THE CHILDREN OF MORELIA – LOS NINOS DE MORELIA

Mexico

Because too many people waited to cross the street close to my hotel in Morelia I did not see the sculptures of two children.  Besides -benches were set up close to the small sculptures of the children occupied by resting people. The discovery of the sculptures made me interested in the story of the children of Morelia. In 1937 about 500 children went from Spain to Mexico as refugees. The main reason for the transport of children from Spain was the Spanish Civil War. Most of the children were not orphans. Parents wanted to evacuate their children from a country in war. The children went by a ship called Mexique . The children travelled without their parents who were staying in Spain. By inviting Spanish refugees during the Spanish Civil War, Mexico promoted the image of an advanced and humanistic Mexico. The evacuation of Spanish children started after Franco’s forces had bombed Guernica and other Spanish cities for months.

A film was produced about the story of the Spanish children: “The Spanish Children of Mexico”. The film was played for at least two months in Santiago de Chile, for a while in Panama and in Barcelona, Spain, where about 50,000 Republicans watched the film. Most of the children who were sent to Mexico never saw their families in Spain again.

When you pay the city of Morelia a visit take a look at the sculptures of the children. The story of the children is a tragic report of the victims of wars: The children.