Amada Garcia

Amada Garcia Rodrigues (Mugardos, 1911 - Ferrol, 1938). Galician communist activist in the galician village of Mugardos, arrested when she was pregnant, she was shoted after she had a child, at St Philip's Castle, with other seven persons, by franquist military elements who took part in the coup against republican legality.

Woman, young and communist activist

Amada Garcia was a Communist Party young activist in Mugardos, near Ferrol, in Galiza. Enrolled in politics, she took part in political meetings and in other activities ordinarily not carried out by women, and this caused a shocking effect in the most reactionary groups in the village in the 20th century 30's.

Coup d'etat and repression

In 1936, under Franco's leadership, falangists and military fascists access to power in Galiza (not yet in all Spain) by means of a coup and they impose a heavy repression, especially hard in Ferrol region. Several hundred people are died and missing here with no trial or with a sham trial done to punish political activities.

Arrest and death of Amada Garcia

Amada was arrrested when she was pregnant. Thereby, the court-martial and subsequent execution was delayed until after birth. Waiting for this moment, she was imprisoned in Women's Prison in Ferrol. After that, she was taken to St Phillip's Castle, military prison in Ferrol bay shore. There she was shoted, two days after she gave birth, by a firing squad in January 1938, with other seven persons, at a castle wall: Juan José Teixeiro Leira, José Maria Montero Martínez, Ángel Roldos Gelpi e Antonio Eitor Caniça, from Mugardos; Ramón Rodrigues Lopes e Jaime Gonçales Peres, from Ares; and Germán Lopes Garcia, from Cabanas.

The court-martial was covered with irregularities: false testifies signed without knowing, by illiterate witness and death threats and fines to the witness for the defence. Oral sources said that there was a solidarity movement among the prisoners in order to avoid the young activist execution, and even the soldiers had to shoot twice, because they have missed the first one. She was still stood and the officer ordered, very angry, to shoot the woman, who fell fatally wounded.

Amada Garcia in Galician historical memory

Her doughter became a nun, and hes minor son, Gabriel, was initially given to his father, but finally he was brought up by three very catholic aunts. Amada's sister shut up in the Eiris Monastery, and a good mother's friend, Maria José Leira, condemned to death, left Galiza after a commutation. She was condemned for embroidering a communist flag, and his husband, a school-teacher, had been executed a short time before.

Nowadays, Amada's son, Gabriel, visits everey years the wall of the castle wher his mather was executed, and he continues denouncing and spreading what happened to his mather, and the institution's lack of commitment to the victims of fascism in Galiza.

Bibliography on Amada Garcia

:* BARRERA BEITIA, Enrique: "Ferrol, 1931-1952. De la república a la posguerra"'. Edicións Embora, Ferrol, Galiza, 2005.:* VELASCO SOUTO, Carlos: "Represión e alzamento militar en Galiza"'. A Nosa Terra, Vigo, Galiza, 2006.

External links

* [http://www.leergratis.es/ferrol/guerrarepresionFerrol.htm Civil War and repression in Ferrol] . In Galician Language