page_title: Rafael Díez de la Cortina y Olaeta
section_title: Carlist in New York
hierarchical_section_title: Rafael Díez de la Cortina y Olaeta / Carlist in New York
caption_attribution_description: English: Looking northeast from the northern corner of 115th Street and Riverside Drive, across 116 &amp; Riverside at The Paterno.
context_page_description: Rafael Díez de la Cortina y Olaeta, 1st Count of Olaeta was a Spanish-American linguist. Globally he is recognized as the first person to introduce sound recording into the teaching of foreign languages, for which he started a related business in the 1890s. In Spain he is also known as a Carlist political activist and soldier.
context_section_description: Cortina's early whereabouts on exile are obscure; 1878 latest he settled in Paris. In 1879 he "was sent" by his king to Mexico; no details are known. In 1881 he sailed from Mexico to New York and commenced teaching Spanish. Starting the 1880s he acted as representative of Carlos VII in North America. He remained on good terms with the claimant, who wrote a recommendation letter published in the 1889 Cortina's language textbook. Naturalized in 1889, he visited Spain every few years; in 1895 Cortina extended his voyage to Venice, where he meet his king personally. Neither press of the era nor present-day historians explain exact nature of his activities prior to the late 1890s; one author notes that no tangible results of his political mission in the US are known.
  It seems that Cortina was most active in 1896–1898, during the run-up to the Spanish–American War. Busy in the Hispanic New York community and contributing to a daily Las Novedades, he tried to confront the anti-Spanish frenzy of American press and complained about lack of assistance on part of Madrid, the charges which thanks to Vázquez de Mella reached the Cortes and the government in 1896. Following a visit in Spain, starting 1897 Cortina changed the tone of his press endeavors; he switched to advertising the claims of Carlos VII. Thanks to his efforts few US periodicals, including New York Herald, published pieces on Carlism. Some quoted Cortina say that 100,000 volunteers waited for an order to rise and that by January 1, 1898, Don Carlos would assume the throne, though also that the claimant would do nothing which might impair international standing of his country.
  In May 1898, in the midst of virulent anti-Spanish press campaign, a number of papers quoted interviews with Cortina and discussed Carlist claims as proof that the Madrid government might fall any minute. Headlines and narration helped to mobilize the American public opinion, though certainly this was not Cortina's intention. In May 1898 he transferred the realization of his prediction to June 1, 1898, called the Carlists of America to join the claimant and declared he would travel to Europe shortly. It is not clear whether he did indeed; one source claims vaguely that he "took part in the 1898-1899 conspiracy." He might have been involved in shipment of arms to Carlist conspirators, though nature of his engagement is highly unclear. In 1901 a Spanish military attaché in Washington reported to Madrid that Cortina helped him identify a cargo of 5,000 rifles, sent from New York to Lisbon and intended for a Carlist depot in Badajoz. If true, that would suggest that either Cortina changed sides or that he worked for the Carlists and for the Madrid government at the same time. Though also in the 20th century Cortina frequently visited Spain, he was hardly reported as engaged in Carlist activities, focused on promotion of his linguistic business. During resurgence of Carlism in the 1930s he was not mentioned in party propaganda.
caption: 431 Riverside Drive (building left)
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