The government has officially designated nine historical sites as Memorial Places of Democratic Memory from the liberal era. This initiative honors key figures such as Rafael de Riego, Mariana Pineda, José Torrijos, and Baldomero Espartero, along with important locations tied to the Cadiz Cortes and the Constitution of 1812, as well as the Liberal Triennium (1820-1823).
The Ministry of Territorial Policy and Democratic Memory aims to commemorate the liberal values championed by these 19th-century figures, particularly in their battle against absolutism and their defense of the Constitution of Cadiz. This information comes from the ministry led by Ángel Víctor Torres.
Among the nine designated sites are the House Palace of Espartero in Logroño, the birthplace and bust of General Rafael de Riego and the village of Tuña (Asturias), known for its exemplary significance. Other notable locations include the Martyrs of the People Square, the Riego monument, and the Constitution Square with its corresponding sculpture in Las Cabezas de San Juan (Sevilla), the old convent of San Hermenegildo (Sevilla), and the Mariana Pineda monument in Granada. Additionally, the 1812 Constitution monument in Cadiz, the Royal Theater of the Cortes in San Fernando, and two further memorials, the Torrijos Cross and the monument in Málaga also dedicated to this military figure from the War of Independence in 1808, complete the list.
The government emphasizes that these memorial sites reflect the Spanish 19th-century liberal tradition and the defense of the 1812 Constitution. They symbolize the struggle for rights, freedoms, and democracy that emerged with the Cadiz Cortes and the 1812 Constitution.
According to the Democratic Memory Law, these places represent many Spaniards who fought and gave their lives for the establishment of a democratic system in Spain.
The declaration of the House Palace of Espartero, who lived from 1793 to 1879, recognizes him as “the principal liberal figure of the 19th century.” A military figure, regent, and president of the Council of Ministers, he was known as “the peacemaker of Spain” for ending the First Carlist War.
There are two sites dedicated to General Rafael de Riego (1784–1823), including his birthplace and bust in Tuña, as well as the Plaza de los Mártires del Pueblo and the Riego monument in Las Cabezas de San Juan. Riego played a significant role in the military pronouncement of 1820, which reinstated the 1812 Constitution that King Ferdinand VII had abolished, leading to the Liberal Triennium (1820-1823). As president of the Cortes, Riego was executed in 1823 by the French army, known as “the hundred thousand sons of St. Louis,” which aided in the restoration of absolutism.
Another pivotal figure advocating for the return of the 1812 Constitution and contesting Ferdinand VII’s absolutism was José Torrijos (1791–1831). A fighter in the War of Independence, he went into exile after the end of the Liberal Triennium and sought to strategize for the return of democracy and freedom. He was eventually executed on the beach of San Andrés in Málaga.
The government also pays tribute to Mariana Pineda (1804–1831) by designating the monument in Granada as a Memorial Place. She is recognized as a defender of constitutional values, providing refuge to liberal figures escaping the repression of Ferdinand VII. Pineda was eventually captured and executed via garrote.
The Official State Bulletin also outlines two Memorial Places linked to the Cadiz Cortes: the monument to the 1812 Constitution in Cádiz and the Royal Theater of the Cortes in San Fernando, which hosted more than three hundred sessions of the General Cortes in 1811.
Lastly, the historical convent of San Hermenegildo in Seville, which served as the venue for the Cortes in 1823 after the parliamentarians fled Madrid in anticipation of the invasion by the hundred thousand sons of St. Louis, is included among these new memorial sites.
Image and News Source: https://www.infobae.com/espana/agencias/2024/07/22/el-gobierno-declara-nueve-lugares-de-memoria-de-liberalismo-espanol-del-siglo-xix/
