The children of war. A look at the memory
Learn through this tour the stories of the Spanish children who were received and protected in Mexico.
In 1937 a group of approximately 500 Spanish children arrived in Mexico. They were the children of Republican sympathizers who received asylum granted by then-President Lázaro Cárdenas del Río. The intention was to safeguard them from the dangers of the Civil War in España.
Initially, the children would be in the country for a few months while the internal war conflict passed. However, the situation was not like that. The Republicans succumbed to the attacks of Francisco Franco, who established a dictatorship in Spanish territory. The children were ordered to remain in Mexican territory permanently.
Tres pícaras (1939) by Enrique Díaz, Enrique Delgado y Manuel GarcíaArchivo General de la Nación - México
This event became the immediate antecedent of what was later a great emigration of Spanish citizens fleeing the Franco regime. The migratory phenomenon was accentuated with the outbreak of the Second World War.
Arribo a Veracruz del Mexique (1937) by Enrique Díaz, Enrique Delgado y Manuel GarcíaArchivo General de la Nación - México
The arrival of the infants took place through the Port of Veracruz on June 7, 1937 aboard the steamboat curiously baptized as "Mexique", which crossed the Atlantic Ocean from the town of Bordeaux, France, in a journey that lasted fourteen days.
The "Mexique" was occupied by refugees fleeing the fascist politics that became dominant in Spain. A part of them would be received in Havana, Cuba, and the other part, which traveled in the segment of the third class of the ship, was composed of the children who were destined for Mexican territory.
Los niños y el Presidente (1937) by Enrique Díaz, Enrique Delgado y Manuel GarcíaArchivo General de la Nación - México
In Mexico, on the same day of the arrival of the "Mexique", the President of the Republic Lázaro Cárdenas sent Manuel Azaña, President of the Spanish Republic, a cablegram informing him of the arrival of the infants. The meaning of the message was the recognition of the fraternity that united the two peoples by entrusting Mexico with the care of Spanish children.
Los Niños en el puerto 3 (1937) by Enrique Díaz, Enrique Delgado y Manuel GarcíaArchivo General de la Nación - México
From their arrival at the port, the little refugees were received by a multitude of people, most of whom belonged to some trade union group.
These warm receptions continued at the various stations where the train stopped on its way to Mexico City. The children were presented with palm hats, fruits and sweets, to the sound of melodies full of symbolism, both for the contingent and for the Mexican people.
On the platform of the Colonia station in the Mexican capital, the crowd ran after the wagons. About thirty thousand people gathered to greet the children with confetti and colorful streamers. Se sang the National Anthem of Mexico as the convoy entered to the rhythm of the performance of the War Staff Band.
The children were received by students from the Casa del Niño and the Liberation School with flowers and sweets as a sign of friendship.
Otro lábaro os protege (1937) by Enrique Díaz, Enrique Delgado y Manuel GarcíaArchivo General de la Nación - México
In the escuela "Sons of the Army" number 2, Mrs. Amalia Solórzano de Cárdenas expressed a welcome message from the president and presented them with a Mexican flag as a pledge of hospitality.
That day the little travelers rested, after the affectionate ceremony and the visit of the First Magistrate who talked with them for a few minutes.
The next day the children left for the city of Morelia, where they were again greeted by crowds. There they were hosted in two old houses owned by the clergy, which were adapted as schools, one for girls and one for boys, which were baptized as the "Spain-Mexico Boarding School".
El tumulto de la recepción (1937) by Enrique Díaz, Enrique Delgado y Manuel GarcíaArchivo General de la Nación - México
This boarding school was coordinated by the Ministry of Public Education, headed at that time by Gonzalo Vázquez Vela, who designated a considerable budget for Luis Chávez Orozco and Juan de Dios Bátiz to take charge of the task of cementing one of the most privileged boarding schools in the country at the time.
Bienvenida a nombre de los niños mexicanos (1937) by Enrique Díaz, Enrique Delgado y Manuel GarcíaArchivo General de la Nación - México
The buildings had bedrooms, kitchen, dining room, infirmary, laundry, classrooms and workshops. On June 17, 1937, the official delivery of the custody of the children was made to the Spain-Mexico Industrial School, directed by the then rector Lamberto Moreno, through the Committee of Aid to the Children of the Spanish People.
¡A mis brazos! (1937) by Enrique Díaz, Enrique Delgado y Manuel GarcíaArchivo General de la Nación - México
The adaptation of the so-called "children of Morelia" was long and complex. I need to separate from my family by fleeing my home country and residing as a refugee in another country at an early age. The process ended up weighing as expected.
Grupo 3 (1937) by Enrique Díaz, Enrique Delgado y Manuel GarcíaArchivo General de la Nación - México
Through this graphic story you can see the work of photojournalists Enrique Díaz Reyna and his disciples and partners, 193, as well as Luis Zendejas, who portrayed the emotions of the arrival of the "children of Morelia", as well as the images of children and parents that correspond to refugee families.
Las pequeñas a la mesa (1937) by Enrique Díaz, Enrique Delgado y Manuel GarcíaArchivo General de la Nación - México
This graphic collection known as Enrique Díaz, Delgado y García, perhaps insufficiently known outside of Mexico, contains important graphs of the life of the country from 1900 to 1977. Among them those selected in this virtual exhibition that gives an account in reverse chronological order of the intention to show a discourse where the love of Spanish parents for their children flows, the chronicle of the tearing apart of separation and the relationship of brotherhood between two peoples.
AGN, Archivo Fotográfico Enrique Díaz, Delgado y García, Tema: Llegada a México de los Niños Españoles, 1937, Caja 61-12.
AGN, Archivo Fotográfico Enrique Díaz, Delgado y García, Tema: Refugiados Españoles, 1939, Caja 71-26.
