COMING SOON ! Historians around the Globe will be a page where staff and students can post about all the amazing historical locations they visit all over the globle! Each post you can expect a short summary regarding the history of the location, some words from the historian themselves regarding their personal experience as well as any photos they wish to upload.
On April 4th, a group of students visited Cuelgamuros Valley in El Escorial, Madrid. Cuelgamuros Valley, a location that has been the topic of immense political discourse within Spain for many years regarding whether or not to remove it, is currently a spot of remembrance. According to the official site, “The Cuelgamuros Valley, formerly called the Valley of the Fallen (Valle de los Caídos), is the main monument of Franco's regime. Conceived by the dictator Francisco Franco to celebrate his military victory and shelter the bodies of his supporters in the war (1936-1939) that broke out after the coup d'état by the army against the Second Republic on July 18, 1936, took around nineteen years to build.” “The Valley serves to raise awareness among visitors, in a broad sense, of what happened in Spain after the coup d'état of 1936.” The following is the student’s Sean Rivero, experience and take on the Valley during the April 4th visit.
Having lived here for a decade now, I had believed I had seen everything there was to see within a 100 kilometer radius of Madrid center. However, I was absolutely blown away by Cuelgamuros. While I of course do not align in any way shape or form with the Franco regime, the scale of the Cuelgamuros valley truly is something to behold and its remarkable view from the outside is breathtaking. It felt like a set out of The Lord of The Rings. A giant man made structure into the side of a mountain with massive stone statues and a giant cross, it truly felt like something out of a movie. Then you walk inside and you are taken aback once again. The sheer size of the church makes you feel dwarfed, which I presume was General Franco’s goal when he had this church built. It reinforces the concept that it was built to confirm the power of the state and make the individual feel lesser. By mining and carving a church into the Earth, we are witness to how Franco was able to create a space to consolidate and magnify his power. I felt like a shell of myself while I was there, just overtaken by the sheer size and everything that was going on. The moment you step foot into the church, you see what feels like a never ending tunnel that goes deep into the depth of the mountain. As you walk down the tunnel, which is easily three stories in height, you are surrounded by massive ten foot plus statues of hooded figures holding swords which lead the way deep into the tunnel to the altar. Once you get to the altar, you can look up at the painted ceiling and see a cannon that is being pointed down directly at Christ on the cross. Seeing this for the first time had me at a loss for words. It’s a Church but the darkness of the hooded statues speaks volume to the fact that this is unlike any other church in the world. I am very grateful to have gotten to visit Cuelgamuros Valley. This trip was pivotal to the class. History is best learned when you can actually go out into the world and witness it first-hand. The Valley is a historical landmark that serves as a place of remembrance for all the lives lost during a dark and deeply divided time in Spain. Removing it or destroying it would be an injustice to the overall history of Spain and the innocent lives lost that are buried within the valley. It is a flawed ideology that just reading about something and educating yourself is enough. That's only half the battle.You need to go out there, experience things. Discuss with people at the valley their thoughts on it. Get to witness in person what is being debated. History is there for us to learn from it, not erase it. Getting to go and visit crucial landmarks and locations regarding the world’s history is crucial to anyone’s learning and the development of their understanding of the world and its social-political climate. There may be no better historical landmark to visit that is still being heavily debated within its respected country than Cuelgamuros valley. Andrea Hepworth puts it best within her article titled Site of Memory and Dismemory: The Valley of the Fallen in Spain” for the Journal of Genocide Research in which she puts the immensely disputed Cuelgamuros valley in context; “Valley of the Fallen represents a site with blurred distinctions between a mass grave, a monument and an unacknowledged site of suffering for Republican prisoners, whose memories and stories continue to be silenced and unacknowledged at the site” (463).
Photo of Cecil Court from the "Secret London" website
Over the summer, between June 7-9th 2024, I was able to go visit a city soaked in incredible history, London, England. Though three days was far too short to truly appreciate the city and get to visit every historical landmark, I did get to check off the big ones! Getting to see first hand Big Ben, the London Eye, walk down Westminster, take the London tube, as well as of course see Buckingham Palace. However, my favorite place I got to see while in London was Cecil Street in Westminster. I am sure anyone who adores books knows the street. For a history nerd like myself, the street was breathtaking as the bookstores and the street itself have remained untouched for over a century. The street is a mini time machine back to the Victorian Era in England. Since the 1930’s Cecil street has been known as Booksellers Row. While there I could not help myself, I happened to walk into a stunning bookstore called “Watkins Books.” Known as the “oldest esoteric bookstore in the heart of London,” it is a safe haven for any individual like myself who love the occult and magic and the paranormal. I walked out with the book On Magic and the Occult by William Butler Yeats. Yeats was an Irish Irish poet, dramatist and writer, and one of the foremost figures of 20th-century literature. On your next trip to London, I highly recommend taking an hour out of your day to walk down Cecil street and into every single one of those historical bookstores. You are immediately connected to the past and are overcome with the realization of the beautiful history of literature. So many different genres, an infinite amount of stories to be read. You leave Cecil street with a newfound appreciation for books and reading and the importance behind writing stories.
