Calendar of Events

Meetings are always held on the second Saturday of the month at the Louisiana State Archives Building in Baton Rouge, Louisiana (see map below).

AUGUST 9, 2008 - 1:00 PM

EAST BATON ROUGE PARISH LIBRARY - BLUEBONNET BRANCH

BATON ROUGE, LA

Our August meeting will take place Saturday, August 9th at 1PM at the Bluebonnet Blvd branch of the EBR Parish Library. It is located on Bluebonnet Blvd between Highland and Perkins Roads. This meeting will focus on the genealogy of our people. Several of our veteran members will be in attendance with their genealogical materials to assist individuals who are researching their Canarian roots. This meeting will be an excellent opportunity for everyone to share knowledge regarding research materials useful in finding this information. This branch of the library also has some great tools that can be utilized toward this purpose. We hope to see you there.

SEPTEMBER 13, 2008 - 1:00 PM

LOUISIANA STATE ARCHIVES BUILDING, ESSEN LANE

BATON ROUGE, LA

Details coming soon.

OCTOBER 11, 2008 - 1:00 PM

LOUISIANA STATE ARCHIVES BUILDING, ESSEN LANE

BATON ROUGE, LA

We will be conducting our October meeting in conjunction with the Louisiana State Archives Genealogy Conference, held on this date. We will have a table where we will be sharing some of our resources with the attendees of the conference.

At our July meeting, members who visited the Canary Islands in early June gave us a report and slide show of their trip. The presentation was given by Mr. Steve Estopinal, one of our members who relocated to the Baton Rouge area following Hurricane Katrina. Steve's presentation was excellent and gave everyone a true sense of the beauty of the islands that the visitors experienced, both in the natural beauty of the the land, and its people. There was an excellent turnout at the meeting, largely due to an article in the Baton Rouge Advocate which promoted our group, the islands and this meeting.

Our speaker was Dr. Rob Mann, Southeast Regional Archaeologist at the LSU Museum of Natural Science. He presented a synopsis of his recent archaeological investigations at the Galveztown site, one of the original settlements of our people. He detailed the archaelogical process used to survey the site, and explained how he came to be involved in the project. He also reviewed some of the first items that were found on the site, and outlined how he and his staff are going about sorting and identifying the remaining items that were found. Dr. Mann will probably return in November to give us an update on conclusions made based upon the outcome of the dig.

At our May meeting, past president Catherine Prokop reported on the reception in St. Bernard for the Spanish Ambassador to the United States, attended by President Chad LeBlanc, Treasurer Sergio Ramos and herself. There was also a discussion regarding ideas for future plans for the Society.

Our April meeting featured a report on the annual Fiesta held the previous weekend in St. Bernard. Treasurer Sergio Ramos also showed documentary videos of Gran Canaria and Tenerife which featured spectacular aerial footage of the islands.

The fiesta was well attended despite inclement weather the Friday before it began. Our group was proud to attend and represent the Islenos in the Baton Rouge area.

Click above to see video of traditional Canarian musicians Princesa Dacil perform at the Fiesta.

Our March meeting was a great event for our Society. There was a very good turnout as long time members joined new visitors to welcome a speaker whose work has been an inspiration to us for many years. Our speaker was Dr. Gilbert C. Din, author of The Canary Islanders of Louisiana. Dr. Din spoke about how he came to write the book, and about his career studying Spanish history. He also answered questions from members, and autographed copies of his book for guests.

At our February meeting, Vice-President Rogers Serpas and former Vice-President John Hickey discussed the LSU leisure class in archaeology, led by Dr. Rob Mann, which is currently underway at the site of the Galveztown settlement in Galvez, Louisiana. For more information regarding the class and the dig, visit this link - http://www.countryroadsmagazine.com/ViewArticle.php?preview=1&articleid=289

Our January meeting was our annual meeting, where President Chad J. LeBlanc presented the annual report. It outlined our meetings and events of 2007 and represented a very good year of our Society spreading its message. Our speaker was Dr. Florent Hardy, State Archivist, who told all about the fabulous resource that is our State Archives. He presented everyone present with a comprehensive list of Canary Islander materials that are housed in the Archives.

Please note that visitors to the Archives are required to show photo ID and sign in.