The Catholic Association of Propagandists (ACdP) launches in the days before Columbus Day a campaign on the discovery and evangelization of America under the motto “1492. “Neither genocidal nor slavers: they were heroes and saints.”
With more than 200 posters distributed on marquees and billboards in more than 60 Spanish cities, the campaign was born with the objective of “dismantling the clichés of the black legend against Hispanicity.”
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It also seeks to praise those who “at the risk of losing their lives, embarked on the adventure of reaching the New World with one main objective: to spread Christianity,” as described in a statement.
The ACdP emphasizes that with this initiative “it pays tribute to those who carried the promotion of human dignity that is born from the Catholic faith to indigenous peoples, subjected to the oppression of bloodthirsty empires.”
On the other hand, the purpose is to “combat the so-called ‘black legend’ perpetrated for centuries against the Spanish deed.”
This advertising includes a QR code that takes those who scan it to a video that, humorously, simulates a television contest in which a defender of the “black legend” and a citizen of a Latin American country participate.
It is the latter that dismantles one by one the main topics about the arrival of the Spanish to America and the spread of the Christian faith at the impulse of the Catholic Monarchs, Isabel of Castile and Ferdinand of Aragon.
Among other data, it points out that Spain never had “colonies”, but rather “viceroyalties”; that on the cultural level, 100 of the 140 World Heritage declarations in Latin America are of Spanish origin; or that in 1538 more than 30 universities had already been founded or that in 1574 the Bible was translated into more than 12 native languages.
The mestizo character of the Spanish feat is also highlighted in contrast to the indigenous extermination at the hands of the French or English; or the enormous economic cost that it meant for Spain to maintain its presence in America, much more than what was obtained from the natural resources of the new continent.
Last year, on the occasion of Hispanic Heritage Day, the ACdP shared a video in which it summarizes the History of Spain in two minutes, from the appearance of the Virgin Mary to the Apostle Santiago in Zaragoza, to the contemporary age.
These and other campaigns are part of a strategy developed by the ACdP for some years to promote the presence of Catholic values in society.
Nicholas de Cardenas
Born in 1980, I am a Spanish husband and father and journalist with more than 20 years of experience in print and digital media, specializing in sociopolitical and religious information. I have worked for more than 10 years in defense of human rights and have accreditations in Journalism and Comprehensive Communication. Since July 2022, I have been a correspondent for ACI Prensa and EWTN Noticias in Spain, covering international events of the Catholic Church.