The Spanish and Italians vie for the title of first producer of plant-based paper in European history. Spain claims the year 1056, Sicily 1102. If 1056 is dismissed due to “limited evidence,” then Valencia is second, with its mill in 1150. I believe the Spanish claims, it is logical that the Muslim Caliphates brought paper […]
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Segovia has a marvel of Roman engineering from the second century! The elegant granite block aqueduct is made without mortar and still standing with a few small repairs. It is 28.5 meters tall, around 94 feet at its highest point. We traveled there our second to last trip together during the 1987 Toledo Program. Our […]
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A nod to the BBC Sherlock series, modern retelling of Sherlock Holmes, in this discussion of a mind palace; a place in our heads dedicated to thought. Such a place functions as a retreat, a refuge, a sanctuary of the cognitive kind. I’d like my conceptual safe haven to look like the Alhambra Palace of […]
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In 1565, Spain conquered the Philippines. The Manila Galleon, a famous trade route, began among; China, the Philippines, New Spain (Mexico) and Spain. This route called the Maritime Silk Road, the Manila Galleon, or the China Ship (Nao de China in Spanish) lasted for 250 years; 1565-1815. Once a year a vessel would begin in […]
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Guess which country has the highest immigration rates to Mexico? According to the Mexican census, Spain held that honor between 1900 and 1940. By 1930, 47,000 Spanish emigrated to Mexico before the Spanish Civil War. However, in the years between 1950 and 2015, Spain moved to second or third place. Then the number one country […]
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Deceptive simplicity is the cornerstone of haiku poetry. How much can we express in three lines, seventeen syllables? From what we see in your contest entries, these snapshots, these Polaroids of poetry can deliver a message in a handful of words. La sencillez engañosa es fundamental en la poesía haiku. ¿Cuánto podemos expresar en tres […]
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