Evaristo Viñuales Larroy (22 June 1913 – 1 April 1939) was an Aragonese teacher and anarchist.

Biography

Evaristo Viñuales Larroy was born into an educated family: his father and aunt, Evaristo and Gregoria Viñuales Escartín, were both teachers at the ''Escuela Normal'' of

Huesca Huesca (; ) is a city in north-eastern Spain, within the Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Aragon. It was the capital of the Kingdom of Aragon between 1096 and 1118. It is also the capital of the Spanish Huesca (province), ...

. After the early death of his father on 15 August 1928, the young Evaristo completed his exams to become a teacher, following the family tradition. His fellow students, including and Miguel Chueca Cuartero, were all educated by the

anarcho-syndicalist Anarcho-syndicalism is an anarchist organisational model that centres trade unions as a vehicle for class conflict. Drawing from the theory of libertarian socialism and the practice of syndicalism, anarcho-syndicalism sees trade unions as both ...

teacher Ramón Acín Aquilué. In 1931, with the proclamation of the

Second Spanish Republic The Spanish Republic (), commonly known as the Second Spanish Republic (), was the form of democratic government in Spain from 1931 to 1939. The Republic was proclaimed on 14 April 1931 after the deposition of Alfonso XIII, King Alfonso XIII. ...

, he joined the National Confederation of Labor (, CNT). He was arrested several times for his syndicalist activities: in February 1932, in April 1933, during the general strike of November 1933, and at the end of 1934, when he was sentenced to two years in prison in

Alcalá de Henares Alcalá de Henares () is a Spanish municipality of the Community of Madrid. Housing is primarily located on the right (north) bank of the Henares River, Henares. , it has a population of 193,751, making it the region's third-most populated Municip ...

. After the 1936 Spanish general election, Viñuales Larroy was paroled and returned to work immediately. Together with his colleagues Eusebi Carbón y Carbón and , he founded the weekly libertarian theory publication ''Más Lejos'' (). Among the magazine's contributors were Josep Peirats Valls, Federica Montseny, Amparo Poch y Gascón, Alexander Schapiro and

Emma Goldman Emma Goldman (June 27, 1869 – May 14, 1940) was a Russian-born Anarchism, anarchist revolutionary, political activist, and writer. She played a pivotal role in the development of anarchist political philosophy in North America and Europ ...

. In December 1936, Viñuales Larroy participated in the Regional Defense Council of Aragon as information and propaganda advisor: in this position he was assisted by and together they founded the ''School of Libertarian Militants of Aragon''. In July 1937, as secretary of the Regional Committee of Anarchist Groups of Aragon, he took part in the peninsular meeting of the Iberian Anarchist Federation. During this period, he collaborated with libertarian newspapers ''Cultura y Acción'', ''Titán'' and ''Nuevo Aragón''. The destruction of collectivization, carried out systematically by the republican troops commanded by Enrique Líster, pushed Viñuales and to join the 127th Mixed Brigade, formerly the Red and Black Column. Appointed captain, he fought in the column until the end of the war. When defeat was evident, with

nationalist Nationalism is an idea or movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the State (polity), state. As a movement, it presupposes the existence and tends to promote the interests of a particular nation,Anthony D. Smith, Smith, A ...

troops advancing and Republican troops in total retreat, Viñuales and Cavero decided that they would not end up at the hands of the fascists. Both committed suicide together on 1 April 1939, shooting themselves while shaking hands. "This is our last protest against fascism," Evaristo said before pulling the trigger. Evaristo Viñuales Larroy's partner, Lorenza Sarsa Hernández, managed to cross the

Pyrenees The Pyrenees are a mountain range straddling the border of France and Spain. They extend nearly from their union with the Cantabrian Mountains to Cap de Creus on the Mediterranean coast, reaching a maximum elevation of at the peak of Aneto. ...

, together with their daughter, Zeïka Sonia (born 22 November 1938). The

Gestapo The (, ), Syllabic abbreviation, abbreviated Gestapo (), was the official secret police of Nazi Germany and in German-occupied Europe. The force was created by Hermann Göring in 1933 by combining the various political police agencies of F ...

captured them but they were released years later through the intervention of Francisco Ponzán Vidal's resistance group.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Larroy, Evaristo Viñuales People from Somontano de Barbastro 1913 births 1939 deaths Anarchists from Aragon Spanish educational theorists 1939 suicides Suicides by firearm in Spain Joint suicides