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Helios Gómez

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Helios Gómez
Photograph of Helios Gómez standing in front of one of his paintings
Gómez with one his paintings
Born
Helios Gómez Rodríguez

(1905-05-27)27 May 1905
Seville,Andalusia,Spain
Died19 September 1956(1956-09-19)(aged 51)
Barcelona,Catalonia,Spain
Resting placeMontjuïc Cemetery
NationalityAndalusian
Occupation(s)Painter,graphic designer,writer
Political partyCommunist Party of Spain
Other political
affiliations		Confederación Nacional del Trabajo
MovementAnarchism in Spain

Helios Gómez Rodríguez(1905–1956) was anAndalusianpainter,anarchist communistactivistandwriter.Born into aworking classCaléfamily, he worked as a painter for theSpanish anarchist movementfrom an early age. His involvement in the movement forced him to flee Spain, and during his time in Europe he developed his artistic influences and was alerted to the rise offascism.Upon his return to Spain, he joined theCommunist Party of Spain(PCE), seeing it as the force that was best organised to resist fascism. By the end of theSpanish Civil War,he returned to anarchism, but was forced to flee following the victory of theNationalists.From the 1940s, when he was imprisoned by theFrancoist dictatorship,he began focusing on his writing and presenting Romani themes through his creative work. His poetry was collected and published posthumously in 2006.

Biography[edit]

Helios Gómez was born in 1905,[1]inTriana,a predominantlyCaléworking classneighbourhood ofSeville.[2]From a young age, he worked as a painter and became involved in theSpanish anarchist movement.[3]His occupation as an artist allowed him to be accepted by wider Spanish society, which considered Romani identity to be acceptable only through artistic expression, althoughanti-Romani sentimentwould continue to be expressed towards him in press reports.[4]

He published his first illustrations for the anarchist writerFelipe Alaizand exhibited his early work at the radical art space Café Kursaal. Due to his activism, in 1927, he was forced to flee Spain. He then travelled throughout much ofWestern Europe,meeting members ofavant-gardeart movements and the labour movement. His time in Europe left an influence on his art style, which drew inspiration fromcubism,expressionismandfuturism.In 1930, he returned to Spain and settled inBarcelona,where he began working for theConfederación Nacional del Trabajo(CNT) as aprintmakerfor its newspapers, posters and books.[3]

By this time, he had decided to renounce anarchism and join theCommunist Party of Spain(PCE), as he felt the international communist movement was best organised to combat the threat of risingfascism.[5]He participated in communist rallies, which saw him imprisoned in Barcelona'sModel prison,and fought in the ranks of theCommunist Party of Spainduring theSpanish Civil War.[6]Months after the outbreak of the war, he gave an interview with the left magazineCrónica[es].[7]Introduced by the paper as a "famous Gypsy illustrator and revolutionary artist",[4]he spoke about the anti-fascist cause as a means to overcome anti-Romani sentiment and praised theSoviet Unionfor itssocial integrationofRomani people in Russia.[8]By 1938, he had rejoined the anarchist movement and oversaw the printing layout of the newspaperEl frente.When theNationalistslaunched theirCatalonia Offensive,he fled the country and was subsequently interned inFrench concentration camps.[3]

After the war, when news began to emerge about theRomani Holocaust,he began to present himself more openly as aRomani person.[9]He especially began to assert his Romani identity after his imprisonment by theFrancoist dictatorship,when he was forced to paint the chapel in Barcelona's Model prison.[10]Imprisoned from 1945 to 1946 and 1948 to 1954,[11]he began focusing most of his efforts on his literary work.[12]During this period, he wrote: two essays,[11]including one on Romani art;[10]twohistorical fictionnovels,[12]Gabrielillo Vargas, gitano rojoandHistoria de los gitanos;[10]an autobiographical epic poem titledErika;and over 100 poems.[11]Romani themes were present throughout his written works of this period,[12]with Spanish artistPedro G. Romero[es]suggesting that he was motivated to assert his identity in a regime that suppressed the rights of Romani people.[10]

In 1956,[13]Helios Gómez died in Barcelona.[11]

Legacy[edit]

Helios Gómez is best known for his work as agraphic artist,which he employed in service of the Spanish labour movement.[14]According to Spanish historiansMaría Sierra[es]andJuan Profundo[es],Helios Gómez had an indisputably important role in the visual depiction of Spanish workers and anti-fascist themes during the 1930s.[15]

Relatively less attention has been paid to his literary work, which he took up from 1942 onwards. His poetry was published posthumously in 2006, as part of the collectionPoemas de lucha y sueño.[11]Less has also been written about his political activism.[16]Gómez, along withMariano R. Vázquez,was cited by Sierra and Profundo as a notable example of Romani participation in the Spanish anarchist movement.[15]Profundo himself said that Gómez's lasting legacies were in his artistic creations and his commitment to social process, as well as how his Romani identity affected each of them.[17]

Through the Associació Cultural Helios Gómez, his son Gabriel Gómez has recovered and promoted his works.[18]

Selected works[edit]

  • Gómez, Helios (2005).Visca Octubre: el front de l'art(in Catalan).Granollers:Museu de Granollers.ISBN9788487790515.OCLC803052250.
  • Gómez, Helios (2006).Poemas de lucha y sueño, 1942–1956(in Spanish). Barcelona: Associació Cultural Helio.ISBN9788461132904.OCLC803038388.

References[edit]

  1. ^Hertrampf 2018;Pro 2022,p. 28;Sierra & Pro 2022,p. 597.
  2. ^Pro 2022,p. 28;Sierra & Pro 2022,p. 597.
  3. ^abcSierra & Pro 2022,p. 597.
  4. ^abSierra & Pro 2022,p. 602.
  5. ^Sierra & Pro 2022,pp. 597, 600.
  6. ^Sierra & Pro 2022,pp. 597–598.
  7. ^Sierra & Pro 2022,pp. 600, 602.
  8. ^Sierra & Pro 2022,p. 600.
  9. ^Sierra & Pro 2022,pp. 602–603, 610–611.
  10. ^abcdSierra & Pro 2022,pp. 602–603.
  11. ^abcdeHertrampf 2018.
  12. ^abcHertrampf 2018;Sierra & Pro 2022,pp. 602–603.
  13. ^Hertrampf 2018;Sierra & Pro 2022,p. 597.
  14. ^Hertrampf 2018;Sierra & Pro 2022,p. 596.
  15. ^abSierra & Pro 2022,p. 599.
  16. ^Sierra & Pro 2022,p. 596.
  17. ^Pro 2022,p. 27.
  18. ^Pro 2022,p. 28n1.

Bibliography[edit]

Further reading[edit]

External links[edit]

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