The exceptionally wet, cold and stormy January/February led to closed schools and a lot of cancelled activities for all of us.
Finally, the sun and more of normality returned to Costa Tropical. In Almuñécar, both Rio Seco andRio Verde have become actual, water-fed rivers. Farmlands and orchards are flooded and swamped, a lot of fruit and avocados have fallen to the ground, with devastating losses for the farmers and the agriculture sector. Let us all buy locally and support the local producers and markets!
Los Nordicos in Almuñécar returned to our weekly Wednesday meetings mid-February at lovely Mesón Gala. We benefitted from two excellent cultural events: A tapas concert with Ricardo Ausin and Fernando Álvarez, and a theatre monologue about the Swedish Nobel author, Selma Lagerlöf’s Wrath, by actor Görel Crona. Both events were wonderful and lifted our spirits after many weeks of borrascas.
Sigge Ennart, the author of a Swedish thriller set in Fuengirola, shared what inspired him to write his book, The Priest Devil (Prästdjävulen). The story builds loosely on some characters and events that happened at Costa del Sol, and a lot from the author and his family´s own experiences. A nerve breaking story…
Ninety years since the Spanish Civil War started
Carmen Fernandez, a history teacher from Vélez-Málaga, gave us a fascinating lecture about the Spanish Civil War 1936-1939 – and what led to Franco’s dictatorship. 2025 was the 50th anniversary of Franco’s death. Still many Spaniards do not talk about these times, based on social trauma and the “culture of silence” imposed by the dictatorship.
Carmen gave us a well-informed insight into history, starting from the chaotic 19th century: the Napoleonic war and three, civil wars, 20 military coup d’états, the first Republic in 1873 that only lasted 11 months, the liberation of the colonies in Las Americas and the Philippines. The army ruled. Land was owned by a very small elite.
The Catholic Church kept its strong hold on society, in every aspect. The economic development was based on agriculture and the vast majority living under very poor conditions. The industrialisation was almost non-existent. General Primo de Rivera’s dictatorship (he was good friend with Mussolini and identified himself as fascist) lasted from 1923 coup d’état until 1931 when elections were held and the left won – the Second Republic was declared in 1931.
King Alfonso XIII fled to Italy (he was the first in Spain to produce his own porno films, apparently!). A new liberal Constitution was adopted, women got the right to vote, salaries improved but the economy was imploding. Strikes and a polarised society. Democratic elections in 1933 brought back the conservatives and in 1935 the left won again. Several generals wanted to overthrow the Republic through a failed coup d’état, including general Franco.
Instead, they started the civil war, supported by Mussolini and Hitler. The Republic was supported by the International Brigades and by the Soviet Union. Estimates indicate half a million deaths from the conflict (during the war and as revenge or mass executions).
The biggest massacre was the Desbandá, when more than 100,000 republican civilians evacuated Málaga in February 1937 to walk towards Almeria. At least 5,000 were killed in strikes from the sea and air supported by the Italians, Nazis and Franco, much worse than Guernica. Since a decade there is an annual commemoration walk of the Desbandá organised along the coast on 6th-8th February.
The Republic was dissolved on the 1st April 1939 after surrendering to the Nationalists. Francisco Franco auto proclaimed himself the Caudillo de España and led a 40-year dictatorship with suppression of democracy, censorship, and the banning of regional languages. Carmen ended with “We all lost in the Civil War.” And how is the current democracy doing? This will be the topic of another talk….
Los Nordicos weeklies in Almuñécar
Upcoming agenda for our friendly Wednesday gatherings at Mesón Gala. Free for members, non-members pay 5€ entrance. Open bar and dinner available:
18th March: The Ukulele Strumblies, International Club of Salobreña, with St. Patrick’s Day theme
25th March: Travel in Tibet – a photo journey on the pathway of Buddhism (Norwegian), Alf Berg
1st April: Málaga for the curious visitor (Swedish), Bert Eknemar
8th April: PubQuiz Almuñécar yesterday, today and tomorrow, Ann-Marie Bönström
15 th April: Get to know your Ayuntamiento, Urban Development and Infrastructure, Francisco Javier García Fernández
22st April: Winetasting and paella, with sommelier Marita Nylén
For more information, visit www.losnordicos.com
(Feature: Los Nordicos, Almuñécar)
Keywords: Weekly Club Activities, Spanish Civil War
feature, andalucia, granada, costa tropical, almunecar, weekly club activities, spanish civil war