2023-12-07 05:19:56
At the beginning of July 1936, a 15-year-old girl from Madrid went on vacation with her family and her best friend to the Avila town of Pedro Bernardo, in the Sierra de Gredos. There she spent every summer swimming, playing, walking in the mountains and enjoying the fresh air. However, one morning when she was quietly reading in the garden of the inn where they were staying, the sight of two mules arriving at the gate interrupted her.
When he saw them, he came over to give them water and take them to the shade. «But my breath was taken away, horrified, when I saw the corpses of two men crossed on their backs, with their legs and arms hanging on either side. Where the mules had stopped, the dusty road below was quickly stained scarlet by dripping blood. Tied to each man’s back was a sign with the words ‘Traitor to Spain’ crudely written,” recalls Conchita Baucells de los Reyes (Barcelona, 1921-California, 1991) in the memoirs published by Editorial Renacimiento: ‘Isa Reyes: Miss Spain in exile’revised and annotated by his son Dorian L. (Dusty) Nicol.
That traumatic awakening to the Civil War, which had begun a few days before, is the beginning of the fascinating autobiography of this upper-middle-class girl from Madrid, daughter of the republican lawyer Ricardo Balcells, who became, after fleeing Spain, a a flamenco star from that Europe that was heading towards the Second World War. Artistically renamed Isa Reyes, the dancer how she was chosen ‘Miss Spain in Exile’, in a contest organized by ‘Le Monde’; how she came second in the Miss Europe contest held in Denmark, how she was courted by the famous Count Ciano, Mussolini’s son-in-law and foreign minister of fascist Italy, and how she was even forced to dance on her 50th birthday. of Hitler.
«The news shocked me and I announced that, under no circumstances, would I agree to perform to celebrate that monster’s birthday. It had been bad enough performing for Mussolini in Venice! “This would be horribly worse!” said the artist. In the end she reluctantly accepted and had to dance at that party organized by Minister Joseph Goebbels at the Tiergarten theater in Berlin. «The mere sight of the SS and Gestapo officers was enough to paralyze me with terror. Suddenly, a tremendous roar erupted from the audience and the crowd that filled the immense hall stood up as one, with their right arm extended, to greet their Führer with the Nazi salute as he entered the box.
The growing tension
Reyes’s actions – who falls into some historical errors when he contextualizes his memories – multiplied during the previous years on that path towards the most devastating conflict in history. He became, therefore, an exceptional witness to the growing tension in Europe, while he spread flamenco throughout the continent. From a Parisian club frequented by the Duke and Duchess of Windsor he went to the French Riviera, passing through Italy, Greece, Poland and Nazi Germany.
Author: Isa Reyes Publisher: Renasci Year: 2023 Pages: 320 Price: 22.71 euros
The journey closes with the aforementioned performance for the dictator, one of the most unusual chapters of his work: «The scene stayed with me like a nightmare: the vision of those fanatical human beings hailing their leader. What a strange and terrifying sight! When we appeared, we were greeted with applause and, as the applause continued, my gaze was briefly diverted to the box. I stared at Hitler for a second before looking away. There he was, the most feared man in the world, enjoying himself.
In the words of British historian Paul Preston, author of the book’s prologue: “Conchita Baucells’ memoirs constitute an important, if unusual, contribution to the history of the exile of the Spanish republicans. It is difficult to imagine a greater kaleidoscope of experiences than yours.
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