As shown below, Ignacio Hernando de Larramendi not only created the MAPFRE System and was chief executive officer of MAPFRE until he retired, he also undertook a range of personal cultural projects:

Tavera Historic Foundation

Tavera Historic Foundation, created, like this Foundation, by Ignacio Hernando de Larramendi and since merged into the Fundación MAPFRE, published the Tavera Classics Collection, which digitally reproduced hundreds of classic works related to various themes in the history of Spain and Latin America.

This project has given rise to the Tavera Virtual Classics Libraries and Tres grandes cuestiones de la Historia de Iberoamérica [Three Major Issues in IberoAmerican History], in printed book form and on disc containing the eBooks.

The following link provides access to all the monographs (in Spanish language) on the disc Three Major Issues in IberoAmerican History and the index record for the print and electronic editions.

Go to Tres grandes cuestiones de la Historia de Iberoamérica.

DIGIBÍS

In 1996 Ignacio Hernando de Larramendi decided to form a company, Digibís, as a technical and business instrument that would enable him to carry out the projects he had planned for the Tavera Foundation and for the Ignacio Larramendi Foundation.

This Foundation later took the company over and has operated it not only as a supporting platform but also as a business developing major R&D initiatives in the field of digitally processing Spain’s cultural legacy, focusing largely on archival and library matters, and it has created new products and applications that have made Digibís into one of the leading companies in its sector, both nationally and in Europe as a whole.

Go to the DIGIBÍS website.

MAPFRE 1492 Collections

See brochure with all the titles of the collections
(Archivo PDF de 2 Mb.)

On the occasion of the V Centenary of the discovery of America, Ignacio Hernando de Larramendi, who had always shown a special sensitivity and attention to the Hispanic-American social and cultural events, created Fundación MAPFRE América in 1988.

One of its most important initiatives was the creation of a very wide publishing series of historical studies, called Collections MAPFRE 1492. Once published all the books projected, reached the figure of 245 titles.

Even so, Ignacio Larramendi did not consider the matter exhausted and from there were born the Historical Projects Tavera, that were published in the year 2005. The edition consists of a CD-Rom that contains 51 books written by specialists and a printed book entitled Tres grandes cuestiones de la historia iberoamericana, which contains the disc with the same title, and in which the scientific director and coordinator of the project, José Andrés-Gallego, writes a study on the project.

The three main topics in which the studies are organized are: Law and Justice in the history of Ibero-America, Afro-America, the third root and Impact in America of the expulsion of the Jesuits. In an appendix, all the monographs edited in the CD-Rom are related in the book.

For more information see Colecciones MAPFRE 1492, located in the Polymath Virtual Library.

Handbook of Latin American Studies

Ignacio Hernando de Larramendi, since his presidency at Fundación MAPFRE América, firmly supported a project of the Library of Congress to digitalize the printed numbers of the Hanbook of Latin American Studies, with the additional collaboration of the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.

The publication is a bibliography on Latin America composed by works selected and commented by experts. It has been published since 1936 by the Hispanic Division of the Library of Congress and is considered a fundamental guide for students and researchers.

See invitation for the presentation of the project.

History of the Handbook of Latin American Studies.

Hernando de Larramendi Foundation

Hernando Larramendi Foundation was created in 1986. It is the current Ignacio Larramendi Foundation that changed its name in 2005, after the death of Ignacio Hernando de Larramendi, by unanimous decision of all the members of its Patronato, under the presidency, then, of Lourdes Martínez Gutiérrez.

Cálamo Editorial

In 1951 Ignacio Hernando de Larramendi founded, with Rafael Gambra and Vicente Marrero, the Editorial Cálamo, a publishing house which had its headquarters in Larramendi’s own home and in which Lourdes Martínez Gutiérrez, Ignacio’s wife, did an important job.

They published the following books of social and cultural reflection:

  • Picasso y el toro, El poder entrañable and El acierto de la danza española, by Vicente Marrero Suárez.
  • Tres claves de la vida inglesa, by Ignacio Hernando de Larramendi.