Spanish Civil War Memory Project

Summary

Sánchez Rodríguez was born in Madrid on October 23, 1953. Her father, Simón Sánchez Montero, was elected to the Comité Central of the Partido Comunista de España in 1954. As a child during the Francoist period Aida knew she could not talk about her homelife, especially about her father, in public. He would often leave Spain for several months at a time to attend international meetings in Berlin or Moscow or other places. Aida joined the Unión de Juventudes Comunistas as a teenager, and participated in underground meetings and political activites. Her father was incarcerated from 1959-1966 in various prisons. Aida was herself detained for political activity in 1970, and again in 1972, spending time in Carabanchel. In addition to receiving a jail sentence Aida was expelled from her university, and did not return to her studies until 1975. In 1977, during the transition to democracy, her father was elected a member of congress from Madrid as a Communist. Aida describes the fear she experienced during the military coup attempt in 1981 known as 23-F, as her father was then serving in congress. She reflects on the efforts of the Recuperación de Memoria Histórica as a mixed blessing, and suggests that people in Spain need to be more engaged politically