Ibero-American Exposition of 1929 - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

The Ibero-American Exposition of 1929 was a world's fair

World's Fair

World's fair, World fair, Universal Exposition, and World Expo are various large public exhibitions held in different parts of the world. The first Expo was held in The Crystal Palace in Hyde Park, London, United Kingdom, in 1851, under the title "Great Exhibition of the Works of Industry of All...

held in Seville

Seville

Seville is the artistic, historic, cultural, and financial capital of southern Spain. It is the capital of the autonomous community of Andalusia and of the province of Seville. It is situated on the plain of the River Guadalquivir, with an average elevation of above sea level...

, Spain

Spain

Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...

, from the 9th of May 1929 until the 21st of June 1930. Countries in attendance of the exposition included: Portugal, The United States, Brazil, Uruguay, Mexico, Peru, Argentina, Chile, the Republic of Colombia, Cuba, Venezuela, the Dominican Republic, Bolivia, Panama, El Salvador, Costa Rica, and Ecuador. Each Spanish region and each of the provinces of Andalusia were also represented. Spain’s Dictator General Don Miguel Primo de Rivera

Miguel Primo de Rivera

Miguel Primo de Rivera y Orbaneja, 2nd Marquis of Estella, 22nd Count of Sobremonte, Knight of Calatrava was a Spanish dictator, aristocrat, and a military official who was appointed Prime Minister by the King and who for seven years was a dictator, ending the turno system of alternating...

gave the opening address. Primo allowed Spanish King Alfonso XIII to give the final words and officially open the exposition. The purpose of the exposition was to improve relations between Spain and the countries in attendance, many of which were former Spanish colonies.

The exposition was smaller in scale than the International Exposition held in Barcelona during that same year, but it was not lacking in style. The city of Seville had prepared for the Exposition over the course of 19 years. The exhibition buildings were constructed in María Luisa Park

Maria Luisa Park

The Maria Luisa Park is a public park that stretches along the Guadalquivir River in Seville, Spain. It is Seville's principal green area.-History:...

along the Guadalquivir River. A majority of the buildings were built to remain permanent after the closing of the exposition. Many of the foreign buildings, including the United States exhibition building, were to be used as consulates after the closing of the exhibits. By the opening of the exposition all of the buildings were complete, although many were no longer new. Not long before the opening of the Exposition, the Spanish government also began a modernization of the city in order to prepare for the expected crowds by erecting new hotels and widening the medieval streets to allow for the movement of automobiles.

Spanish Pavilions and Exhibits

Spain spent a large amount of money in developing its exhibits for the fair and constructed elaborate buildings to hold them. The exhibits were designed to show the social and economic progress of Spain as well as expressing its culture. Spanish architect Don Aníbal González designed the largest and most famous of the buildings, which surrounded the Plaza de España

Plaza de España (Seville)

The Plaza de España is a plaza located in the Parque de María Luisa , in Seville, Spain built in 1928 for the Ibero-American Exposition of 1929...

. The largest of the exhibits housed in this building was located in the “Salón del Descumbrimento de América.” The Salón contained documents, maps, and other objects related to the discovery of the Americas, including a set of 120 letters and manuscript that had belonged to Christopher Columbus

Christopher Columbus

Christopher Columbus was an explorer, colonizer, and navigator, born in the Republic of Genoa, in northwestern Italy. Under the auspices of the Catholic Monarchs of Spain, he completed four voyages across the Atlantic Ocean that led to general European awareness of the American continents in the...

, the last testament of Cortés

Hernán Cortés

Hernán Cortés de Monroy y Pizarro, 1st Marquis of the Valley of Oaxaca was a Spanish Conquistador who led an expedition that caused the fall of the Aztec Empire and brought large portions of mainland Mexico under the rule of the King of Castile in the early 16th century...

, and detailed dioramas of historic moments. An exact replica of Columbus’s ship the “Santa María

Santa María (ship)

La Santa María de la Inmaculada Concepción , was the largest of the three ships used by Christopher Columbus in his first voyage. Her master and owner was Juan de la Cosa.-History:...

,” complete with a costumed crew, floated on the Guadalquivir River. The cities of Spain contributed structures designed to reflect their unique cultures to be placed in the “Pabellones de las Regiones Españolas.” Spain’s exhibits also included a large collection of art located in the Palacio Mudéjar, Palacio Renacimiento, and the Palacio de la Casa Real. The Institute of Art from the University of Seville

University of Seville

The Universidad de Sevilla or University of Seville, in English, is a top-ranked European university in Seville, Spain. Founded under the name of Colegio Santa María de Jesús in 1505, the University of Seville, with a student body of over 50,000, is one of the top-ranked universities in the country...

was moved to the Palacio Mudéjar for the duration of the exposition on the permission gained from the exposition committee by Count Columbi. The committee also set aside funds from their budget to purchase materials for the Institute.

United States Exhibits

The United States’ contribution to the exposition consisted of three buildings and marked the end to a several year period in which the United States did not construct buildings for foreign expositions. The main building was to serve as the U.S. consulate office after the closing of the Ibero-American exposition, and housed a menagerie of electrical appliances including oil furnaces, electric refrigerators, airplane models, and miniature wind tunnels. The other two structures housed a movie theatre and government exhibits, including contributions from the Departments of Agriculture, Treasury, and Labor, the Commission of Fine Arts, the Navy, and the Library of Congress.

Ibero-American Exhibits

Of the Ibero-American nations in attendance of the exposition, 10 constructed pavilions to display their exhibits. Other nations, including Bolivia, Panama, El Salvador, Costa Rica, and Ecuador displayed their native products in the “Galerías Comerciales Americanas.”

The largest of the ten pavilions was the Peruvian pavilion, which was designed by Peruvian architect Don Manuel Piquera. The pavilion contained a large archeology collection consisting of three halls filled with pre-Columbian era artifacts, which were to be kept on permanent display. The pavilion also contained an agricultural exhibit filled with stuffed vicunas, alpacas, llamas, and guanacos. The exhibit was complemented by a pack of live llamas grazing on the pavilion grounds.

The Republic of Colombia constructed a pavilion designed by Seville architect José Granados. The pavilion included a collection of sculpture and artwork by Colombian artist Rómulo Rozo, and of Colombian emeralds, and a coffee café that demonstrated all of the steps in coffee cultivation.

The Brazilian pavilion also contained a coffee cultivation exhibit complete with panoramas and models illustrating the different phases of cultivation. Architect Pedro Paulo Bernardes Bastos designed the pavilion, which also included a coffee bar.
Chilean architect José Martínez designed the three-story building that served as home to Chile’s exhibits. The exhibits included displays of Chilean industries, including detailed replicas of a nitrate mine and a copper plant, Araucanian arts and crafts, and galleries displaying Chilean art and history.

The Mexican pavilion, designed by Manuel Amabilis, included exhibits on archeology, education, and the history of Spanish accomplishments in Mexico. Students in Mexican schools prepared some of the education exhibits.

Architect Martin Noel designed Argentina’s pavilion, which included a movie theatre and displays focusing on Argentinean industries and products.

Uruguay’s pavilion included displays of its industrial schools, including the Institute of Agronomy and an art gallery filled with paintings and bronze sculptures.

Cuba contributed demonstrations of the sugar and tobacco industries to the exposition in their pavilion.

The Dominican Republic pavilion included a reproduction of the Columbus's Alcázar.

Guatemala signed up late for the exhibition and as a result rather than resembling a huge palace its pavilion looks more like a school portable building with blue and white tiles on the front. The building contained exhibits relating to the resources found in Guatemala.

Venezuela also erected a pavilion containing displays of its resources.

Today, many of the pavilions from the exposition remain, notably the famous Plaza de España

Plaza de España (Seville)

The Plaza de España is a plaza located in the Parque de María Luisa , in Seville, Spain built in 1928 for the Ibero-American Exposition of 1929...

, which chronicles each of the regions of Spain in ceramics, as well as some of the national pavilions, which have now been converted to Consulate-Generals. Many of the buildings have been converted into museums and the pavilion of Argentina is now a flamenco school. They have also been featured in a number of films, including Lawrence of Arabia, The Wind and the Lion, and Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones, among others.

Spanish Pavilions and Exhibits

United States Exhibits

Ibero-American Exhibits

See also