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The execution of Maximilian of Habsburg and his two generals, Miguel Miramón and Tomás Mejía at Cerro de las Campanas, Querétaro, on June 19, 1867, produced a series of visual vestiges such as lithographs, photographs, and paintings that tried to reflect the condition of lay martyr that the ill-fated emperor acquired from that moment on. Many of these images tried to establish an analogy with respect to the biblical passage of the crucifixion since they portray a man about to die next to two prisoners, as well as the inclusion of crosses, pious witnesses, and priests. This dissertation also contemplates the construction of places of memory, such as the expiatory chapel of the Cerro de las Campanas to perpetuate the memory of a man who, according to the artists, sympathizers and witnesses of the trance, had died unjustly. Through an iconographic analysis of some of these visual representations that appeared both in Mexico and in Europe, we will try to confirm this hypothesis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

On November 28, 1725, the Brothers Hospitallers of Manila organized solemn festivities on the occasion of the bull granted by Pope Innocent XIII on the commemoration of the transfer of the remains of St. John of God from the convent of La Victoria to the main hospital of the order in Granada in 1664. A previously unpublished print contains the sermon preached for the occasion and the chronicle of the procession and description of the ephemeral arch erected on the main facade of his temple in the Philippine capital. Through this account it is possible to reconstruct the complex symbolic program of paintings and texts deployed around the virtues of the saint, which became an effective mechanism of propaganda in those territorial confines. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article sees the light as the result of a research accomplished at the Xaverian Historic Archives, in Bogotá. The investigation allowed the author to have direct access to the documentary files gathered from different national and international archives, on the goods and chattels which made up the decoration of the church owned by the Society of Jesus in Santa Fe de Bogotá. The actual enclosure, in its decoration, has been modified over the years, having been adapted to the taste of the epoch and to the historic circumstances by which it has been marked, like the fact that it was converted into pro-Cathedral, after the expulsion of the Jesuits from the Kingdom of Spain, in the latter part of the 18th century. Thus, the claim of this article is to try to unveil the first level of the theological-spiritual and didactic reading of the original decorative ensemble of the temple that belonged and still belongs, to the Society of Jesus. Therefore, we will realize a reflection on how the image, the art, that was used always by the Catholic Church to transmit the faith, is a fundamental tool to express a theological content which could be understood by the persons who contemplated it; and we will propose the possible keys of reading, obviously, from the point of view of the Ignatian spirituality, so as to explain from it, the message that the Jesuits were sending to the Bogotanian people, or to any other faithful, who would enter into the sacred place. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The book "When Spain Started Walking" by Pedro Insua is a revision of Spain's childhood from an independent perspective, free from ongoing national mythologies. The author analyzes the construction of the historical fact of the "birth of Spain" and questions how to rigorously understand the childhood of a infantilized nation. The book focuses on the moment of rupture represented by Alfonso X and his obsession with the empire. The methodology of the book combines philosophy and history to examine the concepts and ideas that arise from other knowledge. The text presents the case of Pedro Insua and his historical archaeology of the idea of Spain, based on relics and works written in the past. Insua seeks to offer objectivity to history and combat relativism. The author argues that history can be evaluated from a cultural or national perspective and that biases can be confronted rigorously. The book analyzes the genealogy of the idea of Spain and highlights the importance of political prudence according to Aristotle. Additionally, it mentions the connection between the layers of ages and the relevance of Pedro Insua's work in the present. [Extracted from the article]

The text provides reviews of two books. The first one, "Las reliquias de Santiago: Documentos fundamentales de la Reinventio de 1879" by Antón M. Pazos, addresses the rediscovery of the relics of the apostle James the Greater in the 9th century and their subsequent hiding in the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela. The book presents complete documents related to this event and highlights the main protagonists. The second book, "La Santa Sede, gli Stati Uniti e le relazioni internazionali durante il pontificato di Pio XII: Studi dopo l'apertura degli Archivi Vaticani (1939-1958)" by Roberto Regoli and Matteo Sanfilipo, examines the international relations between the Holy See and the United States during the pontificate of Pius XII. Both books offer in-depth research and are supported by historical sources and documents. [Extracted from the article]