Maria Baldó i Massanet (2 July 1884 - 17 February 1964) was a Spanish pedagogue, feminist, ethnologist, and folklorist. She was involved in the political, social, cultural, and educational fields of

Catalonia Catalonia is an autonomous community of Spain, designated as a ''nationalities and regions of Spain, nationality'' by its Statute of Autonomy of Catalonia of 2006, Statute of Autonomy. Most of its territory (except the Val d'Aran) is situate ...

Biography

She was a daughter of Santiago Baldó i Domènech and Maria Mansanet (or Massanet) i Santacreu. She came to live in

as a child. Trained as a folklorist, at the age of just over twenty, there is already evidence of various activities, such as the evening organized by the (School of Institutions and Other Careers for Women), in which she read her work ''Notas sobre las mujeres del Quixote'' (Notes on the women of the Quixote). From her first marriage with Josep Serra Chartó (died 1911), her son, , was born in 1909. Baldo wrote for several periodicals, such as ''

La Veu de Catalunya ''La Veu de Catalunya'' (Catalonia voice) was a Catalan newspaper founded by Enric Prat de la Riba that was published in Barcelona from 1 January 1899 to 8 January 1937, with two editions daily. It was the press organ for the ideological and p ...

'', ''Una védade'', '' Art jove'', ''Companya'', ''Portantveu del Club Femení i d’esports de Barcelona'', '' La Dona Catalana'', and while in French exile, ''Tramontane''. She stood out among the women who shaped the first Catalan feminist movement at the beginning of the 20th century. In 1910, she taught a course on "Women's culture" at , which she published in book form. On 28 April 1912 she published the article (About female school education) in the women's magazine ''

Feminal ''Feminal'' () was a feminist magazine written in Catalan and published in Barcelona, Spain. It was one of the most important feminist publications in Spain of the early 20th century. History ''Feminal'' was a Catalan language monthly suppleme ...

''. In 1933, she published ''El libro del hogar'' (The home book), which was republished on several occasions. In 1916, she took part in conferences on women's education, also at Ateneu, alongside other speakers such as Carmen Karr, Leonor Serrano, and

Dolors Monserdà Dolors Monserdà i Vidal (née, Dolors Moncerdà i Vidal; also known as, Dolors Monserdà de Macià; Barcelona, 1845 - 1919) was a Catalan writer, poet, storyteller, playwright, essayist, and columnist. She was the sister of the painter Enric Mon ...

. As a teacher, her career was closely linked to the La Farigola de Vallcarca school (currently, Escola La Farigola de Vallcarca). The school was established on 27 March 1922, the first female school of the (School Board of the Barcelona City Council). She herself assumed the direction as headmistress and collaborated closely with to get state teachers to take the places of the other new municipal school groups. Likewise, she was part of the committee that selected the teachers. In those months, she assumed the role of Dean of Teachers in Barcelona. Baldó also acted as a free assistant teacher at the Escola Normal de Barcelona. Baldo spoke at many conferences, also radio broadcasts. The most common themes were literature, children's games, and women's education. She called for the creation of specialized schools for the training of women and for the preparation for motherhood. During the 1930s, she was in charge of the in

alongside . In 1933, she assumed the secretariat of the executive committee of the Social Education Congress. That same year, she became part of the executive committee of the Organizing Committee of the Left Women's Day. She also signed the Manifesto to the women of Catalonia, in July 1934, and, the following year, the intellectual Manifesto in favor of freedom, against fascism, and in favor of the creation of the Action Front for Defense of Culture. She assumed the presidency of the Lyceum Club of Barcelona in 1936, and the vice presidency of the executive committee of the Union of Women of Catalonia. She was part of the Second

New Unified School Council The New Unified School Council (, CENU) was an education institution that was created on 27 July 1936 in Barcelona by Joan Puig i Elias, who was also its first president. The aim was to create a new free, secular and co-educational school, ...

. At the proposal of this body, she chaired the Adaptation Commission of the teaching staff of the Generalitat's technical bodies to the needs of the war. She was also general secretary of La Dona a la Reraguarda, section of the Propaganda Commissariat of the

Generalitat de Catalunya The Generalitat de Catalunya (; ; ), or the Government of Catalonia, is the institutional system by which Catalonia is self-governed as an autonomous community of Spain. It is made up of the Parliament of Catalonia, the President of the Govern ...

. Baldó was a supporter of

Republicanism in Spain Republicanism in Spain is a political position and movement that believes Spain should be a republic. There has existed in Spain a persistent trend of Republicanism, republican thought, especially throughout the 19th, 20th, and 21st centuries, ...

. She was a member of and an activist for the

Republican Left of Catalonia The Republican Left of Catalonia (, ERC; ; generically branded as ) is a pro-Catalan independence, social democratic political party in the Spanish autonomous community of Catalonia, with a presence also in Valencia, the Balearic Islands and t ...

. At the end of the

Civil War A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies.J ...

, in 1939, Baldó went into exile in Toulouse, France, with her second husband, Lluís Torres Ullastres. In the old quarter, with other intellectuals and republican exiles such as , ,

Antoni Rovira i Virgili Antoni Rovira i Virgili () (26 November 1882 – 5 December 1949) was a Spanish politician and journalist who was president of Catalonia's Parliament in exile after the Spanish Civil War. His term of office lasted from 1940 to 1949. In his honour ...

, and

Pompeu Fabra Pompeu Fabra i Poch (; Gràcia, Barcelona, 20 February 1868 – Prada de Conflent, 25 December 1948) was a Catalan engineer and grammarian. He was the main author of the normative reform of contemporary Catalan language, and is the namesa ...

, they quickly organized to continue the intellectual training of their children. Baldó, with the collaboration of her husband, directed the residence of exiled intellectuals in Toulouse, which depended directly on the

Fundació Ramon Llull The Fundació Ramon Llull (, English: "Ramon Llull Foundation"), also known by the acronym FRL, is an international organization constituted in 2008 in order to promote the Catalan language and culture internationally. It was established by the g ...

, although its management was highly questioned by various exiles such as the same Rovira i Virgili, , and .

Death and legacy

Maria Baldó died in Toulouse, France, 1964. In the vicinity of La Farigola school, there are gardens that bear her name. Established in 1906, the Jardins de Maria Baldó occupy part of the gardens of the old Camils convent and have an area of nearly .

Selected works

* ''El libro del hogar'', 1933

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Baldo i Massanet, Maria 1884 births 1964 deaths People from Hellín 20th-century Spanish educators Spanish feminists Spanish folklorists Spanish ethnologists Spanish women folklorists Exiles of the Spanish Civil War in France 20th-century Spanish women educators 20th-century Spanish women writers 20th-century Spanish writers