Bodega y Quadra, from Pobeña to Peru

It’s an autumnal, October morning in Pobeña, a small coastal village on the Basque coast. I open the curtains of the bedroom and look out towards the Bay of Biscay. The beach of La Arena is right in front of me and, in the distance, I can see various container ships which are anchored at sea. Though out of view, the Port of Bilbao is just to the right and I assume that the ships are taking advantage of the free parking offered by the sea before coming in to dock.

The previous week I had arrived in the Basque Country for the first time to start a teaching job in Bilbao. When I was made an offer, I had rung two good Basque friends for advice. Iban was enthusiastic but, as a proud Gipuzkoan, had reminded me that his native San Sebastián was the nicer city. Markel, from Pobeña, told me not to think twice. I accepted the offer and in a matter of days I was leaving Madrid for Bilbao, admiring the change of scenery as the bus left Castille and entered the Basque provinces. The famous xirimiri (a very light rain) and grey clouds that greeted my arrival in Bilbao made me instantly feel at home.

During our conversation Markel had offered me the possibility of staying at his parents´ house whilst I found myself somewhere permanent to live. Their home was an old Basque house, typical of the region. Though it didn’t have the classic sloping roof, the style of house and the portal were characteristic of the baserris (Basque houses) you see throughout the Basque Country. The concept of etxea (the house) is particularly important in the area, hence the number of surnames that have the word as its root. As Mark Kurlansky explains in the excellent The Basque History of the World, the physical house represents the clan. And the clan is always preserved.

The house in Pobeña.

Markel´s father and uncle had restored the old property with their own hands. I remember approaching the house through the narrow driveway as Markel explained that it was a building of historic importance, being the original home of the family of a famous Spanish naval officer who I had never heard of. The sea has played a crucial role in the identity of Basque Country, and many of the key figures in the exploration of the New World were Basque. I could see from the plaque outside that this naval officer had been an important figure in Peru, though I admit that in 2011 my interest in Spanish colonial history had not really developed and I gave it only a passing glance. The thought that one day I, too, might end up in Peru had certainly not crossed my mind.

*

Seven years later, it’s an October morning in Lima, a much bigger city on the Pacific Coast of South America. I open the curtains of the bedroom, but I don´t look out towards the sea, flats overlooking the ocean in the more affluent districts of the Peruvian capital still currently out of my budget. It is a grey morning, but October here is a month when the weather can change and wardrobe mistakes are a serious risk. The previous weekend I had seen the sun and brought out my shorts, only to spend the afternoon cold. Today I would put on the jeans and take a jacket, only to spend the afternoon sweating.

My girlfriend and I had planned to spend the day in the old historic centre of Lima. A few weeks before I had been in contact with Markel with a question related to Euskera, the Basque language which he speaks at home. One of my students in Lima has a surname which I instantly recognized as being Basque. I had asked the student if they knew where their surname came from, but she had neither any idea nor any interest. Not surprising given that she is thirteen, I should have anticipated. I was interested, regardless, and Markel told me its meaning. In the same message, he reminded me of the plaque that is on his house in Pobeña, commissioned by the municipality of Bilbao and Lima, recognizing that in this house had lived the family of Juan Francisco de la Bodega y Quadra, that famous Spanish naval officer he had mentioned seven years ago.

The plaque outside the house in Pobeña.

Juan Francisco de la Bodega y Quadra came from an affluent family. His father Tomás de la Bodega y de las Llanas was born in Markel’s family house in 1701. It is unknown when Tomás left for Peru, yet we know that like many Basques he was a trader and The New World was the land of opportunity. Whilst his beginnings in Pobeña were humble, it would be in Lima where Tomás would enter high society, soon becoming a leading figure in the Viceroyalty of Peru’s Chamber of Commerce. In Lima, Tomás would fall in love with Francisca de Mollinedo y Losada, a young lady from an influential family in the city with whom he would have two children: Juan Francisco and Tomás Aniceto.

The Bodega y Quadra family home is located a stone’s throw from the Plaza de Armas, the beating heart of the city. Overlooking the square is the Cathedral, whose size reflects the importance the Catholic Church held in colonial times. Rebuilt many times due to a series of earthquakes, inside lies the tomb of Francisco Pizarro, the Spanish Conquistador who founded Lima, or the “City of the Kings”, as he christened it. Pizarro would live in a house on the square, on top of which the present-day Presidential Palace was built. The square is vibrant even on a Sunday morning, the noise of car horns blending with the sound of chatter and the music of a religious procession in the near distance.

Juan Francisco was born here in 1743 and enjoyed a privileged education. From a young age it was clear that a life on the sea beckoned, though he was overlooked for senior naval positions given his place of birth. Peru in colonial times had a clear social stratification. The peninsulares, the Spanish-born whites, made up the elite. Then there was the criollos, those of Spanish descent but born in South America. The indios, a general term to describe Peru’s indigenous people, came next whilst, at the very bottom of the pile, came the negros (the blacks); slaves or recently freed slaves. If Peru today is a very class-based society, then it is an inheritance from Spanish rule.

Bodega y Quadra's house in Lima.

As a criollo, Juan Francisco had to accept that his highest rank would be Second Captain and in 1775 he set off from San Blas in Mexico on his first expedition. His mission was to discover the Bay of San Francisco and claim any new territories he may find for the Spanish crown. The crew made as far north as Washington state, though aggressive attacks from Native Americans prevented them from disembarking. Undeterred, four years later he would set off from the same Mexican port with the same objective. This time, they would reach Alaska and his work would allow the Spanish to map the west coast of North America. As recognition for his efforts, Juan Francisco was given command of the department of San Blas in Mexico, where he died in 1794.

The house is now a small museum, dedicated to the life of Bodega y Quadra. The street has some of Lima’s finest wooden balconies, beautifully ornate wooden structures which the poet Juan Mélendez described as being like “streets in the sky”. The buildings from which the balconies hang are painted in vibrant colours, though they no longer house the aristocracy, rather souvenir shops and cheap restaurants. Some of the buildings have seen better days and a recent fire to a colonial house brought home their vulnerability. It must be hoped that the new Mayor of Lima can restore the city’s colonial architecture to its former glory, as it is some of the very best in the world.

An example of Lima's balconies.

I contact Markel to tell him that I am outside Bodega y Quadra’s house in Lima and send him a photo. Markel replies and tells me his is in Bodega y Quadra´s father´s house, some 10,000km away in Pobeña, enjoying a quiet Sunday with his family. Pobeña and old heart of Lima could not be any different. Where Pobeña is quiet and peaceful, Lima is noisy and chaotic. I think about how Bodega y Quadra’s father must have felt when he made that first trip to Peru, leaving his native country behind. Unlike me, he must have known that it was unlikely that he would ever go back.

Lima, December 2019