Centro Cultural Borges Buenos Aires

Perito Moreno y Patagonia
100 years on.

Galería Pácifico Buenos Aires

Dates: 1999 June and 1999 October
Organizers: CAPat with the Centro Cultural Borges and La Nación
Principal Sponsor: HSBC Bank

Editors: Germán Sopeña and Robin Willson
Co-editor: María Pía Moreira with Alberto Boveris, María Victoria Canullo, Dolores Elkin, María José Figuerero, Mercedes Galan, Ignacio Giorgio, Roger Haloua, Tam Muro, Mike Potter, Lorena Prieto, Veronica Ramos, Mariela Stauder, Andrés Stoppani, Melania Toia

SPECIAL GUESTS: the British Ambassador, William Marsden
and Carlos Benites-Moreno (great grandson of the Perito) .

OPENING SPEAKERS:
June: Roger Haloua, Robin Willson
Hector Fasano, Jose Andrés Basbus, Germán Sopeña

Germán Sopeña - Ambassador Marsden
Moreno Photographs from "Apuntes.."

October: Roger Haloua, María Victoria Canullo
Germán Sopeña, Mariano Grondona, Felix Luna.

COOPERATING ORGANISATIONS
Museo de la Patagonia Bariloche
Administracion Parques Nacionales
Fundacion Museo de La Plata
Universidad de Buenos Aires
Universidad Nacional de Patagonia
Sociedad Cientifia Argentina
Royal Geographical Society London
Natural History Museum London
Magic Penny Trust London

BOOK: In association with the exhibition, Moreno´s book of 1898 "Apuntes preliminares sobre una Excursión al Neuquén, Río Negro, Chubut y Santa Cruz" was republished by Elefante Blanco. It includes a Preface written by Robin Willson and a Prologue by Germán Sopeña.
   

DISPLAY:
Photographs taken over 100 years ago during Moreno's journeys to Patagonia in connection with his work on the border dispute with Chile, were presented.
In many instances, contemporary colour photographs taken by Germán Sopeña from the same positions as those of Moreno, were shown alongside the enlargements of the original black and white prints.

Re-edición de "Apuntes.." (Elefante Blanco)

Additional contemporary photographs of other parts of Patagonia by Rafael González del Cerro (June) and by Germán Sopeña (October), were also displayed.

In addition to the landscape photographs, other material relating to Moreno´s life and his connections with Britain were displayed.
Amongst the highlights were:

• several family photographs kindly loaned by the Moreno family
• copies of letters from the Museo de Patagonia Bariloche and the Natural History Museum London
• a formal portrait of Sir Thomas Holdich and a historical framed pressing of a plant(courtesy Univ. Bs. Aires)
• documents from William Bruce´s 1902-4 Scottish Antarctic Expedition (loaned by Bernardo Milhas, a relative of one of the participants)

Portrait of Sir Thomas Holdich (Courtesy: Univ.Buenos Aires)
Dried plant pressing (Courtesy: Univ. Buenos Aires>

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

The organizers thank the British Ambassador William Marsden for his interest and encouragement and Mariano Grondona and Felix Luna for their most interesting talks at the exhibition opening.

In addition to HSBC bank, the following organisations also gave their support:
AGFA,    Aerolineas Argentinas
Compañia de Tierras Sud Argentino S.A.
Magenfot Grafica Express

The exhibition would not have been possible without the personal time, advice and assistance, so generously given by so many other people.
Buenos Aires: Carlos Benites-Moreno and family, Catalina Coali, Maria Coronel, Ernesto Cussianovich, Carmen Kuc, Bernardo Milhas, Liliana Tomchik, Ed Shaw
La Plata: Hector Fasano, Rosendo Pascual, Carola Sutton
Bariloche: Cecilia Gigente, Ricardo Vallmitjana
Puerto Madryn-Trelew-Gaiman: Jorge Dignani, Santiago Miguelez, Tegai Roberts
London Neil Chalmers, Patrick Riley, John Thackray, Nigel de Winser.

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