Oviedo

Pew pew!

One odd case is that of Oviedo, capital of Asturias, the location of key government arsenals as well as the center of the 1934 anarchist uprising and a bastion of revolutionary activity.

The town's garrison commander, Colonel Antonio Aranda Mata, was considered by the nationalist conspirators as a Freemason and Republican.

Freemason can also be...

Satisfied, 4,000 militants departed to spread the revolution.

Taking advantage of access to relatively vast munitions, Aranda then secured the town and surrounding strategic positions with his force, Falangus and allied civil guard and assault guard forces, and held out against a brutal siege until being relieved by a relief column from Galicia.

Republican forces cut off power and water while shelling and bombing the city, relentlessly causing civilian casualties far beyond those seen at Guernica, yet there has never been a global propaganda campaign about Oviedo.

And there's never been a global propaganda campaign because it was a heroic stand by right-wing forces against brutal communists and anarchists.

I also worked as a stonecutter for a time.

What was your first destination when you joined the Corps? I begun in Oviedo, the capital of Asturias.

I served from November of 1934 up to April of 1935, which would have been a rather busy first tour, given what was going on up there.

Then I was sent to Madrid.

Y en esa ocasión vinimos dos personas, porque había otra chica que había estudiado-- intentado estudiar Medicina varios años y era imposible, que también era intérprete de la ONU, que quería estudiar y bueno, había posibilidad.

Así que bueno, estas personas se ponen en contacto con la Universidad de Oviedo.

En fin, acabamos en Asturias, digo a título personal de nombre de Juan Carlos Herrero, porque nos hace pues un seguro, nos hace un lugar en su casa, nos acoge y dice: "Bueno, si os ga-- si os sacáis la selectividad y sois capaces de sacar una beca con una condición de que luego mantengáis una buena nota media, vais a poder seguir estudiando en España".

Y así fue.

O sea, yo me preparé la selectividad durante un par de meses mientras trabajaba con los apuntes de una persona que había terminado COU en Oviedo, que no tenía ni idea, era primo de alguien.

[risa] Y, y nos presentamos por la UNED, eh, y, y así empezó un nueva-- una nueva vida aquí.

Qué bonito, como de historias en campo de refugiados puede surtir-- salir una historia tan bonita.

Cuéntanos un poquito el proceso.

Um, and up in the Basque country, there was a great deal.

And then Asturias, there was a lot because of the mines up there and the, and the iron works in Oviedo and Gijon.

Um, yeah, it's, it's one of these things where you see that you see the patterns that show up elsewhere.

Um, and it's, it's just so tough because it's kind of, they had to go through it themselves.

When they were first...

Paul Mauser developed this rifle, and he actually got a Spanish Military Medal of Merit award for developing this weapon because the Spanish felt that it was such a next-generation piece of equipment for their military.

Yeah, so they were actually manufactured... um, in Oviedo, um, up in Asturias, um, for decades.

And that was like the main arsenal that was producing these, these rifles.

I also worked as a stonecutter for a time.

What was your first destination when you joined the Corps? I begun in Oviedo, the capital of Asturias.

I served from November of 1934 up to April of 1935, which would have been a rather busy first tour, given what was going on up there.

Then I was sent to Madrid.

Pew pew!

One odd case is that of Oviedo, capital of Asturias, the location of key government arsenals as well as the center of the 1934 anarchist uprising and a bastion of revolutionary activity.

The town's garrison commander, Colonel Antonio Aranda Mata, was considered by the nationalist conspirators as a Freemason and Republican.

Freemason can also be...

received Spain's most distinguished sporting honor on Friday the 23rd.

The Argentine captain accepted the Princess of Asturias Award for Sports from Princess Leonor in Oviedo, Spain, recognized by the jury for his record-breaking football career and his global charitable initiatives supporting health care and educational access for disadvantaged children.

And that's it for this week.

Thank you for joining us.