Spanish Civil War Memory Project

Summary

Antonia Parra Villalba was born during the Civil War, two months after Francoist forces killed her father. Antonia recalls that her mother wore black in mourning for sixty years until her death in 1996. She relates that her mother picked olives and, from a young age, Antonia, her brother, and sister worked in the La Masegosa camp. Antonia describes her poverty-ridden childhood, noting the need, hunger, and illnesses suffered. She tells of the corruption among the Francoists, and the multiple executions the Falangists carried out to instill terror in the population. Antonia explains that her brother was forced to do military service because he refused to state that his father died of natural causes. She narrates the changes brought about by the Transition. Antonia remembers that she began looking for her father's remains in 2000. She speaks about meeting Emilio Silva, the president of the Asociación para la Recuperación de la Memoria Histórica (Association for the Recuperation of Historical Memory), in Sevilla. Antonia recounts how she became president of the Asociación de la Memoria Histórica (Association for Historical Memory) in Marchena. She details the work and accomplishments of the Association. Antonia discusses the impossibility to mourn relatives who are still buried in mass graves. At the start of the testimony, the singer-songwriter Francisco Narváez sings in homage to his relatives who died defending the Republic