A la estela de Colón: Sus naves, la conexión cántabra y Juan de la Cosa

— por David Eugene Perry

Este verano nos ha llevado por España tras las huellas de Cristóbal Colón. Desde Andalucía hasta Extremadura y Cantabria, hemos ido siguiendo los lugares desde donde partieron sus viajes que cambiaron la historia. Hoy, al llegar a Palos de la Frontera, cerca de Huelva, la historia cierra su círculo.

La flota de 1492

Desde Palos, Colón zarpó el 3 de agosto de 1492 con tres pequeñas naves: la Niña, la Pinta y la Santa María. No eran grandes galeones, sino embarcaciones modestas: dos carabelas y una nao mayor, tripuladas por marineros de Palos y del vecino Moguer.

La Niña y la Pinta eran carabelas de propiedad privada, puestas al servicio de la Corona mediante un sistema llamado requisición real. La monarquía tenía la autoridad para requisar barcos de particulares para expediciones importantes, compensando a los dueños (a veces de mala gana) por el riesgo. La Niña pertenecía a los hermanos Niño de Moguer, marineros experimentados que también participaron en el viaje. La Pinta era propiedad de Cristóbal Quintero, aunque el barco fue arrendado por contrato a Martín Alonso Pinzón, un respetado capitán local que la comandó en el mar.

La Santa María, la nave capitana de Colón, tampoco era suya. Era una nao mercante mayor, construida para carga, y pertenecía a Juan de la Cosa, cartógrafo cántabro oriundo de las cercanías de Santander, la ciudad natal de Alfredo.

De la Cosa no solo aportó la nave, sino que navegó a bordo como maestre, ofreciendo tanto apoyo material como conocimientos náuticos. Que la capitana naufragara el día de Navidad de 1492 subraya lo precario de la empresa y cuán personales podían ser las pérdidas para los armadores implicados.

Esta mezcla de autoridad real y propiedad privada era práctica común en el siglo XV. Los monarcas no contaban con una marina permanente de exploración, así que dependían de redes de armadores, comerciantes y familias costeras. Las expediciones eran en esencia empresas conjuntas: financiación real, patronazgo nobiliario, experiencia local y barcos privados se combinaban para formar flotas capaces de abrir nuevos mundos.

Juan de la Cosa: el hombre tras los mapas

De la Cosa no solo navegó con Colón en el primer viaje, también lo hizo en el segundo, y más tarde con otras expediciones. En 1500 produjo el primer mapamundi conocido que incluye América, un testimonio extraordinario de la rapidez con la que la noticia del “Nuevo Mundo” transformó la geografía europea. Murió en 1510 en la costa colombiana, lejos de casa, pero su legado lo mantiene anclado en Cantabria, donde estatuas y placas lo honran como uno de los grandes marinos de España.

Granada: la comisión real

A principios de este verano visitamos también Granada, donde realmente comenzó la historia de Colón. En la Alhambra, la reina Isabel otorgó a Colón su comisión tras la caída del último reino musulmán de la península. Muy cerca, en la Capilla Real de Granada, contemplamos los sepulcros de Isabel y Fernando, los monarcas cuyo reinado transformó España y lanzó los viajes que unirían dos mundos.

Los últimos días de la Reina

Nuestro recorrido nos llevó también a la ciudad y al Palacio de Medina del Campo, donde Isabel pasó sus últimos días. Allí dictó su testamento, en el que expresaba sus esperanzas para los nuevos territorios, para sus herederos y para la preservación de sus reinos unidos. Es un recordatorio conmovedor de que la era de la exploración no nació solo en los mares, sino también en las cámaras reales, donde se tomaban decisiones de consecuencias mundiales.

Un verano de viajes

Para nosotros, visitar Palos constituye el tercer vértice de un triángulo. Desde Santander, donde Juan de la Cosa aprendió el mar; hasta Guadalupe, donde Colón dio gracias en el gran monasterio; pasando por Granada y Medina del Campo, donde se forjó y concluyó la visión de Isabel; y ahora hasta Palos, donde se izaron las velas y la historia cambió para siempre.

Es difícil no sentir la magnitud de todo ello: cómo tres naves modestas —de propiedad privada, construidas localmente y puestas al servicio real— llevaron a Europa a una nueva era. Y cómo un navegante cántabro, un soñador genovés y marineros andaluces forjaron juntos uno de los legados más grandes —y más complejos— de la historia.

Investigación para una nueva historia

Todo esto es más que un viaje. Es también investigación para mi nueva novela, Thorns of the 15 Roses, la secuela de Upon This Rock. El libro explora los mundos entrelazados de Colón, la reina Isabel y Juan Ponce de León: figuras cuyas vidas cambiaron el rumbo de la historia. Al recorrer estos lugares, se siente el peso de sus decisiones no como un pasado lejano, sino como un paisaje vivo: todavía espinoso, todavía floreciente, todavía moldeando quiénes somos hoy.

In Columbus’ Wake: His Ships, The Cantabrian Connection and Juan de la Cosa

— by David Eugene Perry

This summer has taken us across Spain in the wake of Christopher Columbus. From Andalusia to Extremadura to Cantabria, we’ve been tracing the sites from which his epoch-changing voyages departed. Today, as we arrive in Palos de la Frontera near Huelva, the story comes full circle.

The Fleet of 1492

From Palos, Columbus set sail on August 3, 1492, with three small ships: the Niña, the Pinta, and the Santa María. These were not mighty galleons but modest vessels—two caravels and a larger nao—crewed by locals from Palos and neighboring Moguer.

The Niña and Pinta were privately owned caravels, pressed into royal service through a system called requisición real. The Crown had the authority to commandeer ships from private owners for expeditions of importance, compensating them (sometimes grudgingly) for the risk. The Niña belonged to the Niño brothers of Moguer, seasoned sailors who also served on the voyage. The Pinta was owned by Cristóbal Quintero, though the ship was leased under contract to Martín Alonso Pinzón, a respected local captain who commanded her at sea.

The Santa María, Columbus’s flagship, was not his either. It was a larger merchant vessel—a nao—built for cargo, and owned by Juan de la Cosa, a Cantabrian cartographer from near Alfredo’s hometown of Santander. 

De la Cosa not only supplied the ship but sailed aboard her as master, lending both material and navigational expertise to the enterprise. That the flagship was wrecked on Christmas Day 1492 underscores how precarious the venture was, and how deeply personal the losses could be for the shipowners involved.

This mixture of Crown authority and private ownership was common practice in the 15th century. Monarchs had no standing navy of exploration, so they relied on networks of shipowners, merchants, and coastal families. Expeditions were essentially joint ventures: royal financing, noble patronage, local expertise, and privately owned ships combined to form fleets that could open new worlds.

Juan de la Cosa: The Man Behind the Maps

De la Cosa not only sailed with Columbus on the first voyage, he went again on the second, and later with other expeditions. In 1500, he produced the first known world map to include the Americas, a remarkable testament to how swiftly news of the “New World” reshaped European geography. He died in 1510 on the Colombian coast, far from home, but his legacy still anchors him to Cantabria, where statues and plaques honor him as one of Spain’s great mariners.

Granada: The Royal Commission

Earlier this summer, we also visited Granada, where Columbus’s story truly began. At the Alhambra, Queen Isabel gave Columbus his commission following the fall of the last Muslim kingdom in Iberia. Just steps away, in the Royal Chapel of Granada, we stood before the tombs of Isabel and Ferdinand, the monarchs whose reign reshaped Spain and launched the voyages that would link two worlds.

The Queen’s Final Days

Our journey also took us to the town and Palace of Medina del Campo, where Isabel spent her final days. Here she dictated her will—outlining her hopes for the new territories, for her heirs, and for the preservation of her united kingdoms. It’s a poignant reminder that the age of exploration was born not just on the seas, but also in royal chambers where decisions of world-shaping consequence were made.

A Summer of Voyages

For us, visiting Palos is the third point in a triangle. From Santander, where Juan de la Cosa first learned the sea; to Guadalupe, where Columbus later gave thanks at the great monastery; to Granada and Medina del Campo, where Isabel’s vision shaped and ended; and now to Palos, where sails were raised and history changed forever.

It’s hard not to feel the enormity of it: how these three modest ships—privately owned, locally built, pressed into royal service—carried Europe into a new age. And how a Cantabrian navigator, a Genoese dreamer, and Andalusian seamen together forged one of history’s greatest—and most complicated—legacies.

Research for a New Story

All of this is more than travel. It’s also research for my new novel, Thorns of the 15 Roses, the sequel to Upon This Rock. The book explores the intertwining worlds of Columbus, Queen Isabel, and Juan Ponce de León—figures whose lives shifted the course of history. Walking these places, you feel the weight of their decisions not as distant past, but as living landscape—still thorny, still blooming, still shaping who we are today.

Ukraine: A Long Road to Independence

— by David Eugene Perry

24 August 1991: Ukranian Independence Day. Today, we salute the proud and brave people of Ukraine as they celebrate their national identity and continue the righteous fight to preserve their freedoms in the face of naked, lawless aggression and cowardly appeasement.

We stand with Ukraine and with all our friends from that country.

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From Empire to First Independence

For centuries, Ukraine endured domination under foreign empires—first the Russian Empire and later the Soviet Union. Yet the spirit of independence was never extinguished.

In 1917, with the collapse of the Romanov dynasty, Ukrainians seized the opportunity to declare their own state. The Ukrainian People’s Republic (UPR) was born, led by the Central Rada in Kyiv. On January 22, 1918, the Rada issued the Fourth Universal, proclaiming Ukraine’s independence. At the same time, in the west, the West Ukrainian People’s Republic emerged, centered in Lviv.

In 1919, the two republics attempted to unite in Kyiv through the “Act Zluky,” a symbolic gesture of national unity. But the young state faced impossible odds. Civil war, invasions, and the advance of Bolshevik forces brought the experiment to an end by 1921. Still, the flame of independence had been lit.

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The Soviet Period

Ukraine became the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic, a founding member of the Soviet Union. On paper, the constitution gave republics the right to secede. In reality, the Soviet state crushed national aspirations.

The memory of independence was further scarred by unimaginable suffering. The Holodomor famine of 1932–33, engineered by Stalin’s regime, claimed millions of lives and sought to break Ukraine’s will. Despite repression, dissidents, intellectuals, and ordinary people kept alive the dream of sovereignty.

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The Second Chance: 1991

The collapse of the USSR in 1991 finally reopened the door to freedom. After a failed coup in Moscow that August, Ukraine’s parliament, the Verkhovna Rada, declared full independence on August 24, 1991. The document, the Act of Declaration of Independence of Ukraine, explicitly cited the people’s right to self-determination and the need to protect the nation from Moscow’s instability.

In December, Ukrainians overwhelmingly ratified this declaration in a nationwide referendum, with over 92% voting in favor, including majorities in regions like Crimea and Donbas.

For the first time in centuries, Ukraine’s independence was not fleeting—it was real, lasting, and affirmed by its people.

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Continuity and Courage

Ukraine’s modern Independence Day on August 24 is not merely a date on a calendar. It represents the culmination of centuries of struggle, echoing the first declaration of 1918 and honoring the sacrifices made along the way.

The dream that flickered in Kyiv in 1918 found its full light in 1991. But independence has never come easy. The ongoing war, triggered by Russia’s unlawful invasion in 2014 and escalated brutally in 2022, has made clear that the fight for freedom continues.

Yet Ukraine stands. Its people—resilient, proud, and unyielding—continue to defend not only their sovereignty but the very principles of democracy and justice.

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Standing With Ukraine

From the peasants and intellectuals of 1917 to the citizens and soldiers of today, Ukraine’s story is one of courage against overwhelming odds.

As the blue and yellow flag flies high this Independence Day, it carries with it the weight of history and the promise of a free future.

Slava Ukraini. Glory to Ukraine.

Bay Area Voices, Histories, and Futures: On View at YBCA

www.ybca.org

“Bay Area Then has a grassroots feel that’s rare for a white-walled, capital-A art institution,” wrote KQED in a recent review. Step inside the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts (YBCA) and you’ll understand why. The exhibition, now on view through January 25, 2026, is a bold exploration of Bay Area art and identity—past and present.

Featuring works by Nao Bustamonte, Mike “Dream” Francisco, Alicia McCarthy, Barry McGee, and others, Bay Area Then hums with the energy of communities shaping the region’s cultural landscape. From street art to installations, the show embraces the raw, the intimate, and the unapologetically local.

Alongside it, another powerful exhibition fills YBCA’s galleries: MAKIBAKA: A Living Legacy. Presented in collaboration with SOMA Pilipinas, this show celebrates the Filipino community’s resilience, creativity, and contributions to the Bay Area. Described by KQED as “like flipping a breathing scrapbook,” MAKIBAKA is both personal and political, blending memory and activism into an unforgettable experience.

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What’s On Beyond the Galleries:

Art at YBCA doesn’t stay on the walls—it spills into performances, workshops, and gatherings that bring people together.

Bay Area Then: Performances by A V Linton & Tony Molina

September 4, 2025, 5–9 PM

Free with RSVP

The galleries stay open late while these two iconic musicians bring their unforgettable sounds to the YBCA Forum.

Let Her Sing® 2025: A Celebration of Female Voices

September 13, 2025

Presented by Diaspora Arts Connection, this evening of music and solidarity uplifts the power and presence of women’s voices around the globe.

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Plan Your Visit:

YBCA is open Wednesday through Sunday, 11 AM – 5 PM (including regular hours over Labor Day weekend).

Yerba Buena Center for the Arts
701 Mission Street, San Francisco, CA 94103

At YBCA, art is more than what you see—it’s what you feel, remember, and carry with you. Bay Area Then and MAKIBAKA remind us that culture is living history, constantly in motion, and always worth experiencing together.