAD AGAIN
  • EN EL CAMINO OTRA VEZ
  • OUR MEDALLIONS SAGA