Manuel Cortés Quero (1906-1991), known as "The Mole of Mijas", was a Spanish politician and the last Republican mayor of

Mijas Mijas ( ; ) is a municipality in the Province of Málaga, in the autonomous community of Andalusia. Located on the southeastern coast of Spain, Mijas belongs to the region of Costa del Sol Occidental. Its center is a typical Andalusian white- ...

(

Málaga Málaga (; ) is a Municipalities in Spain, municipality of Spain, capital of the Province of Málaga, in the Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Andalusia. With a population of 591,637 in 2024, it is the second-most populo ...

) between 3 March and 23 November 1936.

Biography

With the outbreak of the

Spanish Civil War The Spanish Civil War () was a military conflict fought from 1936 to 1939 between the Republican faction (Spanish Civil War), Republicans and the Nationalist faction (Spanish Civil War), Nationalists. Republicans were loyal to the Left-wing p ...

, he fled the municipality, to which he returned incognito on the night of 17 November 1939, beginning a long confinement in his own home that would last 30 years. When on 28 March 1969 he heard on his radio the news that the Government had decreed the statute of limitations for crimes committed until 1 April 1939, he decided to leave his confinement. The then mayor of Mijas, Miguel González Berral, accompanied him to the Civil Guard Headquarters in Málaga, where the lieutenant colonel in command said: "You are free". He was a founder of the local PSOE and presided over it until his death in 1991.

Tributes

His life was reflected in the works of Manu Leguineche and Jesús Torbado ("Los topos", 1977) and Ronald Fraser ("Escondido", "In hiding: the life of Manuel Cortés", 1972). In the Mijas House Museum a recreation of what was his house and hideout for 30 years can be visited. In 2012, the animated documentary, 30 years of darkness by Manuel H. Martín, was released, telling the story of the "moles", among them Manuel Cortés. In 2015, the PSOE of Mijas inaugurated a headquarters in his honor, 'La Casa del Pueblo de Mijas Pueblo: Manuel Cortes, the mole of Mijas', which is located in the central street Carril of the village environment. The inauguration, held on 7 March, was attended by hundreds of neighbors to remember his figure together with his granddaughter, María Peña. His life served as inspiration for the directors of the 2019 film '' The Endless Trench''.

References

External links

Mijas House Museum

30 years of darkness
Documentary by Manuel H. Martín. {{DEFAULTSORT:Cortes Quero, Manuel 1906 births 1991 deaths Mayors of the Second Spanish Republic Spanish Socialist Workers' Party politicians Mayors of places in Andalusia