Contemporary Echoes

The final section of the exhibit reveals how past themes and concepts have carried forward. Saddles, spurs, branding irons, and other implements of pastoral culture illustrate how Old World technologies moved to the New. Fiddles, guitars, and other instruments that originated in the Middle Ages demonstrate how music has transitioned from European roots to become southwestern in nature. The veneration of the Virgin Mary from Guadalupe in Spain to Guadalupe in Mexico still resonates today in an annual event celebrated here in Lubbock. The Texas Tech campus itself offers a direct echo of the Old World, with its original Spanish Renaissance architectural theme inspired by the University of Alcalá de Henares, whose main building was contemporary with Coronado.

scholars and the medieval southwest

Connections between Spain and the Southwest continue to fascinate researchers, even though nearly five centuries have passed since Vázquez de Coronado set out on his expedition.  Since 2000, more than 70 books have been published on Coronado alone, from children’s stories to scholarly works.  Scholars and laymen have long debated the explorer's exact itinerary across the Llano Estacado.  Likewise, they have attempted to reconstruct the story of the destruction of the mission of San Sabá and the decline of its presidio.  The items on display here represent only a small sample of ongoing research efforts on Coronado and San Sabá.

 

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Contemporary Echoes  --  Architecture --  Our Lady of Guadalupe