Ángeles Flórez Peón, “Maricuela”, made positive Spain didn’t neglect its historical past

She by no means carried a rifle. Ángeles Flórez Peón was not a kind of redoubtable ladies, in aprons or overalls, who lined up with weapons at their shoulders in 1936 to disgrace the lads into preventing. As a substitute, what she often carried throughout her months as a miliciana, defending the Second Republic firstly of Spain’s civil battle, was an enormous pot of stew. She and her sister-comrades would prepare dinner it up and haul it to the entrance line at Oviedo. Generally they needed to crawl beneath the bullets that crackled from balconies and home windows. Her buddy Angelita, protecting for her someday, was killed outright by a sniper. She herself felt fortunate to outlive.

When ladies have been withdrawn from the entrance line, which irritated her, she briefly turned a nurse in a discipline hospital. It was arrange within the cavernous areas of an previous match manufacturing unit in Gijón, the place she had cost of 30 beds. Right here she carried largely bandages and water. She did the job for 2 months solely, nevertheless it was nonetheless sufficient to get her arrested, when Oviedo fell to Common Francisco Franco’s forces, for rebelión militar that earned her 15 years in jail.