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New Biography Explores Life of Vallegrande Founder, Pedro de Escalante y Mendoza
🇧🇴 Bolivia /Culture & Society

New Biography Explores Life of Vallegrande Founder, Pedro de Escalante y Mendoza

From El Deber · () Spanish

Translated from Spanish, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

In-depth Named sources Outcome reported
  • Author Benjamín Torres has published a new book, 'Pedro de Escalante y Mendoza: Aproximación Biográfica,' detailing the life of the founder of Vallegrande, Bolivia.
  • The book, the result of three years of archival research, aims to shed light on Escalante y Mendoza's personal life, family, and expansionist work in founding several towns.
  • Torres's work draws on primary sources, some previously unpublished, and acknowledges the contributions of other researchers while leaving room for future discoveries.

A new biography, 'Pedro de Escalante y Mendoza: Aproximación Biográfica,' delves into the life of the founder of Vallegrande, Bolivia. Author Benjamín Torres spent three years meticulously researching historical archives to compile the documented text, which he presented recently in Vallegrande.

Torres described his work as an biographical approximation, focusing on Escalante y Mendoza's personal life, family, and his significant role in expanding settlements. The founder's influence extends beyond Vallegrande, with his mark also found in towns like Comarapa and Samaipata. The book includes transcriptions of numerous documents, with Torres suggesting that approximately 80% of the content is inédito, or previously unpublished.

The research builds upon previous work by Milgaris Montaño and Hernán Sanabria, but Torres contributed substantial new documentation sourced from local archives in Vallegrande, the National Archive of Bolivia, and the General Archive of the Indies in Seville, Spain.

Gilberto Rueda, the municipal secretary of Culture for Vallegrande, praised the book's reliance on archival sources previously unavailable to the public. He anticipates the work will become an essential resource for students and anyone seeking a deeper understanding of the region's founder. Torres also shared anecdotal details, such as clarifying the date of Pedro de Escalante y Mendoza's death to August 12, 1619, correcting a previously recorded, albeit unregistered, date.

DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by El Deber in Spanish. Translated, summarized, and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

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