María Bruguera Pérez

María Bruguera Pérez (6 November 1913 – 26 December 1992) was an anarcho-syndicalist who died in Madrid in 1992.

Bruguera came from a family of deep anarchist convictions in a PSOE dominated town in a Confederación Nacional del Trabajo (CNT) area. By the age of nine, she was getting politically involved by joining Juventudes Libertarias. She also became involved with the women's theater group Ni Dios Ni Amo.

Burguera was a 21-year-old at start of the Spanish Civil War in July 1936. Pregnant with what would be her only child, she initially headed towards the Spanish-Portuguese border. With the border being closed, she travelled with family to a plot of land owned by her partner. There, her partner and mother would be killed, her brother and father had a narrow escape, and Burguera and her newborn son were captured.

Burguera avoided the death penalty, and had was given a 30-year prison sentence that was reduced because of her prison labor. She was separated from her son, with authorities changing his name to that of a saint because of changes in law demanding children be named after Catholic saints. After a little over eight years behind bars, Bruguera was released from a Madrid prison in 1946.

CNT militant Aureliano Lobo and Bruguera became a couple shortly after her release. During this same period, Bruguera rejoined CNT, including clandestine meetings. As CNT splintered, Bruguera found herself within a feminist faction, going on to found the Committee of Free Women with them. From this group, Bruguera would also go on to found the second wave feminist magazine, Mujeres Libertarias.

Background Bruguera was an anarcho-syndicalist militant woman who served as an indefatigable fighter for her beliefs until her death in Madrid in 1992. Early on, she was involved with Confederación Nacional del Trabajo (CNT), fighting for workers' rights.

Youth Bruguera was born in Jerez de los Caballeros on 6 November 1915 to Antonio Bruguera and Elisa Pérez. Her father s parents hailed from Palafrugell, Catalonia through he himself was born in Extremadura. Her father served as the President of Casa del Pueblo de Jerez de los Caballeros. In her youth, there was no CNT and associated union in Jerez for her father to be affiliated with at that time. The magazine represented second wave feminism.

Following the death of Franco on 20 November 1975, Bruguera could be more open with her activism. She also began to be recognised for her efforts for the first time, especially among anarchist and feminist media organisations.

Death and commemoration Following her death on 26 December 1992 of natural causes, her body was cremated and her ashes laid to rest at La Almudena de Madrid Cemetery. At an emotional ceremony attended by family members and compatriots, her life struggle to assist other women and workers was viewed as being part of her generous to devotion to others.

Mujeres Libertarias No. 14 published in 1993 was dedicated in her honour. It would be one of its final editions, dissolving not long after her death.