Natividad Yarza Planas facts for kids
Natividad Yarza Planas was a pioneering woman who made history in Spain. Born on December 24, 1872, she became the very first female mayor elected in Spain. This happened after women gained the right to vote for the first time.
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Early Life and Teaching Career
Natividad was born in Valladolid, Spain, on December 24, 1872. Her family moved around a bit when she was young, living in Zaragoza and then Barcelona.
She studied to become a teacher from 1904 to 1905 in Huesca. After that, she began teaching in many different towns across Spain. In June 1930, she got a permanent teaching job at a school in Bellprat.
In the summer of 1934, she moved to a new teaching job in La Pobla de Claramunt. She lived there until the Spanish Civil War began.
Stepping into Politics
In 1931, Natividad helped start a group in Barcelona called the "Associació Femenina Republicana Victoria Kent". This group wanted to encourage women to get involved in politics. They aimed to help women understand the importance of their role in the new Spanish Republic.
Natividad joined the Radical Socialist Republican Party. She was a great speaker and an important member of the party's leadership in Barcelona. She balanced her teaching job with her political work. She even worked with famous politicians like Marcel·lí Domingo. In 1933, she gave speeches at events honoring important figures and celebrating the First Republic.
Making History as Mayor
In November 1933, Spain held elections where women could vote for the very first time. Natividad's party then split. She decided to join the Esquerra Republicana de Catalunya (ERC) party. She ran for mayor in the municipal elections for Bellprat.
On January 14, 1934, Natividad Yarza Planas was elected mayor of Bellprat! She won by just five votes. This made her the first democratically elected female mayor in all of Spain. Because of this, she attended important political events, like a reception with the President of Catalonia.
Some historians suggest that another woman, Catalina San Martín, might have been elected mayor a few months earlier in a different part of Spain. If so, Natividad would still be the first female mayor elected in Catalonia.
After some political unrest in October 1934, Natividad's political work slowed down. She returned to her teaching job. A military order replaced her as mayor with Josep Solé i Solé.
War and Exile
During the Spanish Civil War, even though she was 63 years old, Natividad joined a group called the Barrio column. She went to the Aragon front, near Huesca. There, she helped supply food and other necessities to the soldiers in the trenches.
Her time at the front ended when the volunteer groups became part of the official People's Army. Natividad then moved to Barcelona. She became a teacher again, working at a school in the city.
When the war ended, Natividad Yarza had to leave Spain. She went to France as an exile. She worked as an iron presser to make a living. She also received help from a group called Spanish Refugee Aid. On October 21, 1940, she was officially dismissed from her teaching job by the new government.
Natividad Yarza Planas passed away in Toulouse, France, on February 16, 1960. She was 87 years old.
See also
In Spanish: Natividad Yarza Planas para niños
