Militiamen to the front!..

During the Spanish Civil War, the United States was home to several working-class communities of Spanish immigrants with close ties to families in Spain that sympathized with the Spanish Republic. From 1901 to 1940, approximately 128,000 Spaniards immigrated to the United States, including anarchists and socialists who had fled political oppression during the Primo de Rivera dictatorship (1923-1930). The most prominent communities were in New York City and Ybor City, Florida. There and elsewhere they formed cultural and mutual aid societies that rallied to support the Second Republic through political activism, community fundraisers, theater, and the arts. In Ybor City, the American-born children of Spanish immigrants participated in parades and community fundraisers while dressed up in militia uniforms

Spanish immigrants wrote and performed numerous original antifascist plays with much success. Militiamen to the Front! (¡Milicianos al frente!), by Ignacio Zugadi Garmendia and Jose Castilla Morales, was one of the most popular. The play depicts the heroic tale of two female protagonists, Teresa and Leocadia, during the early days of the military uprising. Leocadia travels to the frontline during the defense of Madrid to fight in a militia, while Teresa remains in a supportive role at home. Both women transcend their traditional gender roles and become defenders of the Spanish Republic on the home front and the frontline. It premiered at the Ateneo Español in New York City on September 26, 1936, as a fundraiser for the Spanish Republic sponsored by the Spanish Antifascist Committee (Comité Antifascista Español), the predecessor of the Federated Hispanic Societies (Sociedades Hispanas Confederadas), an umbrella organization based in New York City comprising roughly two hundred cultural and mutual aid societies.

The Spanish Antifascist Committee received numerous requests from pro-Republican organizations in the United States to read and produce ¡Milicianos al frente!. By the spring of 1937, it had been performed in over fifty venues organized by immigrant communities and organizations in New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, and Florida. The play's profound success embodied the appeal among supporters of the Spanish Republic to celebrate the heroism of the militia women and the role of women in the conflict.

The interest in the play, and the Republican cause, went well beyond the world of immigrants from Spain. The two Spanish language daily newspapers in New York, La Voz and La Prensa promoted ¡Milicianos al frente! as well as other plays, and the Sociedades Hispanas Confederadas included non-Spanish clubs such as the Club Cubano Julio Antonio Mella (New York City), Mutualista Obrera Mexicana (New York City), and Pro Democracia Española (San Juan). Spanish-speaking organizations with members of diverse backgrounds in Los Angeles and San Francisco also held theatrical events as fundraisers for the Spanish Republic, although it is not clear whether ¡Milicianos al frente! was one of the plays performed.

After the end of the Civil War, the Federated Hispanic Societies continued to organize theatrical performances and community fundraisers to support Spanish exiles in the aftermath of the Francoist victory.