Colext/Macondo Cantina virtual de los COLombianos en el EXTerior --------------------------------------------------
Alvar Nunez Cabeza de Vaca diria "MUUUUUUU!!!" CD > -----Original Message----- > From: PANGosaurus2002 [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]] > Sent: Tuesday, March 05, 2002 5:21 PM > To: ColExt > Cc: Gaitan, Daniel > Subject: Colext: LaPintaLaNi�aLaSantaMaria (:o(= > > > Colext/Macondo > Cantina virtual de los COLombianos en el EXTerior > -------------------------------------------------- > > Spanish fury as Columbus replicas are left to rot > By Christina Lamb in Lisbon and James Langton in New York > > THE Spanish government is furious that a fleet of replica sailing > ships sent to America for a goodwill tour on the 500th anniversary of > Christopher Columbus's arrival, has been left to disintegrate inTexas. > The Pinta and the Santa Maria are currently rotting on land in a Texas > shopping plaza, timbers devoured by termites and paint peeling in the > sun and wind, while the Nina, although still in the water, is so badly > damaged that it has been closed to the public. Unlikely ever to raise > their sails on the high seas again, the meticulously constructed ships > face a forlorn future as novelty seafood restaurants. > > The neglect has outraged the Spanish government, which spent �9 > million on a national project to build the three copies of Columbus's > ships for the 1992 tour. > > Although Columbus never got as far as Texas, Spain agreed to lease the > ships to the south Texan port of Corpus Christi after the tour in the > belief that they would be treasured. It was also hoped that the gift > would help to bring together the town's Anglo and Hispanicpopulations. > Instead they have caused a rift between Spain and the United States, > left the city millions of pounds in debt, and will be a sore point in > Madrid's dealings with America's new Texan President, George W Bush. > James Goold, the American lawyer for the Spanish Embassy in > Washington, called the ships "cultural and historic gems". Last week > he said: "We have an immediate crisis because no one is taking care of > the ships and they are deteriorating rapidly." > > Built with oak and pine from the same forest as the originals and held > together by thousands of hand-forged nails using 15th century methods, > the replicas took 15 years to build, yet in less than half that time > they have been rendered completely unseaworthy by their Texan hosts. > The problems started almost the moment that las carabelas (the > caravels), as they are known, sailed into the bay in 1993 to be a > permanent attraction. Replicas of the ships in which Columbus and his > crew survived on stagnant water and worm-infested biscuits, the three > were about to begin a far-more nightmarish journey. > > The Corpus Christi stop had been one of the most successful of their > 18-city tour, with more than 100,000 visitors, and so popular were the > ships that the city fathers formed the Columbus Fleet Association > (CFA), a charity, borrowing �700,000 to obtain a 50-year > lease fromSpain. > The ships were originally moored on the bayfront, a popular tourist > destination. The first week, however, a tropical storm blew in > threatening to smash the ships against the docks and they had to be > moved to an inland marina. For two months almost no one visited them. > The following year, disaster struck. A large barge broke free of its > moorings and rammed the Santa Maria and the Pinta, badly damaging both > vessels. Repairs have continued for years, effectively killing the > venture as a tourist attraction. > > The Nina was left in the water, although closed to the public, but the > Santa Maria and Pinta were hauled into a dry dock on a concrete > shopping plaza behind the Corpus Christi Museum of Science and > History. Wooden ships need to be kept in water and both vessels are > now deteriorating fast. Paint is peeling and the timbers are under > attack from both rot and termites. > > According to one member of the Corpus Christi Convention and Visitors > Bureau, which took over the management of the vessels earlier this > year: "The termites are holding hands. That is the only reason the > ships are still standing up." > > Experts now estimate it will cost as much as �500,000 to restore the > ships, money that does not exist. The CFA already has interest > payments of �190,000 a year to cover its debts on the money it > borrowed to build a permanent display for the ships - and no income. > Questions have also been asked about a �1.1 million insurance > settlement from Lloyds of London that was obtained in 1997 after a > long court battle involving the barge owners - in spite of this, the > ships have still not been repaired. > > An investigation by the Corpus Christi Caller-Times newspaper found > chaotic record keeping. CFA board members drew thousands of dollars > for a "fact-finding" mission to Spain, with �285,000 of the settlement > going on "administrative expenses". The project is now believed to be > �2.8 million in debt. Meanwhile, the Spanish government has become > increasingly concerned at the condition of its ships. The issue has > been raised in the Spanish press with questions asked over why the > Columbus ships were ever lent to an American town to which the > explorer had never been. > > With the CFA now dissolved, Spain is attempting to retrieve the fleet > and find it a new home. The ships are in such a sorry state that they > could not be sailed back to Spain. Instead they may end their lives as > a customer attraction for a sea food restaurant chain in Galveston, > playing host to children with cartons of ketchup-laden chips rather > than explorers with maps and astrolabes. > *************************************** > ** CyberCogito ergo CyberSum ** > *************************************** > > > > -------------------------------------------------------------- > To unsubscribe send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > with UNSUBSCRIBE COLEXT as the BODY of the message. > > Un archivo de colext puede encontrarse en: > http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]/ > cortesia de Anibal Monsalve Salazar > -------------------------------------------------------------- To unsubscribe send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] with UNSUBSCRIBE COLEXT as the BODY of the message. Un archivo de colext puede encontrarse en: http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]/ cortesia de Anibal Monsalve Salazar
