Manuela González González

Manuela González González was born on August 9, 1934, in La Cabaña (San Vicente de la Barquera). She was the first grandchild and the eldest of seven sisters and one brother. Affectionately known as "Loli" or "Manolita," she was part of the "Umbrella Maker" family, a nickname inherited from her maternal grandfather, José. When the Spanish Civil War broke out and she was almost three years old, she lived in forced exile aboard her grandfather's fishing boat. Along with many other families from the village, they sailed from the port to France and landed in Arcachon. However, her family was forced to return to Spain. They arrived in Ripoll (Catalonia), where the town council had established a Regional Committee for Aid to Refugees, and remained there for about two years, living in difficult conditions and sharing makeshift spaces on a boat with more than a hundred displaced families from different communities. She remembers the terrifying sounds of airplanes and the sirens wailing in Ripoll. During the Spanish Civil War, Loli's family faced very difficult times. Faced with this situation, and with the mediation of her paternal aunt, Paz, Loli, her mother, and her sister embarked on the long journey of exodus to France, crossing the snowy Pyrenees in February 1939. They found refuge in Oyonnax, a small town in France. They lived there for almost a decade, facing the impact of exile and World War II, amidst political conflicts and demonstrations, such as the guerrilla parade in November 1943. Loli attended primary school, made friends, learned the language, and participated in the Spanish exile community. In 1945, the family was able to return to Spain to reunite with Pedro, her father. Despite his deteriorating health, the dictatorial regime forced him to work for three years as a cook in the Engaña tunnel in Vega de Pas. At eleven years old, Loli faced a difficult transition: life in her homeland, under the dictatorship, was very different from what they had known in France. She had to adapt to customs and a life "with fewer comforts." Initially, they lived with her grandmother Cecilia in La Huerta. Her mother worked in factories, her father was a machine operator, and Loli and her sisters participated in the household chores, as well as farming a small plot of land belonging to the City Council in Villegas, delivering bread to bars, collecting milk in Prellezo, and searching for coal on the railway tracks or firewood on the beach, among other tasks. "Although I was ahead in my studies," she continued her education at the national school and also attended private lessons. At 14, Loli joined the dance section of the Women's Section. And at 16, she attended the Daughters of Christ the King school. In 1955, at 21, she married Manuel González Rodríguez in the chapel of La Virgen de la Barquera. Together, they had two daughters and two sons between 1956 and 1968. Loli says she "has done everything," even working as a laundress for three summer seasons for a Madrid family in San Vicente. From a young age, she learned the net-making trade, but her first job, at just 13 years old, was removing the heads of fish at the García y Liñero canning factory. From 1956, she faced intense periods of work during the bonito fishing season and also at Conservas Ortíz S.A., where she packed in the afternoons. She combined motherhood and domestic responsibilities with her factory work. The family's financial situation improved when Manuel began working in maritime navigation as a merchant seaman specializing in machinery. Her husband retired in 1983 as second engineer officer on the oil tanker Benedict. Since then, they lived a peaceful life, actively participating in the Barquera Choir. They were also involved in the La Folía and Mozucu festival committees. In 1989, she suffered the loss of her husband in an accident. Now, at ninety years old, she feels "happy" and values ​​her "great family." She is the grandmother of seven grandchildren and great-grandmother of four. Legado Cantabria is a production of the PEM Foundation.