Summary of Conferencia Anastasio Alfaro - El lado humano de un naturalista a cargo de Julian Monge

00:00:00 - 00:30:00

Anastasio Alfaro discusses the human side of a naturalist in charge of Julian Monge. He talks about how there were many lines on the map connecting different parts of the world, and how ships could easily travel between different parts of the world. He also mentions how Kurt Harburg, one of his students, would be very important in his later life. Fernández, the school's director, recognized Harburg's brilliance and offered to take him to France to study. However, Harburg's father refused, so Harburg instead went to Guatemala to study. Upon arriving in France, Harburg's father refused to take over the family's coffee plantation in Guatemala, so Harburg decided to stay in France and study. Harburg eventually graduated from the Sorbonne in Paris and became an important part of French culture.

• 00:00:00 The speaker, Julian Monge, introduces Anastasio Alfaro, who will present a conference on the human side of a naturalist. Monge goes on to say that Alfaro was very difficult to talk about because of the personal impact his mother's death had on him as a young child. Alfaro's biography was recently added to the Oxford Dictionary of British Biography. Alfaro will discuss his work with the Smithsonian Museum and the National Geographic Society, as well as his work educating the public on ecology, environmentalism, and biodiversity. He will also talk about his work as an academic and writer, with articles published in European and American newspapers and magazines. Monge will end the presentation by giving the floor to Undiano, a "something" from the Amazon.
• 00:05:00 Anastasio Alfaro, a naturalist in charge of Julian Monge, talks about the human side of his work. He notes that wood was already a sign of social status back then, and that women would get up early in the morning without any electric light to begin their day's work. Children back then had a role in helping to start working around the age of 4. Today, he keeps working limits on child labor in mind, and believes that if such limits weren't put in place, the patronato (the institution in charge of overseeing Monge's work) would be to blame. He goes on to talk about the tough life many adults back then led, and how most of them had to work long hours with little rest. He shares an anecdote about one of his school friends who, after asking the teacher to remove him from the class, eventually became a courageous man. He then discusses the importance of family history, and how it can affect a person's life in ways that are often difficult to predict. He concludes by sharing a quote from one of his ancestors about how travel before steam travel was much easier.
• 00:10:00 In this video, Anastasio Alfaro, a biologist who was in charge of Julian Monge, discusses the human side of a naturalist. He talks about how there were many lines on the map connecting different parts of the world, and how ships could easily travel between different parts of the world. He also mentions how Kurt Harburg, one of his students, would be very important in his later life. Fernández, the school's director, recognized Harburg's brilliance and offered to take him to France to study. However, Harburg's father refused, so Harburg instead went to Guatemala to study. Upon arriving in France, Harburg's father refused to take over the family's coffee plantation in Guatemala, so Harburg decided to stay in France and study. Harburg eventually graduated from the Sorbonne in Paris and became an important part of French culture.
• 00:15:00 In this video, Papá Anastasio Alfaro, a naturalist and head of Julian Monge School, describes his family and his life. He talks about how his father didn't give him permission to leave home, and then he went to study at a boarding school, where the director helped him finish high school and study also at the university of the sameAutomotive school. One day, he was invited to come and take some exams at some of the girls who were playing for a chance to become elementary school teachers. Anastasio apparently liked this girl, and the group of students began to frequent the titular's homes, since he didn't have permission to go home. Papá's abuelita and guardian were always nearby, and eventually he married her and came to live with her. The good news is that the future looks good for this young family. A rich, peaceful coast was suddenly struck by a possible tragedy--a war was declared in Guatemala, and many in costa rica, including the general, decided to go fight. The bad news is that he was forced to leave his wife and newborn child behind. However, a few years later, he got a call from his former professor, who asked him to come and
• 00:20:00 Anastasio Alfaro, a naturalist who was in charge of Julian Monge, gave a talk on the human side of a naturalist. He emphasized that he was very good at math in school, and got a job after feeling concerned about his emotions. Even better, Valeriano, a later director of the school, hired him after he demonstrated his math skills in an interview. Alfaro then begins to talk about the idea of creating a national museum, which he first mentioned 20 years earlier. Someone who he could not find in any records, but who seems to have been a Spaniard who was loyal to Spain, had proposed the idea. Alfaro then goes on to talk about the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C., which was actually being created at the same time he was talking. He talks about the difficulties of being a small museum with no funds and the difficult job of being a secretary/assistant to a director. He also talks about the importance of having a museologist with a fresh perspective, and Fernandez was the perfect person for the job. Alfaro then goes on to talk about the importance of having outside perspectives in education, and how Fernandez was able to bring the German school of Krausism to Costa Rica.
• 00:25:00 Anastasio Alfaro was a great naturalist who led an expedition to the island of Coco in Costa Rica. He had trouble transporting his prisoners there, so he devised a plan to send them by air. However, this idea was not accepted by the government and so he had to carry out the plan himself. Alfaro's last great expedition was to the island of Cocos.
• 00:30:00 Anastasio Alfaro discusses the human side of a naturalist in charge of Julian Monge. He says that he feels very respected, noble, and spiritual, but also that he feels like Monge, a man who never had abundant financial resources, is very similar to many of the people living in Costa Rica. He says that, as an employee, he feels like he has accomplished a lot, but he also remembers the life many people in Costa Rica lead of working hard but never achieving anything on their own. Alfaro thanks the audience for their kind words.