Elna's Maternity

As the Republican army retreats in the face of the final push of Franco's army, the exile of hundreds of thousands of people begins. The most serious moment occurs in January 1939, when almost half a million people flee to France. This is how, for many, the drama of exile, an inhuman collective tragedy that is evident in the French concentration camps such as that of Algiers.

Elna's maternity (an institution driven by Swiss social movements that provided money, food and equipment) talks about what a very young person was able to do, Elisabeth Eidenbenz, to save pregnant women from having to give birth in the terrible hygienic, nutritional and health conditions of French refugee camps.

Rarely can one speak so directly and clearly of what a real person is song to hope. Hope in humanity and the future of humanity represented in innocent babies born in terrible circumstances. Hope in cooperation between men. Hope in the survival of everyone, without specification of sex, nationality, race, ideology or religion. Hope in the simple kindness of people. Or, more simply, hope (without adjectives).

From the work ofAssumed Montellà

Dramaturgy: Pablo Ley Fancelli
Direction: Josep Galindo
Performers: Rosa Galindo i Franco Piccinno

Music selection: Luc Olivier Sánchez i Rosa Galindo
Scenography: Galilei Project
Audiovisual design: Tony Roura
Lighting: Anna Espunya Juárez
Council: Zerayehu Biosca
Changing room: Galilei Project
Production: Laura Manchón

Technician and head of room: Andrés Piza
Ticket office: Eduardo Mendez

A co-production of Galilei Project, Fortià Viñas i Theater Eòlia Productions

"The dramaturgy, the direction and the music elevate the sensational performance of Rosa Galindo to the memorable".
Marius Serra, La Vanguardia

"Pablo Ley has done an exquisite job with the dramaturgy, and the result is a text with a balance
perfect, deeply emotional and striking. [...] Josep Galindo, a director who is attentive to details, sober, elegant, has chosen a very effective option to reach the viewer. Rosa Galindo, delicious in singing and candid in interpretation, with the ideal complement of pianist Luc-Olivier Sánchez [...]" Dani Chicano, El Punt

"Maximum simplicity, and above all, no concession to morbidness, to cheating, or to exaggeration. Pure feeling suitable even for the most hardened hearts".
Marta Pallarès, Diari de Girona

"It's been a night of theater not to forget: the play "La Maternidad de Elna" which includes a real episode of our history, interpreted masterfully by the singer and actress Rosa Galindo Solé. A voice that floats on stage not only when it sings wonderfully, but also when it speaks and takes us on that fateful journey to the French exile of 1939. And a special thanks to the historian Assumpta Montellà, without whose work this story would have been forgotten . Fortunately, the Theater exists to tell it. And if it didn't exist, it would have to be invented." Julio Alonso, actor