Bonham author Robert Weddle, many of whose books recount the Spanish colonial adventure in Texas and the Gulf region, has been selected as a member of the Honorary Advisory Committee for an exhibition of Spanish archival material in New Orleans, Louisiana.

He participated in opening ceremonies at The Historic New Orleans Collection May 10 for The Threads of Memory: Spain and the United States, an exhibition of some 140 original documents, maps, and paintings from the Archive of the Indies in Seville. Little of this material has been displayed previously outside of Spain. New Orleans is the final stop of a three-venue tour, which premiered at the New Mexico History Museum in Santa Fe, N.M., before a second showing at El Paso Museum of History. The New Orleans exhibition will continue through July 10, after which the material will be returned to Seville.

The Threads of Memory recognizes Spain’s contribution to United States history. In New Orleans, the collection is on view in the historic Merieult House at 533 Royal Street in the French Quarter, the location of the Historic New Orleans Collection. The Merieult House was built in 1792, during Louisiana’s Spanish period.

“The generosity of the Spanish government in sharing these materials with the people of the United States,” commented Priscilla Lawrence, executive director of The Historic New Orleans Collection, “offers a rare chance to celebrate a common heritage.”  

Bonham author and noted historian Robert Weddle participates in opening ceremonies at The Historic New Orleans Collection May 10 for The Threads of Memory: Spain and the United States, an exhibition of some 140 original documents, maps, and paintings from the Archive of the Indies in Seville. Little of this material has been displayed previously outside of Spain.

For more than 300 years Spanish explorers navigated, charted, and settled much of the North American continent and its waterways, leaving an indelible mark on the Southern States, their culture and folkways. The exhibition illuminates the Spanish exploration of Florida, the Spanish colonial administration of Louisiana, and the role of Spain in the American Revolution.

The ribbon cutting ceremony and attendant festivities for The Threads of Memory marked the visit to New Orleans of Ambassador Miguel Ángel Fernández de Mazarambroz, Consul General of Spain in the Southwest. Also attending were Guillermo Corral, cultural counselor, Cultural Office of the Embassy of Spain in Washington, D.C.; Isabel Simó Rodríguez, director of the Archive of the Indies, Seville; and Ignacio Ollero Borrero, director of institutional relations, Acción Cultural Española.

A U.S. Marine Corps band opened the ceremony by playing, first, the Spanish national anthem, then the "Star-Spangled Banner."

After the ribbon cutting, Weddle was given a curator-led tour of the exhibition. A piano concert by Sergio de los Cobos was followed by a champagne reception, then  dinner with the visiting Spanish dignitaries. Dr. Alfred Lemmon, director of The Historic New Orleans Collection’s Williams Research Center, spoke on the common heritage of Spain and the United States. Dr. Lemmon recently visited Weddle in Bonham to look over his library.

Weddle has done extensive research in the Archive of the Indies and other archives in Spain. Several of his books, treating the Spanish colonial history of the Gulf region as well as of Texas, are based on this research, not only in Seville but also in Simancas and the several archives of Madrid. In recognition of his work, he has been presented, on behalf of King Juan Carlos II of Spain, the Order of Isabel la Católica, highest honor given by the Spanish government to a non-citizen. The award was presented in Bonham in 2000 by Juan Romero de Terreros, cultural attaché of the Spanish Embassy in Washington at that time, since Spain’s ambassador to the Organization of American States.

Also attending the New Orleans festivities was Tim Weddle, Robert Weddle’s son (and driver).