Antonia Pérez Padín

Antonia Pérez Padín (born Ceuta, Spain) was a Spanish feminist and communist active during the Second Republic and the Spanish Civil War in Ceuta. A member of the International Red Aid's Ceuta branch and Partido Comunista de España, she supported striking port workers and fish factory workers by hosting meetings in her home and providing food to striking workers.

Pérez was imprisoned on 14 August 1936 around the time of the coup d'état of 1936. One of five Ceuta women to be sentenced to death by Francoist forces, her sentence was later changed to twelve years in prison of which she served eight, before being released from prison in Madrid. Pérez was one of the few prisoners to share stories of sexual violence in Ceuta's Francoist prison. She also witnessed the death of Antonia Céspedes Gallego. The Unión General de Trabajadores unanimously gave its "La Latera" award posthumously to her in 2017 in recognition of her fight for equality for women. Pérez was married to Antonio Berrocal, having six children with him. Berrocal, a communist city councilor in Ceuta, was killed by a mob of falangists in 1937. Pérez worked as a restaurateur, grocer and midwife.

Activism and death by Francoism Prison de Partido de Ceuta confirms Antonia Pérez Padín is at the prison under the order of the Delegado del. Senor Comandante Militar on 14 August 1936. Her father was a teacher. Ideologically, her father was an anarchist. He shared these ideas with Pérez when she was young, instilling her with the value of fighting social injustices.

Pérez was politically engaged as an adult. She was keen to address social injustices. As an activist, Pérez supported striking port workers in Ceuta, providing strikers with food. She also hosted meetings of striking port workers in her home. She was also involved in other campaigns for needy in the city. She also fought to support women's rights and equal pay. During the Spanish Civil War, she spent some time in Rabat where she witnessed atrocities committed by Falange Pelegrina. This included shelling of civilians. Perez was imprisoned with many other feminist women who supported the Spanish Second Republic. She was in the Madrid prison in 1945. In November 1945, a judge announced her release from the Madrid jail. Pérez was never pardoned by the Spanish State.

When later talking about her time in prison with her children and grandchildren, Pérez described them as hotels. The award itself is given every two years specifically to remember women who fought for social justice, women's rights and equality in Spain, so they would not be forgotten.

Background Pérez was born in Ceuta. Her mother was named Jacinta. Pérez inherited her strong character from her.

Pérez was married to Antonio Berrocal. She had six children with him, only five of them survived. Her first child was a girl. Her husband was a member of the Communist Party of Spain, and was elected as a Ceuta city councilor in the elections of 12 April 1931. Berrocal was shot on his own farm along with 32 other people on 21 January 1937 after having been dragged there by a mob of falangists. He was one of eight councilors from the eleven member government who would be shot by Nationalist forces. Her children survived the Civil War, and Pérez eventually had a granddaughter named Gloria Berrocal. Berrocal has written several books about her grandmother's experiences during the Civil War. One of her sons was Manuel Berrocal, a historian. Because of the time his mother spent in prison, Manuel did not get to know her until he was a 10-year-old.

Pérez lived in the Las Latas neighborhood of Ceuta. She ran a small restaurant near in the La Puntilla area in Ceuta. She later ran a small grocery store in Ceuta. She also worked as a midwife.

In her later years, Pérez always dressed in black. Her legs were frequently swollen and she had varicose veins. In life after prison with her family, she listened to Radio Nacional de España, and would frequently sigh when listening to the news portion. In her later years, when she watched television and heard commentators say there were no political prisoners in Spain, she would throw a shoe at the television.