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The Cordellats
Long-established performers became part of the SHC executive committee. For example, Cuban American María Cordellat and her husband, Valencian baritone Vicente Cordellat (1893 - 1956), regularly performed on the SHC stage along with Reid: María played the piano, and Vicente sang. The Cordellats significantly contributed to raising funds and helped pay the rent for the SHC and its periodical España Libre headquarters.
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Beyond fundraising, María Cordellat excelled in her role as the SHC secretary. The SHC received numerous petitions for help from refugees because of the transnational reach of España Libre (1939-1977 New York) and its clandestine infiltration in Spain. To aid refugees, Cordellat leaned on several SHC networks. She (1) contacted Immigration Detention Centers and the Department of Justice to inquire about Spanish refugees, (2) visited detainees, (3) found ways for the ships’ insurance to pay for the fares of transshipping to visa-granting countries for arriving stowaways, (4) sought additional funds by asking other aid organizations, (4) informed lawyers and assisted with the paperwork, (5) corresponded with North American Government officials, (6) and provided much-needed answers to relatives seeking information about their family members.
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She visited Ellis Island twice a week. She was known there as the “Spanish Mother” (“María está enferma”11 Nov. 1949). For more details on her activism, see Feu, Fighting Fascist Spain (2020), 91-94.
Aurelio Pego "A Heroine and the Ungrateful."
Translated and Read by Tristan Velazquez
Juan Eugenio Mingorance Navas
Mingorance had a studio in Greenwich Village in the 1940s before settling in Monterrey as a renowned visual arts teacher a decade later. He exhibited his work in New York and Los Angeles, as well as in Ireland, England, and several Latin American countries. A militant during the war, he fought alongside another member of the Confederate Confederations, Luis Zugadi Garmendia, who traveled from the United States to defend the Republic and died in combat. The SHC helped Mingorance return to New York, where he served as a member of the organization representing Spanish Republican Action. Despite moving to Mexico, Mingorance's illustrations continued to appear in España Libre, as did his regular donations to support the SHC.
