269
Núme o 42, junio 2019, pp.269-271
Noble Da id Cook
Reseña al lib o de Wendy K ame (coo dinado a) y Jo ge Luján Muñoz y
Wendy K ame (edi o es) Lib o Segundo del Cabildo de la ϛibdad de
San iago de la p o inϛia de Gua emala comenϛado a XXVII de mayo de
MDXXX años.
KRAMER, Wendy (coo dinado a) y Jo ge Luján Muñoz y Wendy K ame ,
edi o es. Lib o Segundo del Cabildo de la ϛibdad de San iago de la p o inϛia de
Gua emala comenϛado a XXVII de mayo de MDXXX años. La An igua, Gua emala:
CIRMA, 2018, 394 pp.
The lib os de cabildo p o ide a weal h o in o ma ion on he na u e and
ope a ion o municipal councils, ye no ice his o ians a e some imes unawa e o he
his o iog aphical iches o be ound. Those o en o e looked eco ds p o ide a synopsis
o day o day ac ions o ci y o icials and a e a ailable o any esea che ained o
handle o en di icul paleog aphic challenges acing in es iga o s o he Spanish ci ies
in he New Wo ld du ing he i s wo cen u ies. The ange o opics p esen ed,
discussed and deba ed, o en imes hea edly, is b oad and p o ides insigh in o nume ous
opics, om he sale o en al o public land, o he supply o wa e and s ee sani a ion,
con ol o ca nice ías, o ganiza ion o c i ical de ense in imes o public un es o
o eign a acks, issues in ol ing sla es and Ame indians and so o h. F equency o
hese mee ings a ied, depending la gely on ci y size. The o ma o he sessions
ollowed a simila pa e n, om an opening ce emony a he i s mee ing o he yea
when ci y o icials we e chosen, o he close o he day’s session a he end o he
allo ed ime. The s uc u e o powe is clea ly isible as o es we e eco ded and
indi iduals o amilies ell in o a sel -pe pe ua ing ou ine. I mus be no ed ha he
quali y and dep h o de ail is dependen on he in e es and abili ies o he sec e a ies o
sc ibes who eco ded he sessions. The esea che can ce ainly no e o e ime ad ances
and declines as one sec e a y was eplaced by ano he .
Ci y eco ds we e impo an o e ain and s eps we e aken o p o ec hem,
hence hei a ailabili y compa ed o o he ypes o eco ds ha ha e been los o
des oyed. The e is one ca ea , he pape s o he ea ly “pueblos de indios,” in he
o ganized and o ced cong egaciones ( educciones), eco ded in heo y by he
esc ibanos de indios o he mos pa ha e disappea ed. Fo some impo an ci ies in
Spanish Ame ica such as Lima and Qui o whole se ies o he cabildo books ha e been
270
Núme o 42, junio 2019, pp.269-271
Noble Da id Cook
Reseña al lib o de Wendy K ame (coo dinado a) y Jo ge Luján Muñoz y
Wendy K ame (edi o es) Lib o Segundo del Cabildo de la ϛibdad de
San iago de la p o inϛia de Gua emala comenϛado a XXVII de mayo de
MDXXX años.
published. In o he cases such as he modes Spanish ci y Huamanga (mode n
Ayacucho) only he ea lies eco ds we e p in ed in ecen decades. In some ci ies he
public eco ds we e des oyed by i e, loods, o eign a acks, he s o up isings. Thei
mode n publica ion o u u e in es iga o s o he pas p o ide a gua an ee hey will no
disappea
We a e now o una e o ha e in ou hands he wonde ul, indeed luxu ious
edi ion o he long “missing” lib o segundo de la ciudad de San iago, Gua emala,
coo dina ed by Wendy K ame along wi h Jo ge Luján Muñoz. Simila o many o he
impo an La in Ame ican documen s, manusc ip s, books and wo ks o a ha
“disappea ed” in he la e nine een h and ea ly wen ie h cen u y, his sough ou
manusc ip magically eappea ed decades la e . Some emain o be ound. In so many
cases hei disappea ance was he desi e o weal hy collec o s and lib a ies in Eu ope
and he Uni ed S a es. In he case o he Second and Thi d cabildo books o San iago de
Gua emala, i was A che Mil on Hun ing on, mul i-millionai e ounde o he Hispanic
Socie y o Ame ica o New Yo k Ci y, ounded in 1904, who pu chased hem along
wi h nume ous o he ex s in Leipzig, Ge many om book and manusc ip collec o and
deale Ka l Hie semann.
Su p isingly he wo olumes emained la gely unknown in he Hispanic
Socie y’s collec ions o mo e han a hal cen u y. The his o iog aphical alue and he
his o y o hei disco e y and a els o he olumes om Gua emala o Eu ope and
inally o New Yo k Ci y a e me iculously p esen ed by Ch is ophe H. Lu z and Wendy
K ame in he book’s “In oducción” (xxxi ) and “Pa ade o de los Lib os del Cabildo”
(lxi -xc iii). Thei e o s o ace as bes as possible he whe eabou s o he olumes
om 1524 o 1913 eads as a mys e y no el. The au ho s poin ou he “disappea ance”
o books and manusc ip s om La in Ame ica in ecen decades has been a cons an
challenge o he gua dians o na ional pa imony. Fo a nuanced analysis o his c i ical
issue see he ela ed wo k by Wendy K ame , W. Geo ge Lo ell and Ch is ophe H.
Lu z, Saqueo en el A chi o: el pa ade o de los eso os documen ales gua emal ecos (La
An igua Gua emala: CIRMA, 2014).
271
Núme o 42, junio 2019, pp.269-271
Noble Da id Cook
Reseña al lib o de Wendy K ame (coo dinado a) y Jo ge Luján Muñoz y
Wendy K ame (edi o es) Lib o Segundo del Cabildo de la ϛibdad de
San iago de la p o inϛia de Gua emala comenϛado a XXVII de mayo de
MDXXX años.
The co e o he book is o cou se he second cabildo book, and he e we ha e a
p o essional ansc ip ion by Wendy K ame wi h Edga F. Chu án Al a ado. An
addi ional alue o he book a e he nume ous acsimile olios ha a e o immedia e
alue o anyone eaching o lea ning how o handle he paleog aphic challenges no ice
esea che s oo equen ly ace. The e a e also h ee excellen indices: onomás ico,
ma e ias and geog á ico, and an exhaus i e bibliog aphy. All in all, his is a majo
p ima y ex ha all esea ch lib a ies should ha e.
Noble Da id Cook, P o esso Eme i us
Flo ida In e na ional Uni e si y, Miami