Icod de los Vinos to Honor Republican Mayor Martyred for Democracy

Many residents of Icod de los Vinos aren't sure what happened in their town during the Spanish Second Republic, the 1936 coup, or the part played by the democratically elected socialist mayor, Marcos Martell García.

Martell stood up for democratic values. When ordered by General Franco's rebel army on July 19th to disband the town council, he refused. This decision led to him suffering greatly for not being on the winning side, as he later recounted in an interview with the now-closed newspaper La Gaceta de Canarias.

Martell resisted the military and died defending the rights granted by the Republic. The cost was immense. After escaping City Hall thanks to a friend's warning, he hid at home with his wife, Efidencia González Febles, for a year before surrendering. He was imprisoned at Fyffes. A military court found him guilty of rebellion and sentenced him to death. However, the day before his scheduled execution, the local parish priest, José Ossuna Batista, intervened. Martell's death sentence was reduced to 30 years in prison. He was then moved to a floating prison in the port of Santa Cruz, then to Gando in Gran Canaria, and finally back to Fyffes.

After his return, people who knew him consistently called for him to be officially recognized as the legitimate mayor of the town.

The last democratically elected Republican mayor before the 1979 municipal elections now has a street named after him. This honour, given in 2020 at the request of the socialist group in City Hall, is the only one he has received to date. Some feel this isn't enough and believe it's time to "honour him as he deserves, and not just him, but all those who supported him," according to José Fernando Díaz Medina, the official chronicler of the City of the Dragon Tree.

"It's painful for those of us who see the documents, the reality, and families seeking to honour those who gave their lives defending democratic values, to see them overlooked," he stated.

Gerardo Rizo, a PSOE councilor, agrees. He points out that various studies, books, and town records confirm that Icod "remained loyal" to the Second Republic. Martell demonstrated this by calling a continuous plenary session and ordering soldiers to stand down, preventing any Icod resident from fighting their neighbours. Supported by many locals, he opposed the coup until soldiers and the Civil Guard from La Orotava arrived and overthrew City Hall, forcing them to surrender. Some managed to escape, but others were arrested, marking the beginning of a period of repression. While mostly men were targeted, case number 361 also includes two women who helped and fed those hiding in the mountains.

These events will be discussed next week during Historical Memory workshops. These workshops aim to examine what happened in Icod de los Vinos during the Second Republic, the coup, and the Civil War.

Taking place from the 19th to the 22nd, the workshops will cover topics such as the prison system in the Canary Islands during the Civil War. They will include musical performances, talks, and reenactments of Marcos Martell's experiences.

The workshops are being organized following a report by the official chronicler in 2011. In that report, he asked City Hall to recognize the town's Republicans who were persecuted during the dictatorship.

In the previous term, the PSOE presented four motions to the plenary session to comply with the Historical Memory Law, which was in effect at the time. These motions also requested, based on the chronicler's report, recognition for former Republican officials and residents who suffered repression, and for the Plenary to approve the removal of Franco's title as Adopted Son.

The latter was achieved, and plaques bearing Francoist symbols were also removed from the entrance to Drago Park, a place some referred to as "the Valley of the Fallen of Icod de los Vinos."

However, a proper tribute remained an unfulfilled promise. Fourteen years later, and coinciding with the 50th anniversary of the dictator's death, Icod de los Vinos will finally acknowledge the struggle of its residents who were persecuted for defending republican values. According to Gerardo Rizo, "they are the great forgotten figures of modern Spanish history."