elrectanguloenlamano: CERRO MURIANO 75TH ANNIVERSARY ( I ): CAPA AND TARO ARRIVED TWO OR THREE DAYS BEFORE SEPTEMBER 5, 1936

Text and Indicated Pictures: José Manuel Serrano Esparza

Throughout the many decades of research on Robert Capa and Gerda Taro´s stay in Cerro Muriano (Córdoba), it was believed that both of them had arrived at such village of the north mountain range of Córdoba during the morning of September 5, 1936, on an offical press car coming from Montoro, where was the Republican headquarters in Andalucia under the command of General Miaja.

But the study we have made of 23 photographs made by Robert Capa, included in The Mexican Suitcase, unknown till now and discovered by the ICP of New York on opening one of the three boxes and in which appear different Republican militiamen sleeping on the floor, has made posssible that elrectanguloenlamano.blogspot.com discovers that Capa and Taro didn´t arrive at Cerro Muriano on September 5, 1936, but two or three days before, living with the militiamen (along with the regular Republican soldiers and some officers loyal to the Republic) in various zones of the Finca of Villa Alicia (located aproximately 1 km in the southeast of the village), Torreárboles Hill, Las malagueñas Hill, Cerro Muriano village, the area of foundries and washeries of the Córdoba Copper Company, the old quarter of the Guardia Civil, the Cerro de la Coja, etc.

They are 23 pictures made by Capa with his chromed Leica III (Model F 1933-1939) and non coated Summar 5 cm f/2 lens to different militiamen who are lying resting on the ground of a zone of the Finca of Villa Alicia, near its main entrance, which - in the same way as the rest of it - is full of oak trees under whose shadow many of them sleep deeply.

Photo: José Manuel Serrano Esparza

The orography of the ground, the clothes used by the militiamen - most of them from Alcoy, Alicante-, attired with CNT overalls and caps, along with the presence of some Andalusian voluntary combatants clad in typical garments and hats from this region of Spain, clearly indicate that they are in Cerro Muriano area, specifically in the aforementioned Finca of Villa Alicia, a key zone to try to avoid any attempt of conquest of the village of Cerro Muriano by the Francoist troops located in Córdoba City (at a distance of 16 km in south direction), because this terrain is in full trajectory of a highly probable integral encircling manoeuver made by the feared coronel Sáenz de Buruaga Moroccan tabors of Regulares, beginning from the north foothill of Las Malagueñas knoll and spreading their action through the Finca of Villa Alicia, adjacent to the north side of Torreárboles Hill, in such a way, that they will attempt to fall on the rearguard of the militiamen defending both hills, while the latter are fighting against other Francoist troops which will be frontally attacking both knolls through their south slope.

Map of the area showing Torreárboles, Finca of Villa Alicia, Las Malagueñas and Cerro Muriano village.

The key photograph for the location has been one in which you can see seven militiamen sleeping on the ground, very close one another. One of them appears lying upwards on the left half of the image, with his 7 x 57 mm Mosquetón Mauser 1916 Model leaned on his left armpit, while his head rests on his hands. Besides, this militiaman wears on his left side a little dark leather bag, under which there´s another clear colour rectangular bag featuring, more elongated and thinner, that features a bit larger size. The legs of this civil fighter are not stretched on the floor, but folded in angle.

Photo: Robert Capa. © ICP New York

In this picture you can see the trunks of two oak trees of the Finca of Villa Alicia. It is the same ground, mostly flat in its extension, and in the left background, can be glimpsed two militiamen and a third one being standing, who seems to be somewhat bent towards the soil, talking to a further militiaman who is lying on it. The Finca of Villa Alicia is full of militiamen - most of them Alcoyanos - , some extremely young (in some of the pictures can be seen different boys being approximately between 14 and 17 years old).

Photo: Robert Capa. © ICP New York

Capa photographs them while they sleep, but we don´t think that these images show moments after any battle or combat.

These militiamen have been in Cerro Muriano area since August 10 1936, because such as was discovered by Francisco Moreno Gómez in mid eighties of the XX Century, they are part of the Alcoy Column (made up by 534 militiamen of the Infantry Regiment Vizcaya nº 12 - with garrison in Alcoy- and 687 anarchist militiamen from Alcoy) which went out of Alcoy (Alicante) on August 7, 1936 and on arriving at Pedro Abad (Córdoba) on August 9, 1936, split into two groups, one of them marching towards Espejo (Córdoba) under the command of lieutenant Roberto García and the other one going to Cerro Muriano (Córdoba), under the command of the second lieutenant Melquíades Valiente and Enrique Vañó Nicomedes as chief of militiamen, with the two columns arriving at their respective Cordoban villages during the third week of August of 1936.

We do believe that these images of militiamen sleeping on the ground, were not taken by Capa on September 5, 1936, but on September 2 or 3, 1936, in the Finca of Villa Alicia (Cerro Muriano), two or three days before the attack of the three Francoist columns under the global command of General Varela on Las Malagueñas Hill (September 5, 1936), Torreárboles Hill (September 5, 1936), and Cerro Muriano village (bombed on September 5, 1936 and whose definitive capture would happen early in the morning of September 6, 1936.

It would reveal that unlike Hans Namuth, Georg Reisner, Franz Borkenau and Clemente Cimorra (who arrived at Cerro Muriano on September 5, 1936), Capa and Gerda Taro had been in this village of the Córdoba north mountain range and its surroundings for some days, which would explian that on knowing already well the zone and having been in contact with both the militiamen and the Republican high commanders since approximately three days before, they made pictures of different places of the area of Cerro Muriano (Las Malagueñas, Finca of Villa Alicia, the zone of Washeries and Foundries of the Córdoba Copper Company, Cerro Muriano village streets, the north exit of the village, the surroundings of the Obejo Train Station and El Vacar following the Córdoba-Almorchón railways track, etc), while Hans Namuth and Georg Reisner (who arrived at Cerro Muriano on September 5, 1936, around 15:30 h in the afternoon), only made photographs in the north exit to Cerro Muriano to frightened refugees escaping from the Francoist air attack on the village.

Map of the area showing Torreárboles, Finca of Villa Alicia, Las Malagueñas, Cerro Muriano village, Obejo Train Station and El Vacar.

This way, the rumours which had spread in Montoro about an impending Republican attack which was being prepared against Córdoba City were utterly false, fruit of the propaganda (something common in both sides), and reality was that the Republican officers being on the advanced command post in the Mansión de Las Malagueñas -a very beautiful little countryside big house on top of the hill bearing the same name- (majors Juan Bernal, Balibrea, Armentia and Aviraneta) together with captain Castañeda (who was in the Finca of Villa Alicia) had known since roughly September 1, 1936 that the Francoist troops were going to attack them soon, trying to free Córdoba City, under the rule of General Varela, from the pressure of a lot of militiamen located in Cerro Muriano area, only 16 km in the north of the city.

Therefore, the Alcoy and Andalusian militiamen sleeping on the ground appearing in these 23 pictures made by Capa, have been in the Finca of Villa Alicia (Cerro Muriano) for approximately two weeks and a half, always taking with them their rifles, canteens, dishes for food, ammunition poaches, blankets for sleeping at night, etc.