Fernando Macarro Castillo nació en Alconada en 1920. Adoptó el seudónimo Marcos Ana en la cárcel y empezó a escribir poesía como una lucha por la libertad de los presos políticos. Marcos recuenta que sus padres eran campesinos pobres. Su familia migró a Alcalá de Henares en 1929. Marcos fue presidente de la Juventud Católica y miembro de las Juventudes Socialistas Unificadas en 1936. Durante la Guerra Civil, se alistó en el Batallón Libertad para defender a la República. Marcos relata que se unió al Partido Comunista de España (PCE) en homenaje a su padre quien murió durante bombardeos Nazis. Detalla el golpe de estado del Coronel Casado y el fin de la guerra. Marcos estuvo detenido pero escapó del campo de concentración Albatera. En 1939, fue arrestado, brutalmente torturado, y enviado a la cárcel de Porlier. Marcos recibió la pena de muerte por sus actividades políticas, fue perdonado, después condenado por haber creado clandestinamente el periódico Juventud en la cárcel, y estuvo encarcelado en las prisiones de Ocaña y Burgos. Recuerda que fue el primer preso político apoyado por Amnistía Internacional y por una amplia campaña en América Latina. Fue liberado en 1961 y viajó por Europa y América Latina hablando por los presos políticos en España. Marcos comenta sobre la legalización del PCE, la transición a la democracia, y las políticas de la memoria después del 2000.

Fernando Macarro Castillo was born in Alconada in 1920. He adopted the pseudonym Marcos Ana in prison and began writing poetry as a struggle to liberate political prisoners. Marcos recounts that his parents were poor peasants. His family migrated to Alcalaá de Henares in 1929. He became president of the Juventud Católica (Catholic Youth) and a member of the Juventudes Socialistas Unificadas (Unified Socialist Youth) in 1936. During the Civil War, he enlisted in the Batallón Libertad (Liberty Battalion) to defend the Republic. Marcos relates joining the Communist Party of Spain (PCE) to pay homage to his father who died during Nazi bombings. He details Coronel Casado's coup d'état and the end of the war. Marcos was detained but escaped from the Albatera concentration camp. In 1939, he was arrested, brutally tortured, and sent to the Porlier prison. Marcos received the death sentence for his political activities, was pardoned, condemned for clandestinely creating the newspaper Juventud (Youth) in prison, and incarcerated in the Ocaña and Burgos prisons. He recalls being the first political prisoner supported by Amnesty International and by a widespread campaign in Latin America. He was liberated in 1961 and traveled through Europe and Latin America speaking on behalf of political prisoners in Spain. Marcos comments on the legalization of the PCE, the transition to democracy, and the politics of memory after 2000

• August 20, 2008

• Ana, Marcos

• Boehm, Scott
• Rojo, Daniel

• 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

4 video files : digital, sound, color

Interviews in Spanish

Marcos Ana's testimony was recorded in his home in Madrid. In the interview, he refers several times to his autobiography, Decidme cómo es un árbol.

Testimony of the Spanish Civil War and the Francoist dictatorship

• Burgos (Spain)
• Spain

• Juventudes Socialistas Unificadas
• Partido Comunista de España

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

• video

• Spanish; Castilian

Mms: 991002813009706535

Online exhibit

• Spanish Civil War Memory Project

Madrid, Spain, Spanish Civil War Memory Project

• Ana, Marcos

Ana, Marcos. Testimony of the Spanish Civil War and the Francoist Dictatorship. University of California, San Diego, 2008

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2023-10-26