''El Mono Azul'' (

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Can ...

: ''Blue Overalls'') was an anti-fascist magazine which was published in Madrid during the

Spanish Civil War The Spanish Civil War ( es, Guerra Civil Española)) or The Revolution ( es, La Revolución, link=no) among Nationalists, the Fourth Carlist War ( es, Cuarta Guerra Carlista, link=no) among Carlists, and The Rebellion ( es, La Rebelión, link ...

. The magazine existed between 1936 and 1939 and was one of the major cultural, intellectual and artistic publications during the war with the subtitle ''hoja semanal de la Alianza de Intelectuales Antifascista para la Defensa de la Cultura'' (Spanish: ''Weekly publication of the Alliance of Anti-fascist Intellectuals for the Defense of Culture'').

History and profile

''El Mono Azul'' was started in Madrid in 1936 by the Alliance of Anti-Fascist Intellectuals led by communist writers

Rafael Alberti Rafael Alberti Merello (16 December 1902 – 28 October 1999) was a Spanish poet, a member of the Generation of '27. He is considered one of the greatest literary figures of the so-called ''Silver Age'' of Spanish Literature, and he won numerou ...

and

María Teresa León María Teresa León Goyri (31 October 1903 – 13 December 1988) was a Spanish writer, activist and cultural ambassador. Born in Logroño, she was the niece of the Spanish feminist and writer María Goyri (the wife of Ramón Menéndez Pidal). S ...

at the beginning of the Civil War. The Alliance was part of the

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

side of the groups fighting in the civil war. ''El Mono Azul'' functioned as the propaganda organ for the group. The first issue of the magazine appeared on 27 August 1936, a month after the start of the civil war. From its start to November 1936 it was published every Thursday on a weekly basis. In the period December 1936–February 1937 ''El Mono Azul'' temporarily ceased publication and was restarted on 11 February. It became a section of the weekly newspaper ''La Voz'' in June 1937 and continued its publication in this format until May 1938. Then it produced three more issues last of which appeared in February 1939. The final issue was an independent publication, but was published as part of a literary magazine entitled ''Cuadernos de Madrid''.

Content and editors

''El Mono Azur'' targeted those fighting in the civil war. It frequently featured articles on the tips for the proficiency in precision shooting and hygiene. In addition, the magazine covered all literary genres such as poetry and literary criticism, political articles, editorials, documents, theatrical news, photographs or illustrations. The latter were mostly produced by Alberti and

Pablo Picasso Pablo Ruiz Picasso (25 October 1881 – 8 April 1973) was a Spanish painter, sculptor, printmaker, ceramicist and Scenic design, theatre designer who spent most of his adult life in France. One of the most influential artists of the 20th ce ...

. The poems published in ''El Mono Azul'' were read and written in the

trenches A trench is a type of excavation or in the ground that is generally deeper than it is wide (as opposed to a wider gully, or ditch), and narrow compared with its length (as opposed to a simple hole or pit). In geology, trenches result from erosi ...

before appearing in the magazine. The 29th issue dated 19 August 1937 featured four poems of Langston Hughes which were translated into Spanish by Rafael Alberti. Hughes, an African American, was the only

Anglophone Speakers of English are also known as Anglophones, and the countries where English is natively spoken by the majority of the population are termed the ''Anglosphere''. Over two billion people speak English , making English the largest language ...

poet whose works were published in ''El Mono Azul''. Major directors and contributors included

José Bergamín José Bergamín Gutiérrez (Madrid, 1895 – Hondarribia, 28 August 1983) was a Spanish writer, essayist, poet, and playwright. His father served as president of the canton of Málaga; his mother was a Catholic. Bergamín was influenced by bot ...

, Rafael Dieste, Lorenzo Varela, Miguel Hernández,

Vicente Aleixandre Vicente Pío Marcelino Cirilo Aleixandre y Merlo (; 26 April 1898 – 14 December 1984) was a Spanish poet who was born in Seville. Aleixandre received the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1977 "for a creative poetic writing which illuminates ma ...

Vicente Huidobro Vicente García-Huidobro Fernández (; January 10, 1893 – January 2, 1948) was a Chilean poet born to an aristocratic family. He promoted the avant-garde literary movement in Chile and was the creator and greatest exponent of the literary m ...

Luis Cernuda Luis Cernuda Bidón (September 21, 1902 – November 5, 1963) was a Spanish poet, a member of the Generation of '27. During the Spanish Civil War, in early 1938, he went to the UK to deliver some lectures and this became the start of an exile t ...

, Antonio Machado, León Felipe,

Rosa Chacel Rosa Clotilde Chacel Arimón (June 3, 1898 – July 27, 1994) was a famous and sometimes controversial writer from Spain. She was a native of Valladolid. Early life Chacel was born in Valladolid, the daughter of a teacher who sent her to liv ...

Emilio Prados Emilio Prados (4 March 1899 - 24 April 1962) was a Spanish poet and editor, a member of the Generation of '27. Life Born in the Andalusian city of Málaga in 1899, Prados was offered a place at Madrid's famous Residencia de estudiantes in 1914 ...

Octavio Paz Octavio Paz Lozano (March 31, 1914 – April 19, 1998) was a Mexican poet and diplomat. For his body of work, he was awarded the 1977 Jerusalem Prize, the 1981 Miguel de Cervantes Prize, the 1982 Neustadt International Prize for Literature, and ...

César Vallejo César Abraham Vallejo Mendoza (March 16, 1892 – April 15, 1938) was a Peruvian poet, writer, playwright, and journalist. Although he published only two books of poetry during his lifetime, he is considered one of the great poetic innovators ...

, Tomás Navarro Tomás, Pablo Neruda, and Ramón J. Sender.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Mono Azul 1936 establishments in Spain 1939 disestablishments in Spain Anti-fascism in Spain Communist magazines Defunct literary magazines published in Europe Defunct political magazines published in Spain Francoist Spain Irregularly published magazines Literary magazines published in Spain Magazines established in 1936 Magazines disestablished in 1939 Magazines published in Madrid Poetry literary magazines Propaganda newspapers and magazines Spanish-language magazines Weekly magazines published in Spain