Sara Berenguer Laosa (1919–2010) was a Catalan

anarcho-syndicalist Anarcho-syndicalism is an anarchist organisational model that centres trade unions as a vehicle for class conflict. Drawing from the theory of libertarian socialism and the practice of syndicalism, anarcho-syndicalism sees trade unions as both ...

and anarcha-feminist writer, who was active in the Mujeres Libres movement.

Biography

Sara Berenguer was born into a modest working-class family; her father was a

bricklayer A bricklayer, which is related to but different from a mason, is a craftsperson and tradesperson who lays bricks to construct brickwork. The terms also refer to personnel who use blocks to construct blockwork walls and other forms of maso ...

and a libertarian activist. She left school at the age of 12. At thirteen, she began working in a

butcher A butcher is a person who may Animal slaughter, slaughter animals, dress their flesh, sell their meat, or participate within any combination of these three tasks. They may prepare standard cuts of meat and poultry for sale in retail or wholesale ...

's shop, but revolted by the exploitation and

machismo Machismo (; ; ; ) is the sense of being " manly" and self-reliant, a concept associated with "a strong sense of masculine pride: an exaggerated masculinity". Machismo is a term originating in the early 1940s and 1950s and its use more wi ...

, she quit several jobs. She became a

dressmaker A dressmaker, also known as a seamstress, is a person who makes clothing for women, such as dresses, blouses, and evening gowns. Dressmakers were historically known as mantua-makers, and are also known as a modiste or fabrician. Notable dr ...

and then worked in a workshop, before becoming

self-employed Self-employment is the state of working for oneself rather than an employer. Tax authorities will generally view a person as self-employed if the person chooses to be recognised as such or if the person is generating income for which a tax return ...

until July 1936.

Civil War

Berenguer was 17 when the

Spanish Revolution of 1936 The Spanish Revolution was a social revolution that began at the outbreak of the Spanish Civil War in 1936, following the Spanish coup of July 1936, attempted coup to overthrow the Second Spanish Republic and arming of the worker movements an ...

broke out. Her father left to fight at the front and died there. She took part in the Revolutionary Committee of the Les Corts district until June 1937, and in the Revolutionary Committee of the timber union alongside Antonio Santamaria, for whom she worked as a mechanic and accountant. One day, she was placed in charge of arms distribution. At the same time, she held positions of responsibility on the local committee of the Libertarian Youth (FIJL) and in the secretariat of the libertarian atheneum, where she was a teacher of street children. She met Sol Ferrer, the daughter of

Francesc Ferrer Francesc Ferrer i Guàrdia (; January 14, 1859 – October 13, 1909), widely known as Francisco Ferrer (), was a Spanish radical freethinker, anarchist, and educationist behind a network of secular, private, libertarian schools in and around ...

, with whom she learned

French French may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France ** French people, a nation and ethnic group ** French cuisine, cooking traditions and practices Arts and media * The French (band), ...

. During the

May Days The May Days (, ), sometimes also called May Events (, ), were a series of clashes between 3 and 8 May 1937 during which factions on the Republican faction (Spanish Civil War), Republican side of the Spanish Civil War engaged one another in str ...

of 1937 in

Barcelona Barcelona ( ; ; ) is a city on the northeastern coast of Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second-most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within c ...

, she took part in the armed confrontations against the Stalinists, defending the Casal (the house of working-class women) run by the libertarian activist Amparo Poch y Gascón. In the spring of 1938, she was appointed to the National Committee of Solidaridad Internacional Antifascista (SIA) and made numerous visits to the front. In October 1938, she joined the Mujeres Libres movement, where she was in charge of the association's regional secretariat. There she fought against ignorance and worked to "educate women socially and culturally so that they can build and defend themselves as free and conscious human beings."

Exile

In January 1939, she fled into exile in France, where she continued her work for the SIA in

Perpignan Perpignan (, , ; ; ) is the prefectures in France, prefecture of the Pyrénées-Orientales departments of France, department in Southern France, in the heart of the plain of Roussillon, at the foot of the Pyrenees a few kilometres from the Me ...

and then in

Béziers Béziers (; ) is a city in southern France. It is a Subprefectures in France, subprefecture of the Hérault Departments of France, department in the Occitania (administrative region), Occitanie Regions of France, region. Every August Béziers ho ...

, where she tried to rescue internees from the camps, including her companion Jesús Guillén Bertolín. During the

Nazi occupation of France The Military Administration in France (; ) was an interim occupation authority established by Nazi Germany during World War II to administer the occupied zone in areas of northern and western France. This so-called ' was established in June 19 ...

, she was a member of the CNT group in Bram and liaised with the

French Resistance The French Resistance ( ) was a collection of groups that fought the German military administration in occupied France during World War II, Nazi occupation and the Collaboration with Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy#France, collaborationist Vic ...

in Aude, Ariège, Hérault and Haute-Garonne. After the

Liberation of France The liberation of France () in the Second World War was accomplished through diplomacy, politics and the combined military efforts of the Allied Powers, Free French forces in London and Africa, as well as the French Resistance. Nazi Germany in ...

, with Jesus, she continued her work with the CNT-in-exile. In 1947, she was in charge of the stenography courses organised by the CNT for refugees and played an active part in the theatre groups organised by the libertarian movement. At that time, she was very close to anarchist activist groups, particularly around Octavio Alberola and

Cipriano Mera Cipriano Mera Sanz (4 November 1897 – 24 October 1975) was a Spanish military and political figure during the Second Spanish Republic. Early life He had two sons (Floreal and Sergio) with his partner Teresa Gómez. A bricklayer, he join ...

. In 1965, she took part in the activities of the group that published the journal ''Frente Libertario''. From 1972 to 1976, together with Suceso Portales, she edited and published the magazine ''Mujeres Libres'' (47 issues from 1964 to 1976). Her house, near Béziers, remained a meeting place for libertarians. The film ''De toda la vida'' (All Our Lives) was shot there in 1986, starring Pepita Carpeña, Dolores Prat,

Federica Montseny Frederica Montseny i Mañé (; 1905–1994) was a Spanish Anarchism, anarchist and intellectual who served as Ministry of Health (Spain), Minister of Health and Social Assistance in the government of the Second Spanish Republic during the Spani ...

, Suceso Portales, Mercedes Comaposada and Conxa Perez. In addition to ''Mujeres Libres'', Sara Berenguer contributed to a large number of titles in the libertarian press and several poetry anthologies. She was also a contributor to the book ''Mujeres libres: luchadoras libertarias'' (published by FAL, 1999). After winning a number of prizes for her poetry, she died on 18 June 2010.

Selected works

;Books * * * ;Poetry * * ; Anthology *

References

Bibliography

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Berenguer Laosa, Sara 1919 births 2010 deaths 20th-century Spanish women writers Anarchists from Catalonia Anarcha-feminists Anarchist writers Confederación Nacional del Trabajo members French Resistance members Mujeres Libres People from Barcelona Spanish socialist feminists Spanish feminist writers Spanish non-fiction writers Spanish women of the Spanish Civil War (Republican faction) Spanish people of the Spanish Civil War (Republican faction) Spanish women poets Spanish women writers Spanish emigrants to France Spanish women trade unionists