ISABEL MURCIA ESTRADA
Department of Hispanic Languages and Literature
Guiliano Fellow, Fall 2019
"Finding Concha de Albornoz: after the traces of a writer without writings"
Mexico City, October 2019
Isabel Murica Estrada, a graduate student in the Department of Hispanic Languages
and Literature, traveled to Mexico City last October as part of her dissertation work
on Concha de Albornoz, an early member of the modern feminist movement in Spain who
was exiled to Mexico during the Spanish Civil War. Isabel’s research experience was
made possible by the support of the Edward Guiliano ‘78 Global Fellowship Program. The Guiliano
Global Fellowship Program offers students the opportunity to carry out research, creative
expression and cultural activities for personal development through traveling outside
of their comfort zone.
Isabel’s current work is focused specifically on Albornoz’s writings -- the problem is, no one knows where they are. “Albornoz is one of the most prominent intellectuals exiled after the Spanish Civil War; she is named in many of the documents and correspondences of the exiled Spanish intellectuals who arrived in the U.S. and Mexico in the early 1940s,” Isabel explained. “Despite being described in some of those documents as a ‘poet’ and an ‘intellectual,’ there are no traces of her own writings to this date, apart from some scarce personal letters. The goal of my research in the Archivo General de la Nación was to look for traces of Albornoz’s writings, or even the writings themselves, since she spent the last years of her life in Mexico.”
In addition to the Archivo General de la Nación, Isabel visited the Archive of the Ateneo Español de México and the Archivo Histórico de la Mexico City. Here, she found interesting documents and journals containing information about the Spanish exiled intellectuals, helpful to her dissertation work. In the Archivo Histórico, Isabel was able to consult the catalog of one of the most important exhibitions about the Spanish exile in Mexico.
During her time in Mexico City, Isabel met up with other researchers who were tremendously supportive of her work. Apart from the extraordinary opportunity of visiting the archive in situ, I managed to arrange meetings with some fundamental people who can help me to accomplish my goals,” Isabel said.” ”First of all, I met Fabienne Bradu, one of the most important experts in biographical and autobiographical texts. She made numerous recommendations and offered to help me write a book about Concha de Albornoz after my PhD thesis.”
Isabel’s trip to Mexico City will continue to help in the long term, as she remains
in contact with several people she met who agreed to assist in her personal and professional
development. “Both my visits to the archives, and the interviews I held in Mexico
City, will help as I complete my dissertation. From a personal point of view, this
trip made me even more aware of the consequences that the Spanish Civil War had for
intellectuals, especially for women.”
The support of the Guiliano Global Fellowship was pivotal in Isabel’s thoroughly transformative
endeavor.“The Guiliano Global Fellowship undoubtedly provided me with the necessary funding
to undertake this research, and the trip to Mexico City was the perfect first step
of my research. Now I have relationships with more people who can help me achieve
the goals of my dissertation project.”
The Guiliano Global Fellowship Program offers students the opportunity to carry out
research, creative expression and cultural activities for personal development through
traveling outside of their comfort zone.
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