bureaucratic , and administrative obstacles . The identification and dignification of victims buried in thousands of mass graves across Spain has been one of the primary struggles of the memorialist movement in Spain since the beginning of the 21st century .
The revival and recovery of Antoni Benaiges ’ s memory has been made possible by the work of numerous individuals , particularly the photographer and documentarian Sergi Bernal , who has led efforts to uncover the story of this teacher . Bernal participated as a photographer in an exhumation at the Pedraja mass grave in August 2010 , attending independently to document the process . On his way back to Barcelona , he received a call informing him that a local man had come to the grave , stating that a Catalan teacher who had taught in Bañuelos de Bureba might be buried there . This revelation led Bernal to unravel a story that would bring him deeply in touch with the memory of Antoni Benaiges . Bernal learned that Patricio Redondo , another Freinet teacher , had gone into exile in Mexico , where he continued to teach using the Freinet method , and he connected with Benaiges ’ family , who had kept all the notebooks Benaiges had printed at the school in Bañuelos de Bureba .
Bernal ’ s connection to Benaiges activated one of those mechanisms that moves memory from a dormant , passive state to one that is alive and active . In the effort to reclaim the memory of many victims in the region , the forgotten story of this young , idealistic teacher emerged — his legacy still remembered in 2010 by those who had once been his students at the Bañuelos de Bureba school . The story of the promise of the sea , linked to the notebook “ The Sea : A Vision of Children Who Have Never Seen It ”, deeply moved Bernal , who became unwavering in his commitment to research and share Benaiges ’ s story . The scene in which Bernal received the call about the possible presence of a Catalan teacher in the Pedraja grave is recreated in the film through the characters of Emilio and Ariadna . Emilio , in turn , seems to be inspired by Eladio Diez , an elderly man from Bañuelos de Bureba and former student of Benaiges . Eladio , whose family preserved the few notebooks that had survived the July 1936 burnings , collaborated with Bernal by providing materials and sharing his invaluable testimony .
Since the rediscovery of Benaiges ’ s memory in 2010 , his story has left a profound mark and has been told through various formats 1 , including literary essays , theatre , and previous audiovisual works leading up to “ The Teacher Who Promised the Sea ”. The film by Patricia Font has been well received in several countries , such as Italy , Taiwan , and Australia , and has become another piece in the activation of a living , useful memory with the power to impact the present . One
3 . Box containing the notebooks owned by Jaume Roige Benaiges , nephew of Antoni Benaiges . Mont-roig del Camp ( 2010 ) | Picture by Sergi Bernal
1 Notable among the many tributes to Benaiges ’ s legacy are the essay “ The Teacher Who Promised the Sea ” ( VV . AA . Ed . Blume ); the play “ The Sea : A Vision of Children Who Have Never Seen It ” ( by Xavier Bobés and Alberto Conejero ); and the documentary “ El retratista ” ( The Photographer ) ( by Alberto Bougleux and Sergi Bernal ).
94
Observing Memories Issue 8