The Cervantes Institute organized more than 80 activities in its network of centers for International Women’s Day
The Cervantes Institute paid tribute to women in culture by depositing three legacies of authors Luisa Carnés (including an unpublished work) and Ángela Figuera (with several of her original works), along with the Orellana Circle Association, in the institution’s Letter Box, on the occasion of International Women’s Day, celebrated on March 8, and for which it has organized more than 80 activities in its network of centers.
In the case of writer and journalist Luisa Carnés (Madrid 1905- Mexico 1964), exiled after the Civil War, her legacy has been deposited by her granddaughter, Paloma Puyol, who has delivered an unpublished manuscript of the novel ‘La puerta cerrada’.
This work was written in 1956 and deals with the Mexican revolution. The author herself was organizing her writings in these black folders of the time, but she died in a traffic accident in 1964, while she was working on its theatrical version, a text that now enters box number 1,616 of the vault.
They have also delivered a copy of the magazine ‘Nivel’, from May 25, 1964, with an obituary text by the poet Ramón Xirau illustrated with a portrait of the author drawn by Arturo Souto. They have also deposited copies of the first editions of ‘Cumpleaños’ and ‘Los vendedores de miedo’, both works from 1966, posthumously published by Finisterre.
The content of the legacy has been expanded with a premium sheet with the postage stamp dedicated to Luisa Carnés in 2024 and a copy of the Mexican Culture Magazine from July 8, 1951 with the theatrical monologue ‘Cumpleaños’. It also includes another edition of ‘Tea Rooms’ (the author’s best-known work, adapted to television in the series ‘La moderna’) in facsimile edition, reproducing the first edition of 1934 published by the Lance Booksellers Association of Madrid. This work is accompanied by another edition of ‘Tea Rooms’ from 2016 by Hoja de lata.
Likewise, the box has received several reproductions of photos of Luisa Carnés and a drawing by Arturo Souto, in addition to other current editions of ‘Tea Rooms’ and ‘Natacha’, her first novel.
Carnés was one of the most prominent authors of the Generation of ’27, but she suffered a long period of neglect due to her dual status as a woman and an exile. The journalist entered the workforce at a very young age and worked in a hat shop and a bakery. It was not until 1923 that she began to write self-taught. Her first published story, ‘Mar adentro’, appeared in ‘La Voz de Madrid’ in 1926.
Committed to social justice, she joined the Communist Party in 1936 and collaborated with Republican publications during the Civil War. In 1939, after the Republican defeat, she went into exile in Mexico, where she continued writing under the pseudonym ‘Clarita Montes’. Among the recovered documents, they found a letter addressed to the women of Spain, dated March 4, 1964, just days before Luisa Carnés’ untimely death.
MARCH 8: «THE HANDS OF ALL WOMEN COME TOGETHER»
«Dear friends, on this March 8th, on which the hands of all women in the world come together in affection and understanding, we are pleased to express our warm solidarity and our hope for a prosperous future for all of us, inside and outside the heart of Spain, whose name you have known how to exalt with your effort and sacrifice,» said the letter, which was read by her granddaughter during the event.
Likewise, box number 1,600 has received the legacy of the poet Ángela Figuera, among whose deposited works stands out ‘En la delgada arista’, with a facsimile edition of the handwritten copy with annotations that the author herself sent to the poet Carmen Conde in 1950.
It also includes the Total Anthology of the Basque writer, with the reproduction of the letter that Pablo Neruda addressed to the Spanish poets of the time. The legacy of this author is completed with a handwritten poem humorously addressed to her children, the Magi, as well as two editions of Mujer de barro, her first book published in 1948.
Among other items deposited in memory by the family are the poetry collections ‘Soria pura’, ‘Belleza cruel’, ‘Tocó la tierra’, as well as the poem ‘Víspera de la vida’, published between the 1950s and 1960s. The titles of ‘Cuentos tontos para niños listos’, ‘Canciones para todo el año’, and her ‘Complete Works’, all published in the 1980s, complete this Figuera legacy.
Ángela Figuera (Madrid 1902-1984), considered one of the most relevant voices of social poetry in postwar Spain, suffered censorship under Franco’s regime and elevated the figure of the working woman in her poetry, as well as denouncing the injustices of the time. With a degree in Philosophy and Letters, she worked as a teacher until, after the Civil War, she lost her job and dedicated herself to writing, using poetry as a tool of resistance.
She published works such as ‘Mujer de barro’ (1948), ‘Soria pura’ (1949) and ‘Belleza cruel’ (1958), among others, all marked by denouncing social injustices and advocating for the role of women, making her a key author in the committed literature of the 20th century.
Her granddaughter, Ana Figuera, has delivered the legacy and has recalled that her grandmother was not only a poet but also a librarian and a defender of culture as a tool for social transformation. «Beyond being a poet and activist, my grandmother was a woman who believed in the power of education and culture. Her work in libraries was an extension of her commitment to society. Knowing that her work will be preserved in the Letter Box is a way to ensure that her voice will never be silenced,» she emphasized.
RESCUING WOMEN FROM OBLIVION
The event concluded with the delivery of the legacy of the Orellana Circle, a non-profit association founded in 2015 that promotes female talent and the visibility of women in history. Its president, Leticia Espinosa de los Monteros, has deposited a set of documents, publications, and a symbolic brooch carried by the members of this civil society group, representing their unity.
Specifically, it consists of two volumes of the ‘Semblanzas’ collection, which gathers the meetings within the ‘Spanish Women to Discover’ series, the book ‘Female Talent and Civil Society: Testimonies from the Orellana Circle’ with 30 life stories, and a box-book with the content of the programs carried out by the Orellana Circle over ten years.
Finally, a blank book from the Orellana Circle has been deposited in box number 1,593 with a dedication of thanks to the Cervantes Institute and as a «symbol of the future to continue discovering great women who serve as life references.» «This legacy is not only a recognition of the past but a commitment to the future,» affirmed Espinosa de los Monteros, highlighting the importance of rescuing «those women who have been silenced throughout history and deserve to be remembered.»
Finally, the director of the Cervantes Institute, Luis García Montero, celebrated the inclusion of the three legacies in this special event, recalling the importance of these types of events. «A democracy is much more than being able to vote every four years: it is the transformation of social values that help foster coexistence in respect and equality. That is why an essential part of this commitment is historical memory and remembering the value and quality of figures that were erased during the dictatorship, as they enrich us,» he concluded.