EXPERIENCES, THE RETURN... AND NEW PROJECTS
Each new port stood for the confirmation of their learning, or the finding of a complex and unexpected universe. They came into contact with other cultures and languages and discovered surprising things. There was also a clear awareness that the "Marqués de Comillas" was a cultural embassy of the Second Republic and the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona. The authorities of each country organized receptions, lectures or meetings of various kinds. Cuba, in particular, welcomed the visitors warmly and fruitfully. New York was a whole different story: the visitors were fascinated by the arrival to a new world that they had seen in films and read about in books.
And, at the end, the return to Barcelona, already thinking about new university trip possibilities. A precise report of the Cruise was prepared, in two languages, to spread the richness of the experience, and the Ministry of Public Instruction became interested in the nature of the trip. New projects were starting to stir: a Cruise around the Far East, scheduled for the summer of 1935, and the visit of students from the Universidad de Puerto Rico (one of the fruits of the Cruise of 1934). The planned date: summer of 1936. The Spanish Civil War dashed this project, like many others.
This exhibition wishes to show that a well-conserved seed can bear fruit. It is in our hands to make it happens.
III.