Sara Berenguer Laosa (1919–2010) was a

Catalan Catalan may refer to: Catalonia From, or related to Catalonia: * Catalan language, a Romance language * Catalans, an ethnic group formed by the people from, or with origins in, Northern or southern Catalonia Places * 13178 Catalan, asteroid #1 ...

anarcho-syndicalist Anarcho-syndicalism is a political philosophy and anarchist school of thought that views revolutionary industrial unionism or syndicalism as a method for workers in capitalist society to gain control of an economy and thus control influence in b ...

and

anarcha-feminist Anarcha-feminism, also referred to as anarchist feminism, is a system of analysis which combines the principles and power analysis of anarchist theory with feminism. Anarcha-feminism closely resembles intersectional feminism. Anarcha-feminism ...

writer, who was active in the

Mujeres Libres Mujeres Libres ( en, Free Women, italic=yes) was an anarchist women's organisation that existed in Spain from 1936 to 1939. Founded by Lucía Sánchez Saornil, Mercedes Comaposada, and Amparo Poch y Gascón as a small women's group in Madrid, it ...

movement.

Biography

Sara Berenguer was born into a modest working-class family; her father was a

bricklayer A bricklayer, which is related to but different from a mason, is a craftsman and tradesman who lays bricks to construct brickwork. The terms also refer to personnel who use blocks to construct blockwork walls and other forms of masonry. ...

and a libertarian activist. She left school at the age of 12. At thirteen, she began working in a

butcher A butcher is a person who may Animal slaughter, slaughter animals, dress their flesh, sell their meat, or participate within any combination of these three tasks. They may prepare standard cuts of meat and poultry for sale in retail or wholesal ...

's shop, but revolted by the

exploitation Exploitation may refer to: *Exploitation of natural resources *Exploitation of labour **Forced labour *Exploitation colonialism *Slavery **Sexual slavery and other forms *Oppression *Psychological manipulation In arts and entertainment *Exploita ...

and

machismo Machismo (; ; ; ) is the sense of being " manly" and self-reliant, a concept associated with "a strong sense of masculine pride: an exaggerated masculinity". Machismo is a term originating in the early 1930s and 1940s best defined as hav ...

, she quit several jobs. She became a

dressmaker A dressmaker, also known as a seamstress, is a person who makes custom clothing for women, such as dresses, blouses, and gown, evening gowns. Dressmakers were historically known as mantua (clothing), mantua-makers, and are also known as a mod ...

and then worked in a workshop, before becoming

self-employed Self-employment is the state of working for oneself rather than an employer. Tax authorities will generally view a person as self-employed if the person chooses to be recognised as such or if the person is generating income for which a tax return n ...

until July 1936.

Civil War

Berenguer was 17 when the

Spanish Revolution of 1936 The Spanish Revolution was a workers' social revolution that began at the outbreak of the Spanish Civil War in 1936 and for two to three years resulted in the widespread implementation of anarchist and, more broadly, libertarian socialist or ...

broke out. Her father left to fight at the front and died there. She took part in the Revolutionary Committee of the Les Corts district until June 1937, and in the Revolutionary Committee of the timber union alongside Antonio Santamaria, for whom she worked as a mechanic and accountant. One day, she was placed in charge of arms distribution. At the same time, she held positions of responsibility on the local committee of the

Libertarian Youth The Iberian Federation of Libertarian Youth ( es, Federación Ibérica de Juventudes Libertarias (FIJL)), sometimes abbreviated as Libertarian Youth (''Juventudes Libertarias''), is a libertarian socialist organisation created in 1932 in Madrid.Ese ...

(FIJL) and in the secretariat of the libertarian atheneum, where she was a teacher of street children. She met Sol Ferrer, the daughter of

Francesc Ferrer Francesc Ferrer i Guàrdia (; January 14, 1859 – October 13, 1909), widely known as Francisco Ferrer (), was a Spanish radical freethinker, anarchist, and educationist behind a network of secular, private, libertarian schools in and aroun ...

, with whom she learned

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

. During the

May Days The May Days, sometimes also called May Events, refer to a series of clashes between 3 and 8 May 1937 during which factions on the Republican faction of the Spanish Civil War engaged one another in street battles in various parts of Catalonia, ...

of 1937 in

Barcelona Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within ci ...

, she took part in the armed confrontations against the Stalinists, defending the Casal (the house of working-class women) run by the libertarian activist

Amparo Poch y Gascón Amparo Poch y Gascón (15 October 1902 – 15 April 1968) was a Spanish anarchist, pacifist, doctor, and activist in the years leading up to and during the Spanish Civil War. Poch y Gascón was born in Zaragoza.Lola Campos, ''Mujeres aragonesas ...

. In the spring of 1938, she was appointed to the National Committee of

Solidaridad Internacional Antifascista Solidaridad Internacional Antifascista ( en, International Antifascist Solidarity, italic=yes), SIA, was a humanitarian organisation that existed in the Second Spanish Republic. It was politically aligned with the anarcho-syndicalist movement com ...

(SIA) and made numerous visits to the front. In October 1938, she joined the

movement, where she was in charge of the association's regional secretariat. There she fought against ignorance and worked to "educate women socially and culturally so that they can build and defend themselves as free and conscious human beings."

Exile

In January 1939, she fled into exile in France, where she continued her work for the SIA in

Perpignan Perpignan (, , ; ca, Perpinyà ; es, Perpiñán ; it, Perpignano ) is the prefecture of the Pyrénées-Orientales department in southern France, in the heart of the plain of Roussillon, at the foot of the Pyrenees a few kilometres from the ...

and then in

Béziers Béziers (; oc, Besièrs) is a Subprefectures in France, subprefecture of the Hérault Departments of France, department in the Occitania (administrative region), Occitanie Regions of France, region of Southern France. Every August Béziers hos ...

, where she tried to rescue internees from the camps, including her companion Jesús Guillén Bertolín. During the

Nazi occupation of France The Military Administration in France (german: Militärverwaltung in Frankreich; french: Occupation de la France par l'Allemagne) was an interim occupation authority established by Nazi Germany during World War II to administer the occupied zo ...

, she was a member of the CNT group in Bram and liaised with the

French Resistance The French Resistance (french: La Résistance) was a collection of organisations that fought the German occupation of France during World War II, Nazi occupation of France and the Collaborationism, collaborationist Vichy France, Vichy régim ...

in Aude, Ariège, Hérault and Haute-Garonne. After the

Liberation of France The liberation of France in the Second World War was accomplished through diplomacy, politics and the combined military efforts of the Allied Powers of World War II, Allied Powers, Free French forces in London and Africa, as well as the French R ...

, with Jesus, she continued her work with the CNT-in-exile. In 1947, she was in charge of the stenography courses organised by the CNT for refugees and played an active part in the theatre groups organised by the libertarian movement. At that time, she was very close to anarchist activist groups, particularly around Octavio Alberola and

Cipriano Mera Cipriano Mera Sanz (November 4, 1897 – October 24, 1975) was a Spanish military and political figure during the Second Spanish Republic. Early life He had two sons (Floreal and Sergio) with his partner Teresa Gómez. A bricklayer, he joi ...

. In 1965, she took part in the activities of the group that published the journal ''Frente Libertario''. From 1972 to 1976, together with Suceso Portales, she edited and published the magazine ''Mujeres Libres'' (47 issues from 1964 to 1976). Her house, near Béziers, remained a meeting place for libertarians. The film ''De toda la vida'' (All Our Lives) was shot there in 1986, starring

Pepita Carpeña Josefa Carpena-Amat (December 19, 1919 – June 5, 2005), known by the pseudonym Pepita Carpeña, was a militant trade unionist, writer, and Spanish anarchist. Biography Born in Barcelona, Spain, Pepita started working at the age of twelve. At ...

, Dolores Prat,

Federica Montseny Frederica Montseny i Mañé (; 1905–1994) was a Catalan Anarchism, anarchist and intellectual who served as Ministry of Health (Spain), Minister of Health and Social Assistance in the Government of the Second Spanish Republic, Spanish Republi ...

, Suceso Portales,

Mercedes Comaposada Mercè Comaposada i Guillén (known in Spanish as Mercedes Comaposada Guillén; 1901–1994) was a Catalonia, Catalan pedagogue, lawyer, and Anarcha-feminism, anarcho-feminist. With Lucía Sánchez Saornil and Amparo Poch y Gascón, she was the c ...

and Conxa Perez. In addition to ''Mujeres Libres'', Sara Berenguer contributed to a large number of titles in the libertarian press and several poetry anthologies. She was also a contributor to the book ''Mujeres libres: luchadoras libertarias'' (published by FAL, 1999). After winning a number of prizes for her poetry, she died on 18 June 2010.

Selected works

;Books * * * ;Poetry * * ; Anthology *

References

Bibliography

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Berenguer Laosa, Sara 1919 births 2010 deaths 20th-century Spanish women Anarcha-feminists Anarchist writers Confederación Nacional del Trabajo members French Resistance members Mujeres Libres People from Barcelona Spanish socialist feminists Spanish feminists Spanish feminist writers Spanish non-fiction writers Spanish women of the Spanish Civil War (Republican faction) Spanish women poets Spanish women writers Spanish emigrants to France Spanish women trade unionists