Sponsorship

CAJACANTABRIA AND MENÉNDEZ PELAYO-DIGITAL

Carlos Saiz Martínez
Chairman
Cajacantabria
Santander, September 1999

Few figures of our scientific history have reached the dimension of the Cantabrian Marcelino Menéndez Pelayo (1856-1912). The extent of the areas covered by his historical and philological investigation - literary criticism, philosophy and aesthetics, history of science and thought, historiography- have made him receive, with full justification, the description "First polygraph". And if his high profile is indisputable when assessing the history of our culture from afar, that dimension is enlarged and enriched if we adhere to the contemporary era and to a decisive period (the last third of the 19th century and the initial decade of the 20th century) with regards to the appearance and development of processes essentially related to the dynamism and the richness of our present scientific and cultural heritage.

His dominance in the scene of contemporary Spanish culture extends, in effect, beyond the time limits, his life was too short: his interpretations of our past, his specific findings have been the mirror in which the main currents of our culture have been looked at, contrasted and discussed. Many of his works are still an indispensable reference for specialists, and although the advancement of knowledge has led us to leave behind some of his contributions, in the depth and strength of his scientific methodology (critical, rigorous, committed, synthesizing) we have a unique example of the attitude with which the intellectual must face his work and the relationship with society.

An exceptional figure in Spanish culture. The peak, without a doubt, of Cantabrian culture. From his first appearances in the public sphere, in the seventies of the last century, his standing and the importance of his work  have disseminated and honoured the names of Santander and Cantabria all over the world. He worked and lived here. And here, above all, he formed what was his most precious asset and the main asset of his contributions to science, beyond his writings: his Library. It was not by chance that Don Marcelino wanted that Library - which he created as a space with its own sense, an inventory to reconstruct the history of science and Spanish culture- to be in the custody of the Hon. Town Council of Santander on his death. Since 1912, in effect, the Menéndez Pelayo Library (and, with it, Santander and Cantabria) have become, thanks to the efforts of its successive directors and all those who worked in it, an unavoidable consultation centre, not only for the many MenendezPelayists spread in universities and research centres around the world, but the extensive list of specialists interested in any of the plots that Don Marcelino covered in his work.

For this reason, Cajacantabria has though it  a privilege that the Menéndez Pelayo Library and Tavera Historical and Hernando de Larramendi Foundations should come to us with this project, its importance, and the possibility, in short, to assume the Sponsorship of Menéndez Pelayo.

For an entity that, in line with its institutional objectives, dedicates, through its Social and Cultural Project, priority attention to revert to society part of the benefits that it gets, the involvement in this Project, if on the one hand our provides permanent attention to the promotion of the Cantabrian culture to continue in general, on the other hand it has offered us the possibility to be protagonists of an initiative that is called upon to play a decisive role in the new landscape that the generalization of electronic technology has implemented in scientific knowledge: Menéndez Pelayo Digital once again launches, before the scientific community, the immense work of the polygraph from Santander. It does so on the basis of top class technological solutions and at a time when the globalization of knowledge through electronic networks leads us (as a collective, as a culture) to position ourselves strategically.

Appreciation in value of the work of Menéndez Pelayo, support for technological development, commitment to the dissemination of the Cantabrian, Spanish and Latin American culture. The reasons and arguments, in short, for whose sponsorship has represented an honour and pride for Cajacantabria. We can only thank the many institutions and individuals who participated in this project, and congratulate ourselves for having formed part of a cultural enterprise that, on the threshold of a new century, will decisively contribute to strengthen internationally the image of Cantabria and the achievements of our culture.