Introductory Remarks

The digital exhibit "Reframing the Colonial Library: Equatorial Guinea Archives in the Museum" engages with the country's colonial library. Following the approach of Benita Sampedro Vizcaya, the re-evaluation of the colonial library demands “dislocating the traditionally central and privileged role of metropolitan texts and neo-colonial discourses in order to engage, instead, with the cultural and intellectual production of Guinean intellectuals themselves (341).” The project embraces her emphasis on re-locating canonical texts and privileged categories of analysis such as race, capitalism, empire, or nation. This way, the exhibit attempts to reconfigure, appropriate, transform, and transgress the colonial, historical, and linguistic inheritance of which 'the local' is also a conduit, as explained by Sampedro Vizcaya. The revision of the colonial library requires “awareness of the power of those sites, not only in terms of the day-to-day functioning of the empire-colony relationship but also in regard to the epistemic and representational weight they carry in broader cultural and political practices and projects, both colonial and neocolonial (343).” This way, the exhibit turns “to the potential of the archive and the colonial library as sites from which the seemingly irreversible power of colonialism can simultaneously be enacted and contested (343).”

This exhibit is divided into three parts, chronologically interconnected, that cover Equatorial Guinean colonial and neocolonial history. The sections are: "The Temptation of Empire", “Neocolonial Politics in the Museum and Conflicting Identities in Eguatorial Guinea" and “Alternative Conservation and Heritage Practices in Equatorial Guinea. The Case of the Museum Felipe Osá Angüé." This organization aims to deconstruct visitors' perception of the colonial archive and its uses from a transhistorical and global angle. Each section addresses the ideological uses of the archive both in the metropolis and the former colony, questioning the Spanish civilizational mission that still persists beneath the language of institutional collaboration and modernization in cultural spaces.

The completion of this digital project has been made possible through the 2024 Mellon Doctoral Summer Fellowship awarded by the Price Lab for the Digital Humanities at the University of Pennsylvania. The exhibition portal will be available indefinitely thanks to the support of Van Pelt Libraries.

Bibliography:

Sampedro-Vizcaya, Benita. "Rethinking the Archive and the Colonial Library: Equatorial Guinea." Journal of Spanish Cultural Studies, vol. 9, no. 3, 2008, pp. 341-363.

Documentary Film "Expedición a la Guinea Española"

Title: Documentary Film "Expedición a la Guinea Española"
Subject: Visual Materials on the Colonial Expeditions to the Spanish Guinea
Description: "Expedición a la Guinea Española" (1930) directed by Diego Saavedra Magdalena (appointed as General Director of Morocco and the Colonies), is a documentary situated in the exploration and documentation of Spanish Guinea, now Equatorial Guinea, during its colonial period under Spanish rule. The film is a vivid portrayal of the region's landscapes, cultures, and daily life, crafted to educate Spanish audiences about the colony. Saavedra Magdalena, noted for his ethnographic and documentary work, aimed to provide an in-depth look at the richness and diversity of the region. The documentary's content includes footage of the natural environment, local customs, traditions, and interactions between the colonial administration and indigenous populations. While the documentary serves educational and propagandistic purposes, showcasing Spanish colonial endeavors, it must be critiqued within the context of Spain's imperial projects in the early twentieth century.

The documentary's imagery and narrative are imbued with the ideological underpinnings of colonialism, reflecting the prevailing attitudes of the time. The portrayal of indigenous people and their cultures often aligns with the paternalistic and ethnocentric views typical of imperial powers, framing the colonized as 'exotic' and 'primitive' while positioning the Spanish as civilizing forces. This perspective reinforces the colonial ideology of racial and cultural superiority, justifying the imperial mission. The film's emphasis on the natural resources and strategic value of the colony further underscores the economic motivations driving imperial expansion. Additionally, the documentary likely employs a cinematic style that romanticizes the colonial experience, utilizing staged scenes and selective framing to present an idealized view of Spanish colonialism.

"Expedición a la Guinea Española" is not merely a historical artifact but also a reflection of the broader imperialist agenda of early twentieth-century Spain. It offers invaluable insight into the period's colonial mentality but simultaneously demands critical examination of its ideological biases. The documentary is a testament to the complex interplay between cultural representation and imperial ambition, revealing how media was used to construct and perpetuate colonial narratives.
Creator: Diego Saavedra y Magdalena
Source: https://www.rtve.es/play/videos/archivo-historico/expedicion-guinea-espanola/2917617/
Publisher: RTVE
Date: 1930
Rights: Información de rtve.es; Corporación de Radio y Televisión Española 2024
Format: Film
Language: Spanish
Type: Documentary
Coverage: Equatorial Guinea

Original Format: Film
Duration: 46:38
Producer: Hermic Films
Director: Diego Saavedra y Magdalena

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Expedición a la Guinea Española.jpg

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1. The Temptation of Empire

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Diego Saavedra y Magdalena, “Documentary Film "Expedición a la Guinea Española",” Reframing Archives: Equatorial Guinea's Colonial Library, accessed November 3, 2026, https://hernando.upenn.domains/items/show/12.

Introductory Remarks

Documentary Film "Expedición a la Guinea Española"

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