Estadio Nuevo Colombino.
Perhaps what most encapsulates the city of Huelva’s source of pride (both literally and symbolically). Estadio Nuevo Colombino which translates to “New Colombian Stadium,” simultaneously honors football and Christopher Colombus. Huelva, my home for the past two months, is a port city in southwestern Spain that sits on the edge of the Atlantic Ocean. We’ve all heard the diddy:
In fourteen hundred ninety-two
Columbus sailed the ocean blue
He had three ships and left from Spain;
He sailed through sunshine, wind and rain.
What the song forgets to mention is the name of the place Columbus sailed from. Turns out, it was the province of Huelva! Columbus, the Italian navigator, was sponsored by the Catholic Monarchs of Spain, Queen Isabella I and King Ferdinand II, and embarked on his voyage to, what he thought was the East Indies, from less than ten kilometers from where I am typing this very blog.
Colombino, meaning “belonging to or relating to Christopher Colombus,” is literally everywhere. Avenida Colombino, Bar Colombino, Autocare Colombino, Shisha Colombino, the list goes on… Columbus, himself, is depicted too. In the middle of Huelva’s central square, a massive statue that rises to nearly 25 feet showcases the man carrying a Castiallian flag in one hand and the outstretched other points to the sea. At the mouth of the Tinto and Odiel rivers, there is a 37-foot monument of Colombus leaning on a cross, one of the region’s most prominent landmarks. And of course, there’s Nuevo Colombino.
In 1873, the Rio Tinto Company, a British mining enterprise began operating in Huelva’s lucrative copper mines. As a result, British workers emigrated to Huelva. During their free time they participated in the sports they played back home: golf, tennis, cricket, and football.
Two Scottish men, William Alexander Mackay and Charles Adam hatched the idea for an official recreation space for the British workers mining Rio Tinto, and in 1889 they founded Recreativo de Huelva, Spain’s first football club. (Fun fact– Charles Adam was born in Paisley, the place I lived when I played for Celtic.) In the years that followed, football grew to what it is today– the heartbeat of Spain.
Naturally, the city of Huelva seized the opportunity to name its most prominent place after its most prominent person. Municipal Stadium was built in 1957, renamed Colombino in 1987, and was home of Recreativo de Huelva for forty-four years until Nuevo Colombino was erected in 2001. My team, Sporting Club de Huelva, which is independent of the men’s side, will begin playing in Nuevo Colombino next month.
In addition to the statues and streets and landmarks, Colombus is celebrated during Las Colombinas, or “Colombian Festivals.” During the last week of July, each year hundreds of thousands of people flock to Huelva to celebrate Colombus’ voyage to the Americas with music, food, dancing, vendors, sporting competitions, fireworks, and even bullfighting. It’s the region’s biggest festivity and was declared a National Tourist Interest.
I recognize that Christopher Colombus is an important historical figure who transformed the landscape of the world, but for a city to forge its identity around a man that enabled the kidnapping, sexual abuse, and enslavement of masses of indigenous peoples, and continue to cling to it is shocking. (The 25-foot statue of Colombus was erected in 2011.) Colombus’ legacy is as much about exploration as it is about exploitation and genocide. Cries against the celebration of Colombus aren’t very loud in Spain. Perhaps, it’s because the people most affected by Columbus are too far away to be heard. To Indigenous Americans, Columbus’ landing was the beginning of the end of their way of life.
