There's a cemetery just outside Salobreña that I drive past all the time. It looks peaceful enough. Whitewashed walls, flowers, rows of graves and you can see the castle and the Mediterranean down in front of you.
But beneath that ground may be the remains of people who have been waiting nearly ninety years to be found.
In this episode of Spanish Practices, I explore the forgotten history of the Spanish Civil War in Salobreña, and the archaeological search now taking place for Civil War and post-Civil War graves in the town.
I tell the story of two Salobreña brothers, José and Juan Esparrell Alaminos, who were taken from their home in February 1937 and murdered during the terrible aftermath of the fall of Málaga.
Their story takes us back to La Desbandá — the desperate flight of tens of thousands of civilians from Málaga towards Almería. Families fleeing along the coast were attacked from the sea and air, including by German and Italian aircraft supporting Franco's forces. Many died along the way, including people who tried to cross the swollen Guadalfeo here in Salobreña.
Some of those who died may have eventually been buried in the cemetery.
Nearly ninety years later, archaeologists are returning to the ground in an attempt to locate the graves, recover remains and, where possible, give names back to people who have been forgotten for generations.
As Spain approaches Todos los Santos, when families traditionally visit cemeteries and remember those they have lost, I look at what happens when someone has no grave to visit.
Because eventually, the history of the Spanish Civil War stops being about generals, politics and armies.
It becomes about someone's father, brother. grandfather.
Spanish Practices — Real Life, Real Spain.
