The Library of Galicia offers a unique look at the evolution of the Xacobeo phenomenon in the last 70 years through its documents

The Xunta inaugurated today in the Library of Galicia the exhibition Holy Year: the resurgence of a Way for everyone, that traces the evolution of the xacobeo phenomenon from 1954 to the present. through more of 45 pieces of the funds guarded in the Gaiás, from books, brochures and newspapers to calendars and videos, the exhibition bibliographical It allows the visitor to approach a decisive event in the last decades of the economic, social and cultural history of Galicia, from the perspective of printed and visual documentation.

The General Director of Culture, Ángel M. Lorenzo, highlighted at the inauguration the uniqueness of this bibliographical retrospective “because of the opportunity it gives us, in a year with an extensive program in this respect, to visualize the Jacobean phenomenon from another perspective, that of the documentation that is generated around it both in the field of organization and promotion and in the field of personal creation inspired by the “Camino”.

The general director of Culture was accompanied at the event by the director-manager of the Cidade da Cultura Foundation, Ana Isabel Vázquez, and by the exhibition’s curator and technician of the Library of Galicia, Fernando Recamán, among other authorities.

From the most spiritual dimension to the most touristic

The sample, which can be visited in the lobby of the Library in the Cidade da Cultura until November, follows a chronological order that begins in 1954, when the Holy Year was still essentially a manifestation of Catholic spirituality, the next stop being the bibliographic production of 1965, where the great involvement of public administrations in promoting the Camino as a tourist event stands out. The figures of Cardinal Quiroga Palacios on the one hand and Manuel Fraga Iribarne, at that time Minister of Information and Tourism, on the other, stand out in this period.

The newspapers, books and brochures in the Library’s collections serve as a vehicle to remember the Jacobean years of 1971 and 1976, characterized by relative calm, and that of 1982, characterized by the impact of the visit of Pope Xoán Pablo II, the unique so far from a Pontiff to Santiago in a Holy Year.

Respect for subsequent jubilees, with special notoriety of the one celebrated in 1993, the aim is to show the progressive international dimension achieved by the Camino, an internationalization in which the Xacobeo, without disregarding the tourist dimension promoted by institutional action, has achieved a spiritual dimension that does not adhere to a particular religious belief.

Among the documentation is the 1954 issue of the magazine atlantis dedicated to the Holy Year, with illustrations by Lugrís, or a pastoral letter by Cardinal Quiroga Palacios from that same year. The proclamation pronounced in 1982 by Camilo José Cela or publications of Xacobeo 1993 where the mascot of the Pelegrin. The materials also show examples of literary and film production around the Camino, with some best seller and successful films, and the entertainment-type programming that began to promote the great concerts.

The Library of Galicia offers a unique look at the evolution of the Xacobeo phenomenon in the last 70 years through its documents