Funeral service for Luis Crespo Guzmán

Several Colombians fought alongside both the Republican and Nationalist forces in Spain. The most famous of these was Luis Crespo Guzmán. He was from a prestigious family in Cali and was the brother of local Conservative leader Primitivo Crespo. Luis, who had left Colombia after completing his studies at the University of Popayán, enlisted in the Spanish Foreign Legion in 1921. He fought in the Moroccan wars during which he was awarded three military crosses and rose to the rank of captain, the highest promotion available for non-Spaniards. In July 1936 he formed part of the Madrid column, tasked with marching from Andalucía to the capital, before being sent to assist Mola’s advance on Irún. During an attack on a Republican position at San Marcial, he received a gunshot wound to the thigh and was rushed to hospital in Pamplona. The wound became gangrenous, and Crespo died on 1 December 1936.

Luis Crespo became a symbol for Conservatives who heralded him as an example of Colombian valour. All the stories of his military exploits emphasised his bravery and the esteem that Spanish officers, including Mola and Franco, apparently held him in. Two months after Crespo’s death, delegates at the National Conservative Convention unanimously passed a motion paying homage to their fallen hero. Many more funeral services were held across Colombia by Catholics and Conservatives who saw Crespo as the physical manifestation of their close links to Nationalist Spain. The image shows the front page of a funeral printed at one such event in Crespo’s home city to mark the second anniversary of his death. In a move that was common for public demonstrations of support for the Spanish Nationalists, the funeral service was broadcast over the local radio station Voz del Valle.

CE