Recovering the Sunken Historic Memory: A Conversation with Angel Luis Cervera

Ángel Luis Cervera, the great-grandson of Admiral Pascual Cervera Topete, recalls the rich history of his family and his Museum-House, which stores over 2,000 documents related to the Admiral.

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Why did you decided to create the Admiral Cervera house-museum?
The idea of “creating a Museum” in my own house didn’t come up in a spontaneous way, but as the result of having heard, throughout my life, about the military stories of my ancestors. When you live surrounded by so many memories, they finally “get into your head” and you want follow the path they started… In terms of Cuba’s war history, I’ve spent over 24 years trying to get to know more about the origins of what I call “submerged memory”, that historic memory that has been mentioned so many times, but there is a lot more to be discover.

When did you first visit Cuba?
I went to Cuba in 1991, to produce a TV documentary on the history of the Hispanic-Cuban-American War from 1898. That was 7 years before the centenary of 1898, and I arrived in Havana on my own, where Dr. Eusebio Leal, Curator of the City, was my only contact. He was glad to meet a descendant of the Admiral and made the arrangements so I didn’t have any problem to work there. That was how –without any support from Spain- I did my job and, months later, my work won four international awards and I got the open heart of the Cuban people. Subsequently, other Cerveras decided to visit Cuba and they did it. 35 of us gathered on the island in 2006. The island was invaded by the Cervera, but in a pacific way this time round.

How many Cerveras have become Admirals of the Spanish Fleet?
There is a particular element about our family: most of us have known each other for a long time and we gather for a “family congress” every four years. The last time we met in Madrid, there were 464 members of our family, which is spread all over the world, and it represents an authentic record because of the effort entailed by the organization of such event. Out of the nearly 1,700 Cerveras we have tracked down since 1850 to date, 55 members of the family have worn military uniforms, and 12 have become Admirals.

There is a curious anecdote: your grandfather served with your great-grandfather during the war in Cuba
Yes. While my great-grandfather was leading the Instruction Squadron, his son Ángel (my grandfather) was a Navy Lieutenant and assistant of his father. Years later he also became an Admiral, just like his father. The experience lived during the navy combat held on July 3 – father and son – was shocking because more than 350 Spanish sailors from their Squadron lost their lives that day. They survived and told what actually had happened, something the Spanish public opinion didn’t know at the time: the true reasons that brought about the loss of the last remains of the Spanish colonial empire in America.

You have had an exceptional guide in Santiago de Cuba, who has shown you the shipwrecks. Who is that person?
Since 1991, when I first showed up in Santiago de Cuba, I was in love with the coastline of Santiago, which is extraordinary and very rich, not only in terms of coral reeves and tourism, but for historic research. Years later, fate made me meet Vicente González Díaz, who collaborated with me in a series of projects, along with other Cuban friends and historians. One of the projects was carried out by an Aragonese archeologist that was trying to find the mortal remains of the Spanish sailors that were buried in the beaches of Santiago de Cuba in 1898.

In 2012 I made another dream come true: I dived around the shipwreck of Cervera’s Squadron. My younger son, my older brother and I went 25 meters down and saw the remains of Spanish ships. We touched history with our own hands, and that was truly exciting for me.

How many pieces do you have in your house-museum?
The pieces are not the most important treasures, the documents are. The dossier of Admiral Cervera’s historic archive includes over 2,000 documents. They are the best way to get to know what the Admiral thought and wrote. Those documents carry lots of anecdotes and stories on the Cuban people. I’ll be sharing some of these anecdotes and stories with the Excelencias Group throughout the year.

What did you study?
I’m an economist and sociologist, I got my PhD in Economics and History, but the more I learn about the history that joins both the Cuban and Spanish people, the more I realize that I only know a small part of it… and I feel like I need to contribute to the common history of these people that walked side by side for 437 years, until 1898, a date that marked the beginning of the Republic of Cuba.