Burried Mirror episode # 3: The Age of Gold Director: Carlos Fuentes

1. Burried Mirror
Summary of episode # 3: The Age of Gold
2006
One of the most important periods in the history of Spain was the Age of gold (XVI and XVII Centuries),
during which Spain conquered the American territory and became one of the richest empires in the world not only
financially but also artistically. In the episode the “age of gold,” Carlos Fuentes reveals essential information
behind the discovery of the new world by the Spanish conquerors. The video takes us back in history in a
remarkable journey through the countries of Bolivia, Spain, and Mexico. In this expedition Fuentes presents the
reality of how the Spaniards exploited the new world and its people to make Spain more powerful and prosperous.
This video displays some of the important personalities during this period, the America’s financial and cultural
influences in Spain. The purpose of this essay is to summarize the main points of this episode and to give a shared
opinion about some important information given by the author.
The video begins explaining how the Spanish authorities ordered the conquerors to explore the new world in
search of gold, silver, and precious stones, and bring them back to Spain. One of the places exposed in this episode
is Mountain Potosi located in Bolivia. This mountain was filled with silver and gold, thus the Spaniards built a mine
to obtain all these valuable products and ship them to Spain. Even though this place was populated with gold and
silver, it required many workers to obtain the product, and the job was dangerous and the weather conditions
were brutal. But the Spaniards ignored all these obstacles and forced the natives to do this hazardous task without
any compensation. By the 17th
Century the trade was so successful that the place where the mountain was located
became the biggest city in South America, and it had 14,000 forced laborers working long hours with out
remuneration. The workers endured these long hours of hard work by consuming coca leaves which gave them
the strength to work for as long as two days without any food. The trade became successful and Spain became the
richest empire in Europe; the gold was used to build buildings, to buy power, and to finance new journeys and
endless religious wars.
Today the mine is still very prosperous and the natives still work there. This time they are being paid, but the
payment is way below minimal wage and the job conditions remain the same. However, they still do their job
because it of necessity and also because it is the main source of work around that area. There are generations of
families that have worked at the mine, and the children of miners already know that that is what the will do when
they grow up; in fact, these children are called “Children Mita”. And although the job is not the best the workers
appreciate their job and perform religious rituals to bless the mine to protect it and make it prosperous so they will
be able to keep their job. One of these faith rituals is performed by splashing the blood of a sacrificed animal on
the mine; they do this because the blood symbolizes the blood of Jesus and that way it will never disappear and
the mine will always be blessed.
During the golden era Spain was led by Charles V. Charles was born to the Catholic Monarchs Juana “La Loca” and
Phillip I “El Hermoso” in the Netherlands. He inherited the crown when he was 16 and ruled Spain for thirty nine
years (1516-1555). His imperial attitude was seen clearly when Spain conquered Mexico in 1519 and Peru in 1524.
These conquests brought gold and silver to Spain making it very wealthy. But, the endless wars stripped the
wealth, making Spain poor; this is why it was said that the Spanish Empire was poor because it was rich– seized
territories –. Fatigued after all those wars, Charles ceded the crown to his son Phillip II.
Charles’ son Phillip II ruled Spain from 1555 to 1598, and he is considered one of the most controversial
personalities in the history of Spain. Many people considered him the greatest emperor that Spain ever had. But
others, especially foreign historians, he was just a bizarre totalitarian. Phillip ruled Spain with the same politics as
his father, from whom he received leadership lessons. He married thee times; one of his wives was Maria Tudor
from England. When it came to religion and the spread of Christianity, he was thought as the defender of faith and
the inquisition acquired more power.
Many Spaniards referred to Phillip as the “Prudent King” because of his calculating and centralist strategies. He
was a hard working and considerate ruler. But, akin to his father, continued with the wars especially with France.
In 1571, with the support of the Vatican and Venice he organized an army to defeat the pirates of the
Mediterranean Sea coming from Turkey his army acquired the victory in the Battle of Lepanto. Right before his
Lina M. Espinosa Gomez

2. Burried Mirror
Summary of episode # 3: The Age of Gold
2006
death in 1598 he formed the “Invincible Army” to defeat the British and convert them into Catholicism, but he died
right before he performed this act. The great Spanish empire formed by Charles V and Phillip II perished under the
hands of their successors, and only three more kings ruled from their dynasty until the end of the XVII Century.
The “age of gold” did not just refer to all seizures and conquers; it also gave birth to a cultural artistic empire. One
of the most eminent artists of this time was Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra. He participated in the battle against
the pirates in Lepanto; in this battle he lost one of his hands, this is why he is known as “El Manco de Lepanto.” In
1605 he wrote a monumental book, which is the most important novel in the history of Spain and Latin America
“Don Quixote de la Mancha.” The novel was the story of the lonely and ingenious hidalgo Alonso Quijano; he was
around fifty, tall slim and poor. Alonso was an enthusiast reader, and he loved the stories of knights and
detectives. Because of his love for books he loses his mind, and decides to become a wanderer knight just like the
protagonists of his books. As a knight he needed a gal and she is known by the poetic name of Dulcinea del Toboso,
who was a beautiful laborer of the city of Toboso named Aldonza Lorenzo. Afterwards, one morning the brave
knight “Don Quixote” decides to leave everything behind in search of glory allowing his horse “Rocinante” lead
their way around the forest of La Mancha, always accompanied by his loyal friend Sancho Panza. After many
fantastic adventures and journeys Don Quixote returns home sad and melancholic. Soon, Alfonso Quijano
recovers his reason, but this makes him very depressed and he dies, but Don Quixote keeps on living and becomes
an immortal legend.
Another important artist during this epoch was the painter Diego Velazquez. He was a realist painter that reflected
the spirit of Spain on his work. Velazquez is remarkable painter because no other painter in history has ever been
able to express life in such a natural way and beauty. His ideal for his paintings was “Truth” not just a painting
because in the painting he revealed the harsh reality of his time. One of his famous paintings is “Las Meninas”
hangs in the museum of El Prado in Madrid Spain. His style is also remarkable because the viewer is able to move
in and outside of the painting.
As it was mentioned, the Golden Age this not just meant to economical wealth it also refers to an artistic and
cultural affluence. One important period of this age was known as the baroque era. This culture is one of the
greatest contributions to the world made by the Spanish Civilization. This movement is famous for many types of
religious pieces of art including literature and paintings. The baroque art is distinctive because of its florid and
extravagant way of expressing an image.
With the discovery of America the Spaniards brought their culture, and the baroque art is one of the most famous
contributions made to our continent. This eccentric form of art was taken by the natives, mestizos and mulatos,
whom used the technique to express their own ideas, and created art masterpieces. This form of art is present in
many places in Mexico, Brazil and Latin America; especially in the cathedrals where its structure reveals the ideas
and feelings of that time through flamboyant stone figures on the walls, such as, angels. One of the greatest poets
influenced by this style was a Mexican nun Sor Juana Inez de la Cruz. She was a very avid writer whom expressed
the feelings of society in her work. She was known as the voice of society, especially of the vulnerable people in it
such as women and children. She dedicated many of her pieces to women and her poems revealed their sad
reality. She wrote in a very feminist way and some of her ideas went against what her church believed. For this
reason, at age 42 she was deprived of her liberty and was kept in isolation until her death.
The episode ends with reflections of the voices of the new world; voices of a mixed race influenced by the culture
and traditions their mixed ancestry: Spanish, indigenous, and black. It also gives an outlook for the years to come
and the many Latin-American revolutions to obtain their freedom from the motherland: Spain.
In conclusion, we believe that the age of gold was one of the most prosperous ages in the history of Spain and
Latin-America. It was an epoch of conquest and discovery. For Spain, it was a period of power and superiority
over the other countries because they conquered many lands in the new world and in other places. These events
gave birth to a brilliant artistic development, from which many important artist were born to express the reality
Lina M. Espinosa Gomez

3. Burried Mirror
Summary of episode # 3: The Age of Gold
2006
and feelings of society during this unconventional period. We think that the most impressive artist was Miguel de
Cervantes with his beautiful and remarkable master novel “Don Quixote de la Mancha.” This novel has its own
genre and it influenced many artists around the world not on Spanish speaking countries.
The Spaniards brought all this contributions to the new world, and even though they were cruel conquerors in
search of treasures, their culture was more valuable than gold and it was a gift to Latin-America. During this era
many American artists were born, and they were influenced by their mixed roots which give them an advantage
because they have a multicultural heritage running though their blood streams. For us, this period gave birth to
the most amazing artist of our times that will influence the events and art of the future generations.
Lina M. Espinosa Gomez