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Smithsonian is not prepared to go forward with that loan. Obviously, the situation would change substantially if the Institution were to assume custody of another shuttle, one which had actually flown in space. Nonetheless, there would still remain major questions of how to secure its transport overseas and how to fulfill NASA's continuing need for access to these artifacts for the testing of their equipment for future shuttle missions.

THE BURIED MIRROR

The Secretary brought the Regents up to date on one of the Institution's major contributions to the Quincentenary, the five-part television series entitled, "The Buried Mirror: Reflections on Spain and the New World by Carlos Fuentes." He noted that in the first four one-hour segments, Fuentes, the narrator, gives an overview--informative and well-grounded, with an attractive and plausible mix of personal judgments on particular points--of the historical emergence of Hispanic America from origins in medieval Spain through part of the nineteenth century.

The fifth and final segment, entitled "Unfinished Business,"--which has just arrived in "rough cut" and is still undergoing revision--involves potential controversy because it comes up to the present age and deals in particular with Hispanics in the United States as well as elsewhere. In the Secretary's view, this final segment will make a substantial contribution to the understanding of Hispanic history and culture throughout the hemisphere, including the U.S., but he recognizes that it represents in minor sections of commentary, rather than taking it as a whole, the views of Carlos Fuentes on a variety of questions ranging from Nicaragua to issues of the U.S.-Mexican border and immigration.

The Secretary indicated that he intends to furnish to the Executive Committee copies of the rough-cut fifth segment as soon as they are available,