An acknowledgment of historical memory | The Advance of Segovia

Under the summer sun, several neighbors, representatives of the government of the board, mayors and a chronicler have gathered at the Monument of Fray Antonio in Villacastín on Saturday, July 2, for the presentation of the Fray Antonio de Villacastín award for attention, care and restoration of heritage. This year the award has gone to the Ministry of Tourism, Culture and Sports of Castilla y León.

How could it be otherwise, the day began with a sample of Segovian culture with the dance of the “entradilla” to the rhythm of the tamboril and the bagpipes of the group ‘Yerbabuena’ from Villacastín. Following this, and accompanied by the rhythm of the bagpipes, the mayor of the municipality, Julio César Sánchez Jiménez, and the official chronicler of Villacastín, Rafael Álvarez Rodríguez, proceeded to the typical coronation of the monolith erected by the Spanish Technical Architects in 1944.

Although this act has not been done for two years due to covid-19, for this occasion several locals gathered to witness the event, to the point that there were no empty chairs. Before the award ceremony, Rafael Álvarez Rodríguez made a brief introduction, a bit fast, but he made his intention clear, the importance of remembering Fray Antonio and that of heritage.

For those who know little about Fray Antonio and his prize, it all goes back 78 years, when surveyors and architects made the monolith in his memory. The first to feel the need to pay homage to Fray Antonio was José Ortega y Munilla in his articles to recall “the wonderful spirituality of a man who did not need to know either Hebrew or Latin to become the main manager of the glorious empire of the king of the Spanish ones”, Rodríguez paraphrases.

Since 1944 there are several who have received this recognition, from the Ministry of Culture, the Cathedral of Segovia to the most renowned architects such as Antonio Mas-Guindal Lafarga.

In short, an award like this is not only to remember how Fray Antonio managed to be part of history by participating as a Senior Worker in the construction of the Escorial Monastery, but to remember and receive that legacy that heritage leaves us.

The award was received by the Director General of Heritage, Juan Carlos Prieto Vielba, on behalf of the Ministry. For Vielba to receive this award has been an honor, especially that he is from such an important personality as Fray Antonio.
But he also wanted to recognize the importance of national heritage, since without it “we would have no memory and with it there would be no future”.

For Vielba, heritage is made up of three pillars: the memory that heritage promotes, the culture that tends to generate some emotion, and lastly, development, since heritage is susceptible to change to become “an engine of wealth for a territory.”

It also recalls the importance of all of us getting involved in preserving heritage and not moving away from our historical memory.

After these two interventions, Vielba collected the miniature representation of the gray granite monolith in the area. The musicians once again filled the park with rhythm, the enthusiasm of the people was so great that several neighbors were encouraged to dance and then to collect a drink from the Villacastín City Council.

An acknowledgment of historical memory | The Advance of Segovia