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University Library, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Colombia: Campo Elías Palencia Memorial Fund

Campo Elías Palencia Memorial Fund

From left to right:  Campo Elías Palencia Rodríguez, ca.1920, Bogotá, Colombia; Campo Elías Palencia Franco, 1946; Campo Elías Palencia Franco, 1946. Photographs of Palencia Franco are taken at his ranch "Pajas Blancas" in the region of Cundinamarca, Colombia

Images courtesy of Professor Michael Palencia-Roth

Biographical note about Campo Elías Palencia by Michael Palencia-Roth

A lawyer by training but a rancher by profession and vocation, my father, Campo Elías Palencia (d. 1974), was named after his father (d. 1927), who fought on the liberal side in Colombia's major civil war ("La Guerra de los Mil Días", 1899-1902).  I grew up in a bi-lingual and bi-cultural home in Cali, Colombia. From my American mother, I learned to love books and reading. From my Colombian father, I learned to love all things Colombian and the Andes Mountains, as well as to appreciate good Spanish prose and poetry. The Campo Elías Palencia Fund honors my father's memory and supports the study of the literary and historical heritage of Colombia.

 

Michael Palencia-Roth

Trowbridge Scholar in Literary Studies

Emeritus Professor of Comparative and World Literature

 

Resources acquired by the Campo Elías Palencia Memorial Fund and Collection

The Campo Elías Palencia Memorial Fund has enabled the Library to acquire many valuable resources. The fund is destined primarily for the acquisition of materials related to the broader definition of Colombia, which covers Indigenous populations, much of the former Gran Colombia, and from the sixteenth century onwards. The resources acquired with this special fund are highly relevant for the academic study of Colombia, as well as for expanding and promoting Colombian literature to larger audiences. The University Library is very grateful for the support from Professor Michael Palencia-Roth and his family.

Some of the resources acquired through the Campo Elías Palencia Memorial Fund and Collection: