Angustias Martinez Vicente nació el 22 de abril de 1919 en el pueblo de La Paralejo en Cuenca. Su padre, un líder local de Izquierda Republicana, tenía una tienda general en el pueblo. Los grandes terratenientes de La Peraleja organizaron a sus trabajadores para rebelarse contra la República. Martínez participó en la fundación de las Juventudes Socialistas Unificadas (JSU) en La Peraleja y asistió a cursos organizados por esa organización. Durante la Guerra Civil española quemó efigies de Franco. En 1939 fue detenida, torturada y encarcelada durante siete años. Pasó un tiempo en varias cárceles, entre ellas la de Cuenca, brevemente la de Uclés y finalmente la de Ventas en Madrid. Ella proporciona una imagen detallada de la vida en prisión a principios de la década del 40, incluidas las condiciones de hacinamiento, el trabajo, la formación religiosa obligatoria, así como el intercambio clandestino de noticias desde el exterior y la actividad política clandestina. Ayudó a dos presas condenadas a escapar de Ventas. Martínez routinely heard condemned prisoners singing revolutionary songs as they marched off to be executed by firing squad. Su padre fue ejecutado en 1945. Tras su liberación en 1946, Martínez continuó como militante clandestina mientras luchaba por ganarse la vida. En 1955 partió de España rumbo a Chile, para reunirse con su hermano Carlos que ya estaba exiliado allí. En Chile ayudó a su hermano a establecer una escuela que incorporó una filosofía pedagógica progresista. Martínez describe la comunidad de exiliados españoles en Chile, el trabajo con el Partido Comunista en Chile y la actividad política antifranquista en curso. También comparte anécdotas de su amistad con Pablo Neruda, y relata una visita a Chile del poeta exiliado español Marcos Ana. Martínez regresó a España poco después del golpe de 1973 liderado por Pinochet. En la década de 1990 participó en los esfuerzos para recuperar la escuela que ayudó a fundar, ya que había sido tomada por el gobierno de Pinochet.

Angustias Martínez Vicente was born on April 22, 1919 in the village of La Peraleja in Cuenca. Her father, a local head of the Izquierda Republicana, ran a general store in the town. The big landowners of La Peraleja organized their workers to rebel against the Republic. Martínez participated in the founding of the Juventudes Socialistas Unificadas (JSU) in La Peraleja, and she attended courses organized by that organization. During the Spanish Civil War she burned effigies of Franco. In 1939 she was detained, tortured and incarcerated for seven years. She spent time in various prisons, including at Cuenca, briefly at Uclés and finally at Ventas in Madrid. She provides a detailed picture of life in prison during the early 1940s, including overcrowded conditions, work, mandatory religious training, as well as clandestine news sharing from the outside and underground political activity. She aided two codemned female prisoners to escape from Ventas. Martínez routinely heard codemned prisoners singing revolutionary songs as they marched off to be executed by firing squad. Her father was executed in 1945. After her release in 1946 Martínez continued as an underground militant while struggling to make a living. In 1955 she left Spain for Chile, to join her brother Carlos who was already exiled there. In Chile she helped her brother establish a school which incorporated a progressive pedagogical philosophy. Martínez describes the Spanish exile community in Chile, work with the Communist Party in Chile, and ongoing anti-Franco political activity. Also she shares anecdotes of her friendship with Pablo Neruda, and recounts a visit to Chile by the Spanish exile poet Marcos Ana. Martínez returned to Spain soon after the 1973 coup led by Pinochet. In the 1990s she was involved in efforts to reclaim the school she helped found, as it had been taken over by the Pinochet government

• February 6-16, 2009

• Martínez Vicente, Angustias

• Boehm, Scott
• Duarte, Miriam

• Asociación de Ex-presos y Represaliados Políticos
• Asociación para la Recuperación de la Memoria Histórica
• Federación Estatal de Foros por la Memoria

• University of California, San Diego

16 video files : digital, sound, color

Interviews in Spanish

Martínez Vicente's testimony was recorded in Madrid

Testimony of the Spanish Civil War and the Francoist dictatorship

• Chile
• Cuenca (Spain)
• Madrid (Spain)
• Spain

• Juventudes Socialistas Unificadas
• Ventas (Prison : Madrid, Spain)

• Civil War (Spain : 1936-1939)
• Communism
• Exiles
• History
• Interviews
• Nonfiction films
• Oral history
• Personal narratives-Spanish
• Political prisoners

• video

• Spanish; Castilian

Mms: 991007901389706535

Online exhibit

• Spanish Civil War Memory Project

Madrid, Spain, Spanish Civil War Memory Project

• Martínez Vicente, Angustias

Martínez Vicente, Angustias. Testimony of the Spanish Civil War and the Francoist Dictatorship. University of California, San Diego, 2009

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2023-10-26