Torres pays tribute to the Republican exile in Mexico by recognising the Spanish Athenaeum as the first Place of Memory outside Spain

The Minister for Territorial Policy and Democratic Memory, Ángel Víctor Torres, during the tribute

The Minister for Territorial Policy and Democratic Memory, Ángel Víctor Torres, in Mexico City, has recognised the Spanish Athenaeum as the first Place of Memory outside our borders. This space, which is celebrating its 75th anniversary, is a benchmark for Spanish education and culture in the US. This recognition is part of the programme of events to mark the 85th anniversary of the arrival in Mexico of the 'Sinaia', the first Republican refugee ship to leave Spain during the Civil War.

"The Spanish Athenaeum sought a space for coexistence between the exiles themselves and Mexican culture," the minister said. "Several generations met there, including the exiles themselves and their grandchildren and great-grandchildren, making it a repository of both the memory of exile and the newly created Spanish culture," he added.

The Ateneo Español de México was founded in 1949 by Spanish exiles and Mexican intellectuals, with the aim of preserving and disseminating the democratic memory of the Republican exiles. This institution has dedicated its efforts to disseminating the contributions of those who were forced to leave Spain to defend their ideas after Franco's coup d'état.

Many prestigious intellectuals joined the Ateneo, above all to spread Spanish culture, with the precepts inspired by the Institución Libre de Enseñanza. Not surprisingly, among its founders was Francisco Giner de los Ríos, who was appointed secretary of the first board of directors.

"The work of the Ateneo Español de México did not end with the return of democracy in Spain in 1978, but has continued to function as a unifying element of Spanish culture in Mexico", added Minister Torres, who highlighted the fact that the Ateneo has become the first Place of Memory to be recognised outside Spain.

Tribute to Lázaro Cárdenas and "big mama"

Minister Torres, accompanied on this institutional visit to Mexico by the Secretary of State for Democratic Memory, Fernando Martínez, and by the Director General for Victim Support and Promotion of Democratic Memory, Zoraida Hijosa, also made a wreath in Parque España at the monument to President Lázaro Cárdenas, benefactor of Spanish exile, not only for the reception of Republican ships, but also for the rescue of Spanish children who lived through the calamities of the war.

"The work of Cárdenas and his government was always in the hearts of the thousands of exiles who left for Mexico under the protection of Cárdenas' wife, Amalia Solórzano, who for many became the "big mama" of Republican exile," Minister Torres said.

The delegation also visited the Colegio Madrid, a centre created in 1941 that has worked from then to the present day, at first educating the children of Spanish exiles and later other young Mexicans, with a pedagogical model that is related to the educational policy of the Second Republic.

Non official translation