On this day, 85 years ago, in the middle of the Civil War, a battle ended on the Esplugues bridge that was the “last attempt at resistance” to the entry of Franco’s troops into Barcelona, ??recalls historian Jordi Amigó, who Together with Francesc Riera, he has carried out research work on that historical episode. And this Friday, 85 years later, this point in the city of Baix Llobregat has become part of the Xarxa de Espais de Memoria de Catalunya, in an event that even had the presence of direct relatives of the fatal victims of that confrontation. .
The intention of the Republicans was to “delay” the entry of the Francoists into the Catalan capital and thus gain time in the evacuation tasks. That resistance lasted approximately one day, leaving 16 fatalities: 15 Republicans, 5 nationals and one civilian. “Once Esplugues was overcome, Barcelona no longer had any hope,” says Amigó. “The winners write history and little was written about this Esplugues episode. The taking of Barcelona was not a walk in the park,” adds Riera.
The Republicans expected the Nationalists to enter Esplugues through the bridge and had everything ready to demolish it. But it was not like that and the Franco army carried out an “enveloping maneuver,” says Riera. The confrontation largely took place with the sides on each side of the same bridge.
Finally, the Esplugues bridge was not demolished. The trilite was collected and left there aside, until a few weeks later when a group of children began to play with that explosive that “looked like nougat.” In the end three minors died.
“Only by understanding the past can we build a better future,” said the mayor of Esplugues, Pilar Díaz, during the tribute ceremony. “At times when the extreme right advances, we have to defend freedom and democracy,” she added. For his part, the deputy responsible for democratic memory of the Barcelona Provincial Council, Jesús Naharro, has assured that “those fighters deserve to be repaired and remembered.”
Before a dramatized reading of the facts, Josep Font, head of the Network of Memory Spaces of Catalonia, congratulated the city council for the initiative and encouraged them to “seed” this type of space in the metropolitan area of ??Barcelona. The City Council is studying how to publish the research of Amigó y Riera, which has served to carry out this inclusion in the memory network.
