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He was born in Fuengirola, in 1941, into a military family, but from his childhood he lived in Córdoba , in the La Magdalena neighborhood. "He felt very much from Córdoba, because one is where he spent his childhood," a friend assures ALOC.
Julio Anguita died at the Reina Sofía hospital in Córdoba on the 16th, at the age of 78, as a result of an acute myocardial infarction . A loss deeply felt by his many friends and fellow citizens, those of that city of which he was mayor between 1979 and 1986 and for which he felt so much love.
He came to Córdoba as a child because his father, a military man like his grandfather, was assigned there, and he stayed there forever. In the city of the Mosque they knew him well, despite the fact that he forged a rigid division between public and private life. "He always thought that his private life was his, that nobody should go there," they say. He didn't even like being photographed because he was "political, not famous."
Julio Anguita dies in Córdoba at the age of 78
Anguita shared his life with three women, and with the three of them he generally created a good relationship. With Antonia Parrado Rojas, a native of Bujalance, he married through the church, and as a result of their marriage three children were born, Ana, Juan Antonio and Julio Anguita Parrado. The latter, a journalist by vocation, was killed in 2003 by a missile explosion while covering the Iraq war for THE WORLD.
About his father's reaction there are hardly any reviews: "Damn the wars and the scoundrels who make them", was one of his most remembered phrases. He showed little of the pain he felt inside at the loss of his son, since "he was always enormously austere . I don't think anyone saw him shed a tear at his son's funeral," recalls a friend. Because that was one of his fundamental characteristics: being a man who reserved his personal problems for himself, within himself and without sharing them with other people.
He lived his grief for the loss of his son "as he was, leading the procession inside. He was very restrained in the expression of his feelings, he had a very concrete vision of what he had to do and he did not see himself with the obligation or with the duty to tell things about his private life, "they tell from their circle of friends.
"I know that he felt the death of his son greatly, he was very attached to him, but he was never heard openly expressing his feelings. He suffered alone and without telling anyone," he adds.
Also in those hard moments he said: "My son told me that he wanted to be on the front line; he has done his duty." A phrase absolutely consistent with his personality, because Julio Anguita Sr. was a "old-fashioned" person. Whoever reads this statement may be surprised, but not those who really knew him.
Old-fashioned does not mean that he was conservative, but that he possessed strong values inherited from the military spirit of his family, such as "honor, the importance of the word given, loyalty, the fulfillment of agreements, integrity, nobility. .. A very outstanding military stamp, not only for his grandfather and father, but also for his own political culture. That was his lifestyle, "says one of his friends.
Along these same lines, Anguita saw the public function as a duty and an obligation, that is, "he had a very Greek vision of democracy: he who exercises the public function must be austere, transparent, coherent and must have a deadline, that is, not to be eternal in the charges ". And so he did, they say.
Years later he maintained a relationship, without getting married, with Juana Molina, a party partner, the result of which his daughter Carmen was born.
In 2003 Julio met María Agustina Martín Caño, when they both taught at an institute in Córdoba. He was a history teacher; she from English. Both married four years later, in a civil ceremony officiated by the mayor of Ciudad Rodrigo, Javier Iglesias, belonging to the Popular Party. A very special moment and with very few guests, since the groom wanted discretion, the same that he maintained throughout his life.
During the time of his political time in Madrid, he chose the Arturo Soria area to live. Neighborhood residents say that Julio Anguita was so discreet that they found out that he lived there "because mid-morning they saw a car coming to pick someone up. It was very polite and close," they recall. And even some of them, from political ideas far removed from his, say that "he was the only leftist politician that I liked."
That absolute discretion was his usual way of being. Sometimes it could even seem cold and distant. Partly, according to their relatives, due to their shyness . "That was something that was understood within five minutes of being intimate with him. He was enormously shy, and therefore, to overcome it, he had created an immense and very strong armor that imposed distance. But when Julio was on the short pass, he was a charming, nice and friendly person, "says a friend.
They say about him that yes, he was shy, but when he opened it it was nice talking to him. He was even a joker . Of course, in the Cordovan, Granada or Jaen style, "more in the form of Eastern Andalusia, a character very different from Seville or Cadiz. It was very austere in expression, but it was very sympathetic," they recall.
Julio Anguita had a very Cordoba culture, and he felt the Roman tradition, with that Seneca vein that in him was "a way of being not acquired but also proposed". A little stoic life, self-restraint in saying, always using moderate words, not going overboard in terms or judgments. "He taught us that you could be a revolutionary by speaking politely and even having tenderness," says a friend and fellow party member.
The politician liked table games, among them, dominoes , who often played with his friends in the Plaza de La Corredera in Córdoba - now an Internet petition demands that it be renamed Plaza Julio Anguita. He also made the purchase and went to the supermarket, although lately he was seen less for that of properly fulfilling the confinement.
He was there almost every day with his longtime friends. He got up relatively early, went to the gym three times a week, took great physical care, had a not very severe but consistent diet and, after the gym, in the middle of the morning, went to play dominoes if the weather allowed it. Especially on sunny days. A decaffeinated coffee with saccharin or an infusion was what I used to have.
At aperitif time, he used to meet his friends for a beer or a red, usually Ribera del Duero. They talked about life, never about politics, and when the topic came up, I dodged it. "You have to vote for good people, not one or the other party," he said.
He was also a lover of Cordovan cuisine, very rich and full of very special dishes, but what he liked most were the stews of chickpeas or beans.
As a discreet and reserved person, Julio Anguita also paid close attention to what others were saying. "He was cultured, pleasant, friendly and very loyal to his friends, a very significant man; when you entered his intimacy, the character made you fall in love more," recalls one of his close friends.
Julio Anguita was also passionate about reading and studying. He never stopped doing it, and often consulted a friend to help him get a book, bibliography, reports, analysis. "He was the prototype of an intellectual politician, which is what he has always been," he adds.
And wander. Walking alone in Córdoba, especially in autumn and spring. It was something he loved. Sometimes he did want to share that love he felt for his city and he showed it to his friends. "It was wonderful to go with him, because he was a historian and he was mayor of Córdoba, and he knew all the places, alleys, symbols, structures ... He started talking about Rome; and also about the Arab era of Córdoba," they recall.
Anguita had studied Arabic and was even able to speak it, although he said that with age he had forgotten it. She knew him quite well, he liked the Arab culture of his city very much. Even his doctoral thesis dealt with Córdoba and the confiscation of Mendizábal. "The best thing Julio could give you was to take you for a walk with him at night through the streets of Córdoba. It was nice."
In his farewell, many Cordovan people have wanted to spontaneously approach the burning chapel, located in the City of Córdoba and closed to the public because of the health alert. There has not been the usual minute of silence. In exchange, his fellow citizens have given him applause that lasted 25 minutes.
Julio Anguita, graduated in Modern and Contemporary History from the University of Barcelona, worked as a teacher and professor in various locations. After being mayor of Córdoba, secretary general of the PCE and general coordinator of IU, he abandoned politics, but not his fight for his ideals. He continued working for them, through talks, publishing books and from the Prometheus Collective.
From that same forum, earlier this month, the Red Caliph, as some called him during his time as mayor, asked for an ecological, fair and political solution to the problem of the pandemic due to COVID19, "because according to what we left of this now, so will be the tomorrow of our children and our grandchildren. "
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