Hilda Farfante Gayo (1931 – 13 May 2026) was a Spanish schoolteacher and activist for the recovery of historical memory.[1]
Hilda Farfante Gayo | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1931 Besullo, Spain |
| Died | (aged 95) |
| Occupations | Schoolteacher, historical memory activist |
| Known for | Campaigning for the recovery of victims of Francoist repression |
| Parent(s) | Ceferino Farfante (father) Balbina Gayo (mother) |
Life and career
editHilda Farfante Gayo was born in Besullo, a parish in Cangas del Narcea.[2] She was the daughter of Balbina Gayo, a teacher and headmistress of the Cangas del Narcea school, and Ceferino Farfante, a teacher and member of the Misiones Pedagógicas (Pedagogical Missions) that brought culture to rural areas. Both parents, who were sympathetic to the Republican cause, were assassinated on 8 September 1936 by a column of Requetés from Galicia supporting the Nationalist faction.[3][4] Her mother was buried in a roadside ditch, and her father, who was captured while attempting to aid his wife, was thrown off a cliff at the end of the day.[5]
Fearing the killers' threats to wipe out the entire family, her grandfather and uncle fled into the mountains of Ponticiella with five-year-old Hilda and her two sisters, aged seven and four. The sisters were later separated, and Hilda went to live in Boal with her aunt Guillermina, who was also a schoolteacher.[4] By the age of nine, Hilda was already assisting her aunt in her classes. She later studied pedagogy, becoming a teacher and school headmistress in her own right.[5]
During the Francoist dictatorship, Farfante lived in constant fear of reprisals. Following the transition to democracy, she dedicated herself to the recovery of historical memory and searching for her parents' remains.[3][5] In 1984, funded entirely by her family, an excavation attempt was conducted in the Vega del Rey area where her parents were believed to be located, though it was unsuccessful.[6]
In 2020, during the drafting of the Law on Democratic Memory, Farfante sent a letter to the Prime Minister of Spain, Pedro Sánchez, outlining specific proposals for locating individuals missing from the Spanish Civil War and the Franco regime. She included a personal appeal with indications of the areas where she suspected her parents were buried.[3] Following the passage of the updated legislation, the Government of the Principado de Asturias carried out an official search, though the bodies of Balbina and Ceferino were not recovered.[6]
Awards and recognition
editIn 2013, director Pilar López Solano featured Farfante's testimony in the documentary Las maestras de la República (The Teachers of the Republic), which won the Goya Award for Best Documentary Film.[2]
In 2017, the Asociación 13 Rosas de Asturias presented Farfante with its annual award for her contributions to historical memory preservation.[8] That same year, she was honored with the Rafael del Riego Award for Liberties, a prize sponsored jointly by the municipalities of Tineo in Asturias and Las Cabezas de San Juan in Seville.[9]
References
edit- 1 2 Junquera, Natalia (13 May 2026). "Muere Hilda Farfante, la voz del grito que se convirtió en el himno de los desaparecidos del franquismo" [Hilda Farfante dies, the voice of the cry that became the anthem of the disappeared of Francoism]. El País (in Spanish). Retrieved 13 May 2026.
- 1 2 "Hilda Farfante: «La Transición nos traicionó, hizo una canallada con nuestros muertos»" [Hilda Farfante: "The Transition betrayed us, it did a dirty trick to our dead"]. Actualidad (in Spanish). Retrieved 14 December 2024.
- 1 2 3 Junquera, Natalia (29 June 2020). ""Urgente. La voz se me está apagando y no quiero dejar an mis padres en una cuneta"" ["Urgent. My voice is fading and I don't want to leave my parents in a ditch"]. El País (in Spanish). Retrieved 14 December 2024.
- 1 2 Laso, David (10 July 2023). "Cuando el grito rompe el silencio: la lucha de Hilda Farfante por encontrar los restos de sus padres" [When the cry breaks the silence: Hilda Farfante's fight to find the remains of her parents]. Cadena SER (in Spanish). Retrieved 14 December 2024.
- 1 2 3 "Hilda Farfante: «La Transición nos traicionó, hizo una canallada con nuestros muertos»". Actualidad (in Spanish). Retrieved 14 December 2024.
- 1 2 ""Tengo 91 años y me voy a ir sin hallar a mis padres represaliados"" ["I am 91 years old and I am going to pass away without finding my repressed parents"]. La Voz de Galicia (in Spanish). 13 November 2022. Retrieved 14 December 2024.
- ↑ "Muere Hilda Farfante, la voz asturiana que luchó por la memoria histórica y no encontró a sus padres" [Hilda Farfante dies, the Asturian voice who fought for historical memory and never found her parents]. elDiario.es (in Spanish). El Diario de Asturias. 13 May 2026. Retrieved 13 May 2026.
- ↑ "Hilda Farfante, premio de la Asociación 13 Rosas" [Hilda Farfante, award from the 13 Rosas Association]. www.rtpa.es (in Spanish). Retrieved 14 December 2024.
- ↑ "Hilda Farfante Gayo, Premio a las Libertades "Rafael del Riego" 2017" [Hilda Farfante Gayo, Rafael del Riego Award for Liberties 2017]. La Vanguardia (in Spanish). 15 November 2017. Retrieved 14 December 2024.