Spanish Republican caves discovered
Spanish Republican caves discovered
We do not know the traditional name of this cave located in the south face of the Sierra de los Collaos. It is very small and the entrance is difficult to locate. From the small entrance it is possible to gain access to a secondary tunnel that connects with a small open area (about two meters long and one meters wide) with a flat floor.
This space was adapted by the militiaman to create an adequate space to live and sleep. The remains of hearths can still be seen in the cave, and from the entrance the main road of the Trubia Valley is visible, as well as other traditional paths and roads. At the entrance of the cave there is an inscription on the wall (Figure 6), which reads
La República
La libertad
La cultura
La enseñanza
[The Republic
Freedom
Culture
Education][…]
El Veiru cave is on the north side of the Sierra de los Collaos. […] Various graffiti were recorded in this cave. The first depicts the flag of the Spanish Section of the International Communist Party, showing the militia group’s political affiliation (Figure 7). The interviews revealed that the Communists were only a small group in Villanueva.
The individuals who established the Cooperative were socialists linked with the UGT trade union and the Spanish Socialist Party the PSOE. However the popularity and membership of the Communist Party grew amongst troops on the battle fronts, with membership rising from a pre-war 80,000 to more than 300,000 by October 1937 (Hernández 2010, 356).