Spanish government says it will not return the Quimbaya Treasury to Colombia

Through a letter, the Spanish government responded to the request of four members of the Academy of History of Quindío regarding the return of the Quimbaya treasure. The letter emphasizes that this piece will not be returned because it is considered a good of cultural interest, which, explains that administration, prevents it from being alienated or exported. The compilation consists of 11 necklace beads, six helmets, nine necklace pins, a crown, eight pins, three containers, five bells, 17 poporos, eight pendants, two musical instruments, 21 noses and 31 earmuffs.

With the negative answer, all objects will remain in place, that is, in the Museum of America in Madrid. “It is appropriate to recall the good faith demonstrated by Spain in the possession and preservation of the collection, as well as the collection's belonging to the collections of the Museum of America and its status as a Property of Cultural Interest, which prevents it from being alienated or exported,” reveals the letter sent by Oscar López Águeda, director of the cabinet of the presidency of the Spanish government. The document was addressed to the Academy of History of Quindio.

The answer, although negative, does not discourage applicants in its entirety, on the contrary, it leads to new measures being taken to try to recover the pieces. “That they return all 122 pieces to us in gold replica, some replicas that we can exhibit here,” Jaime Lopera proposed.

“In short, it says that the Quimbaya collection is neither exported nor alienated. In other words, with that he simply and simply slams the door to the claims of Colombians,” explained Lopera Gutiérrez.

“A request that was repeated in 1992 by the mayor of Armenia, César Hoyos Salazar, on the occasion of the fifth centenary of the celebration of the discovery of America (...) The Spanish government headed by Felipe González and King Juan Carlos never responded to this request to the mayor of Armenia,” explained Miguel Ángel Rojas Arias, former director of the Armenian Mayor's Development and Tourism Corporation.

It should be recalled that in 2017 the decision of the Constitutional Court was held regarding the obligation to return the treasury to Colombia. In those days, in testimonies collected by Caracol Radio, that order was described as a great achievement. “This is a battle that we have been winning step by step, we hope to see how the government will face the decision to bring the Quimbaya treasure back to Colombia (...) This is the proof that justice does listen to citizens. We qualify this as the battle that the ant won against the elephant,” Lopera said.

The request for return, according to what specialists explain, is made because it is considered an illegal gift from the Colombian government to the Spanish crown made at the end of the 19th century. According to what Lopera explained to Blu Radio, the valuable pieces were purchased by the government of President Carlos Holguín Mallarino as part of a gift that would later be sent to Spain. They were initially purchased in an antique store located near the Palacio de Nariño. At that time they cost 50,000 pesos.

“The treasure was sent because it was nearby, in an antique shop that was left by the Palacio de Nariño. Quindío pieces arrived and bought them for $50,000 of the time and, that was what they sent (...) it turned out to be one of the most “important collections of the exhibition of the Museum of America in Madrid”.

“Some pieces are on display and others have hidden them. Because they consider them to be their own, because what is given away is not taken away (...) The Colombian Government has all the options to recover it, but it has not done so, because it does not damage international relations with Spain. They dare not go any further, in part, because of what happens with the San José galleon,” added Lopera.

The expert explained that although the Colombian Government has in its hands all the resources to recover the pieces, it has not done so to avoid damaging its priorities with the European country. “Some pieces are on display and others have hidden them. Because they consider (the Spaniards) that they are their own, because what is given is not taken away”, he argued.

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