Spanish Civil War Memory Project

Summary

Miguel Ibáñez Guzmán was born in Madrid in 1971. Miguel explains that his father, Miguel Guzmán Aparicio, influenced his way of thinking and viewing the world, his love for science and the arts, and his respect for freedom of expression and thought. He recounts having an understanding of the Second Republic, the Civil War, and the postwar through his father's memories. Miguel narrates that his father was born in 1908, obtained his B.A. in Fine Arts in the 1930s from the Valencia School of Arts and Crafts, and worked as a teacher. He tells that during the 1940s, his father promoted secular education and founded the Unión de Intelectuales Libres (Union of Free Intellectuals). Miguel notes that although his father's activities were peaceful, the Civil Guard detained him and made him leave Valencia. He relates that his father went to Madrid, founded with friends the Unión Industrial Cinematográfica (UNINCI), and produced films such as Welcome Mister Marshall and Viridiana. Miguel indicates that UNINCI was unable to carry out other projects after the Spanish Catholic Church censored Viridiana, but his father continued working in film until he returned to teaching in the 1970s. He remembers how he and his father experienced Franco's death, the Transition, the legalization of the Communist Party in 1977, and the 1981 coup d'état. Miguel comments on the recuperation of historical memory