Archive of the Spanish Falange in Cuba

We are in front of the only documentary file that is conserved to date of the Spanish Falange in Cuba. There is only knowledge of a file in the National Archive of Cuba in which just the inscription and settlement of the Falange is recorded, on July 9, 1936 in the Negociado de Asociaciones del Gobierno Provincial de La Habana (Office of Associations of the Provincial Government of Havana).

The phenomenon of Spanish associationism, especially that which refers to the study of Latin American support for Franco’s side during the Spanish Civil War, is currently one of the least explored lines of research on both sides of the Atlantic. Therefore, this archive, unknown until now, is a valuable source of information to dive into the Latin American right-wing movements at the dawn of World War II.

1. Founding statutes and minutes.

Contents:

-Typewritten manuscript of José Antonio Avendaño, appointed President of the Spanish Falange, branch of the Republic of Cuba with the regulations and primer by which said branch will be governed. Undated. Composed of 9 folios.
-Actas nº 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 9, 10, 11 and 12 of the Falange Española de las J.O.N.S. Filial en la República de Cuba. These minutes shed light on the day to day life of this association from its first minute dated July 5, 1936, where it is reported that the Falange has been admitted as an association after its application was approved by the governor up to minute number 12 dated February 28, 1937.

In them we find the resolutions agreed by the board to attract more members, strategies to encourage new members, collection proposals, agreements to send remittances from Cuba to Spain to support Franco and the determinations reached to expel from the Falange Jorge Vera Garijo, Francisco Álvarez García, Fernando Teijeiro González and Francisco de la Vega González for having maliciously formed a split within the Spanish Falange in Cuba. Composed of 34 typewritten handwritten pages that include the original minutes and copies of the same.

2. Expulsion file of Jorge Vera Garijo, Francisco Álvarez García, Fernando Teijeiro González and Francisco de la Vega González.

Contents:

Consisting of 21 typewritten handwritten folios with the entire file of expulsion of the aforementioned members. Apparently, Jorge Vera Garijo joined the Cuban Falange on August 10, 1936 and three days later proposed himself as secretary to the board. After his application was rejected, he made a big fuss before the junta. After these events, the junta investigated Jorge Vera Garijo and discovered that his past was full of lies since he claimed to have been Captain of the Spanish Army without any record of such appointment. In addition, it seems that Jorge Vera ended up in Cuba fleeing from Mexico where he stole a large sum of money from a Mexican association of which he was a member.

There were several members who followed Jorge Vera in the creation of a new Spanish Falange in Cuba since we find in this section the reports that motivate the expulsion of his followers for this betrayal as well as the actions taken by the “original” Falange to warn both the media and the Central Council of Burgos of the Falange waiting for instructions and requesting that they adopt measures before this attempt of usurpation. The fear that this scandal would be reported in the press is noted, given the recent creation of this association.

In addition, we found letters sent to the Central Council of the Spanish Falange informing of their actions, progress and new developments. The files sent to the Central Council in Burgos with original and facsimile documentation used by the usurpers as evidence of their bad faith are preserved.

3. Fundraising files.

Contents:

-Typewritten manuscript and handwritten notes of the Comisión Recaudadora de Fondos para el Gobierno Nacionalista de Burgos (Fundraising Commission for the Nationalist Government of Burgos). List of donors.

-Typewritten manuscript with the list of the houses to which books can be sent on consignment for sale on behalf of the Spanish Nationalist Committee.

-Summary of the collection of the Spanish Nationalist Committee in the Republic of Cuba until March 13, 1937. Relation of diverse Cuban localities and the money obtained in each one of them. Exhaustive list of the remittances sent to Francisco Franco from Cuba through the intermediation of the Marquesa de Argüelles and other intermediaries.
It also contains notes of the donations collected not only by individuals but also by companies such as Casa Partagás, which donated boxes of tobacco to the cause. Composed of 14 pages.

4. Several

Contents:

-Several printed registration forms for the Spanish Falange in Cuba.

-Typewritten manuscript with the oath to which new members had to submit.

-Two handwritten typewritten letters of varied content.
Composed of 9 pages.