Manuel Aranda Espejo
My village, Monte Lope Álvarez, has a local figure the Catholic Church honours as a martyr: Manuel Aranda Espejo. He was born in 1916 and was shot in a nearby olive grove on 8 August 1936, during the religious persecution of the Spanish Civil War.
Manuel Aranda Espejo - A boy from Las Máquinas
Manuel was born on 22 March 1916 in the hamlet of Las Máquinas, which is now Monte Lope Álvarez, in the municipality of Martos. He was the youngest of six children of Francisco Aranda Izquierdo and Dolores Espejo Ortiz.
The name Las Máquinas means "the machines". In the 19th century the settlement became known by that name because two motorised olive mills (almazaras), powered by engines, were installed there.
He was a seminary student when the war began.
8 August 1936
What happened next is told locally, and it has been handed down as the account of some children who were fetching water nearby. In that account, Manuel was asked whether he would blaspheme, yes or no.
"Blaspheme, yes or no?"
"NO, and NO."
"Then we'll kill you."
"Go on, then."
The children heard three shots. The men who had stopped him killed him there in the olive grove. A memorial cross stands on the spot.
Remembered in the village
In 2011, the 75th anniversary of his death, the Asociación Manuel Aranda laid a plaque in his memory.
A stone bust of Manuel stands in the garden of the village church. The inscription reads "Manuel Aranda Espejo, tu vida fue ejemplar y orienta nuestras vidas" – your life was exemplary and guides our lives.
Beatified in 2013
On 13 October 2013 the Church beatified Manuel at Tarragona, together with 521 other martyrs of the Spanish Civil War. The word "martyr" is the Church's own description, based on its finding that he was killed for his faith.
I never met Manuel, of course, but I think about him from time to time.
Sources: Manuel Aranda: No claudicó de sus ideales (Fr Antonio Aranda Calvo, Catholic.net) and the apostolic letter of 13 October 2013.
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More stories from village life are in Life at Casa Adora: Stories from Rural Andalucía.
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