Blas Infante
Andalusian politician (1885–1936)
Who was Blas Infante?
Blas Infante lived from July 5, 1885 to August 11, 1936. He is considered the "father of Andalusia" by Andalusian nationalists. He was born on 5 July 1885 in Casares. Blas Infante Pérez de Vargas (5 July 1885 – 11 August 1936) was an Andalusian socialist politician, Georgist, writer, historian and musicologist. During the Second Spanish Republic, the Andalucismo was represented by the Junta Liberalista, a federalist political party led by Infante. Infante was among numerous political figures who were summarily executed by Franco's forces when they took over Seville at the beginning of the Spanish Civil War. As a regional autonomist, left-wing activist and an avowed socialist, he twice "merited" inclusion on their liquidation list. His last residence in Coria del Río now hosts the Museum of Andalusian Autonomy.
Historical significance
He initiated an Andalusian regionalist assembly in Ronda in 1918; the assembly adopted a charter based on the autonomist Constitución Federal de Antequera written in 1883 during the First Spanish Republic. It also embraced the current flag and emblem as national symbols, designed by Infante himself based on various historic Andalusian standards.