A Conversation with Roma Marquez Santo
Jul 13th, 2009 by Donagh
I see that the person who told me about this talk also contacted WorldbyStorm on Cedars, who was more prompt in putting it up than I was. Still I didn’t want to bump down Conor’s great post below too quickly.
For those of you interested, Roma Marquez Santo, a veteran of the Spanish Civil War will speak at the Teacher’s Club in Parnell Square this Thursday.
Roma Marquez is a 93-year old Catalan who joined the POUM militia on the outbreak of the generals’ revolt in July ‘36 and later joined the anarchist militia after the POUM were suppressed. He spent several years in prison after the war and returned to live in BCN where he has remained politically active.
He’s in Ireland partly for a TCD conference and partly to talk to interested people about his experiences.
Thanks to the people organising this for letting us know about it.
While I’m posting, I’d also recommend the book review of the new edition of Leo Panitch’s Renewing Socialism which has just been published on ILR.
Thanks Donagh for posting this.
I snuck in the back door for a few of the lectures in Trinity and called in this afternoon on a round table discussion on Los mitos y leyendas de la Brigada XV, the Brigade in which most Irish volunteers served, be it with the Lincolns or the British. The discussion featured Antonio R. Celada and Daniel Pastor García, who with Manuel González de la Aleja published Los Internationales, a huge volume on the English-speaking volunteers in the SCW, originally published in Spanish but now just published in English. Also on the panel was Richard Baxell, author of British Volunteers in the Spanish Civil War.
Most of the proceedings being in Spanish, I can’t deliver much intelligence on whether the myths or the legends won out, however there appeared to be a rather heated discussion on Orwell at one point.
As part of the conference, and for those who can’t make the Teachers’ Club tomorrow night, Roma will be speaking at a lunchtime meeting at the Café Literario in the Instituto Cervantes on Lincoln Place from 13.00 tomorrow (Thursday).
Thanks a million for posting this Anarchaeologist. I imagine Orwell would be a hot topic of conversation. Can’t make it to the Teachers’ Club myself, or the the Instituto Cervantes for that matter. Maybe if someone else does they might let us know (he says chancing his arm).