La Vida Alcalaína

Manuel Caro Rios, one of the founders of "Los Ranger's Black"  has just written up the history of Alcalá's much-loved '60s rock band, which I have translated below.   The original can be found here . Their repertoire reflected the appeal of all things English in a country just emerging from the most repressive years of the dictatorship.  British pop songs were starting to be played on Spanish radio.  Miniskirts, psychedelic shirts, pachouli oil, gin & tonic, American tobacco were wildly trendy,   Alcalá artist and sculptor Jesús Cuesta Arana, a big fan who designed their stage sets, wrote about them : In this [culture of modernity] the Rangers burst forth in Alcalá de los Gazules, which was used to a different kind of rancher.  Four kids jumped on the sonic bandwagon of the times. It was like a kind of alcalaíno Beatles. They did more than cheer people up with their music and self-assurance;  they brought freshness, new winds and sens...

Pedro Valle Barrera was a child victim of the vicious repression carried out by Franco's forces during and after the Spanish Civil War, known as the White Terror . His uncle was executed, his father was imprisoned and his mother had her head shaved, for being on the Republican side. By some miracle he escaped the organised massacres of refugees at La Sauceda and on the 'Road of Death' from Málaga to Alméria.  In 2009 Pedro recounted his childhood memories to J. Carlos Perales Pizarro, who transcribed and published them. This is an abridged translation of Pedro's story. The full version in Spanish can be found on the Historical Memory website Todos los Nombres . Pedro was born in 1928 to Francisca Barrera and Juan Manuel Valle Recio, in C/ Sánchez Flores, Alcalá de los Gazules. His grandfather Pedro Valle Marchante worked with cattle; he was well-educated and gave lessons to the agricultural workers who lived around the Finca del Torero. Valle Marchante was rela...

This is the testimony of Juan Perales León (1914-2003), recorded in “ Todos los Nombres ”, an aural history project about people who suffered under the Franco dictatorship. It was set up by the CGT (a trade union) and the Andalusia Association for Historical Memory and Justice. Juan's life story was recorded and transcribed by his nephew, Carlos Perales, who has kindly given me permission to publish this translation. The original Spanish transcription is here: http://www.todoslosnombres.org/content/biografias/juan-perales-leon-0 I have translated verbatim the first and last sections, which relate to Juan's life in Alcalá, and summarised the parts relating to his military career and imprisonment in Jaén. Alcalá early in the 20th Century When I was five years old, my father died. There were three children – your father, a sister called Francisca, and me. Francisca died here in Calle Real, in the door of your father's shop. She died bleeding, I don't know wh...