Author Description

During the first months of the Spanish Civil War, a kind of brotherhood between Valencia City Council, representing the Valencian people and the Government of Catalonia was developed and directed by the ERC. Both institutions worked together in the common struggle against the fascist military uprising, aided by the obvious common bonds of language and culture and the love of football. Football was the uniting force that held Barcelona and Valencia together during the months of October and November 1936 thanks to the work of Tortajada José Rodriguez, a republican and nationalist and deputy mayor of Valencia. Football and politics during this period served to bind the union between Valencia and Catalonia for a common cause. Unfortunately, this brief idyll was crushed by the defeat in 1939. Tortajada Rodriguez was imprisoned and sentenced to death, a sentence that he dodged after spending nearly 18 years behind bars.