Manuel Cortés Quero

Manuel Cortés Quero (1906-1991), known as "The Mole of Mijas", was a Spanish politician and the last Republican mayor of Mijas (Málaga) between 3 March and 23 November 1936.

Manuel Cortés Quero
Mayor of Mijas
In office
3 March 1936 – 23 November 1936
Personal details
Born1906
Died1991
Political partySpanish Socialist Workers' Party
OccupationPolitician

Biography

With the outbreak of the Spanish Civil War, he fled the municipality, to which he returned incognito on the night of 17 November 1939, beginning a long confinement in his own home that would last 30 years.

When on 28 March 1969 he heard on his radio the news that the Government had decreed the statute of limitations for crimes committed until 1 April 1939, he decided to leave his confinement. The then mayor of Mijas, Miguel González Berral, accompanied him to the Civil Guard Headquarters in Málaga, where the lieutenant colonel in command said: "You are free".[1]

He was a founder of the local PSOE and presided over it until his death in 1991.[1]

Tributes

His life was reflected in the works of Manu Leguineche and Jesús Torbado ("Los topos", 1977) and Ronald Fraser ("Escondido", "In hiding: the life of Manuel Cortés", 1972).[1]

In the Mijas House Museum a recreation of what was his house and hideout for 30 years can be visited.[2][1]

In 2012, the animated documentary, 30 years of darkness by Manuel H. Martín, was released, telling the story of the "moles", among them Manuel Cortés.[3]

In 2015, the PSOE of Mijas inaugurated a headquarters in his honor, 'La Casa del Pueblo de Mijas Pueblo: Manuel Cortes, the mole of Mijas', which is located in the central street Carril of the village environment. The inauguration, held on 7 March, was attended by hundreds of neighbors to remember his figure together with his granddaughter, María Peña.

His life served as inspiration for the directors of the 2019 film The Endless Trench.[4]

References
  1. "Las cuatro paredes de la memoria". Málaga Hoy (in European Spanish). 2019-11-03. Retrieved 2022-11-19.
  2. "Manuel Cortés Quero, el alcalde republicano que vivió treinta años en la oscuridad". La Vanguardia (in Spanish). 2019-04-11. Retrieved 2022-11-19.
  3. "'30 años de oscuridad', la historia de un encierro que duró demasiado". Público. Retrieved 15 January 2020.
  4. Miró, Francesc (25 September 2019). "'La trinchera infinita', la historia de los 'topos' republicanos que vivieron décadas escondidos para escapar del franquismo". eldiario.es (in Spanish). Retrieved 15 January 2020.
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