Instituto Franklin-UAH analyzes more than 250 years of Spanish presence in the United States
On February 12th, 2025, Casa de América and Instituto Franklin-UAH, with the collaboration of the Fundación Consejo de España-EE.UU., organized the roundtable “Presencia española y legado cultural en Estados Unidos” in the Sala Simón Bolivar of Casa de América to present the latest issue of the journal Tribuna Norteamericana.
The event was welcomed by the General Director of Casa de América, León de la Torre, the Deputy Director of the Instituto Franklin-UAH, Esperanza Cerdá, and the General Secretary of the Fundación Consejo España-EE.UU., Fernando Prieto. The panel was comprised of Eduardo Garrigues, Spanish Ambassador and author, Larrie D. Ferreiro, Naval Architect and historian, and Gonzalo Quintero, Ambassador and member of the QSSI Cultural Committee in the field of History, moderated by Francisco Izuzquiza, radio broadcaster and host of the podcast “La Escóbula de la Brújula.”
During the roundtable, the experts analyzed the Spanish contribution to the independence of the United States. The speakers contextualized the main facts of the secret aid that Spain offered to the 13 colonies in their independence process and then entered into a debate on the political, military, economic and historiographical reasons for the concealment of this aid, and how Spanish support for the United States and the role played by key figures such as Bernardo de Gálvez during the American Revolution is being made visible and vindicated.
More than 80 people attended the roundtable, including high rank Spanish diplomats working in the United States and contributing to highlighting the shared history between the two nations.
