The political and personal archive of Marian Font i Orobitg, a Catalan Republican exiled in Mexico, has been donated to the Arxiu Nacional de Catalunya in Sant Cugat del Vallès. Font, an Esquerra Republicana de Catalunya (ERC) militant and commissar for the Macià-Companys Column during the Spanish Civil War, died in Mexico in 1977. His granddaughter, Diana López Font, travelled from Mexico to deliver the collection of around a thousand documents this week.
López Font carried the documents in a single suitcase, which exceeded cabin baggage limits, but airport staff allowed it after hearing the story. "I cannot lose this," she told them. She explained her decision to donate the archive, saying, "I do not know how to get rid of all this, but it must be this way; everyone should have access." The collection includes letters, military cards, reports, studies, postcards, poems, and photographs, offering a detailed look at the political, economic, cultural, and migratory situation of the time.
Among the documents are numerous notes and reports signed by Josep Tarradellas, some marked "confidential." One text from the post-war period in Barcelona claims that 37% of the population was born outside Catalonia. Another is a 1961 letter from Eugene Black of the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development to Mariano Navarro, Franco's Minister of Finance, analysing Francoist economic policy. In a letter to journalist Màrius Calvet, Tarradellas expressed his frustrations over criticisms he received for warning about the political reality within Catalonia during his trips to Mexico.
Preserving a Family's Legacy
Marian Font, known as Mariano in official documents, died of a heart attack on 27 November 1977. His wife, Isabel Fernández Bernús, born in Palamós in 1909, preserved all his papers. After her death in 2002, the collection passed to their daughter Montserrat, and then to Diana López Font upon Montserrat's death. López Font, who had studied design in Barcelona, discovered an exhibition about a Mexican exile at the Memorial Democràtic a few years ago. She realised the similarities with her grandfather's story and contacted the Arxiu Nacional, which requested the material after a remote assessment.
"His life is part of a puzzle; his life shows things but not the complete puzzle," López Font stated. "Small stories make up the big story, and I want it to be known." She believes her grandfather's death, shortly after the reinstatement of the monarchy under Francoism, was linked to his strong republican convictions. "He was very republican, and suddenly democracy was returning, but also the monarchy, and he could not bear that price."
Font went into exile in 1939 from the Barcarès concentration camp in southern France. His wife and young daughter Isabel remained in Barcelona during the war, fearing he might be moved to another camp and lost. After being rejected by the United Kingdom and the Netherlands, the family eventually secured permission to go to Lázaro Cárdenas' Mexico. They reunited at the French dock before their departure, with all their possessions in two suitcases.
Life in Mexican Exile
Mexico imposed three conditions for their entry: having a profession, not settling in Mexico City, and staying out of politics. Marian Font, an accountant, presented himself as a carpenter. They settled on the outskirts of Mexico City, enduring severe hardship before establishing themselves and buying a two-storey house. Font started a glass and furniture business with another Catalan in the ground floor. López Font described it as "ruinous" because her grandfather was "an architect and half an artist."
Despite the condition to avoid politics, Font was already deeply involved. Before his exile, he was a grassroots ERC militant and commissar of the Macià-Companys Column, which integrated ERC members on the southern Aragon front. Josep Vall, executive president of the Fundació Irla, an ERC think tank, noted Font's important role in exile. "His profession as an accountant made him the treasurer of Esquerra in Mexico," Vall explained. "He was methodical, which is why he kept so many papers, reports, and letters from Josep Tarradellas."
Font's Republican Service
Less is known about Font's role in the Republic and the Civil War. A curriculum he submitted to a Masonic lodge in Mexico, included in the archive, states that in April 1931, he participated in the municipal elections that led to the proclamation of the Republic on 14 April. He also helped seize the Post and Telegraphs building in Barcelona with friends. According to this document, Font trained as a commercial expert and started working for the Telefónica company in 1926.
In February 1930, he joined a company manufacturing furniture for hospitals, clinics, and hairdressers. A year later, he left voluntarily to join the "bureaucratic staff of the body created in Catalonia due to the proclamation of the Republic." He worked in the Presidency, Parliament, and Labour and Social Welfare departments. In 1933, he secured a position as municipal secretary in Cornellà, serving until 6 October 1934, when he was removed due to the October events.
After the events of 19 July 1936, Font worked on organising the Macià-Companys volunteer column, which fought fascism on the Aragon fronts. He served as War Commissar, and when the force was militarised, he was appointed Captain of Quartermaster for the 131st Mixed Brigade. Later, he became secretary of the Quartermaster Headquarters of the XI Army Corps, participating in battles including Sierra de Alcubierre, Vivel del Río, Belchite, and the Ebro. During this period, he also taught accounting and field paymaster duties at an officer training school in Pons.
Historian Gonzalo Berger, a specialist in the Civil War and anti-Francoist militias, confirmed that the Macià-Companys column deployed in Vivel del Río Martín, Teruel, from September 1936. They faced severe attacks in February 1937 and had to retreat to Martín del Río. In March 1938, the Francoist army broke through that front. Republican units were ordered to resist, but their commanders were captured and executed there. Berger noted that a mass grave in the area, identified by ground-penetrating radar, may contain around thirty bodies and will be excavated next summer. Font had already left the area, but these thirty executed individuals were likely his comrades. "All this suffering is that of many. It is the story of many."
Future Research and Accessibility
The donation of Marian Font's archive to the Arxiu Nacional de Catalunya ensures public access to these important historical documents. Researchers and the public will now be able to study his experiences and contributions, adding depth to the understanding of the Republican exile and the broader history of Catalonia during the 20th century. The archive is expected to be catalogued and made available for consultation in the coming months, offering new avenues for academic study and public engagement with this period of history.
