As I indicated in my appointment as Official Chronicler of Antas on April 19, 2024, one of the objectives was the creation of a documentary and photographic collection to recover customs, traditions and stories, especially of emigration, so important in shaping the identity of the people of Antas.
We have many unknowns to clear up, and unanswered questions at the moment, such as:
- When do they leave Antas and how do they travel to the ports of departure?
- How much did the trip cost and how did they pay for it? did they usually borrow money? who did they borrow money from and how did they pay for it? (Amount, date, interest, etc.).
- Duration of trips, mainly to: Oran, Argentina, Cuba and the United States.
- When they arrive at their destination, who do they deal with? who welcomes them? how do they look for work?
- In addition, in the United States they have the added problem of language. In the destination country, where do they work, where do they live, what salaries do they receive, how do they send the money they could send to Antas?
- When they decide to return, how do they get back, how much does the ticket cost, what are the destination points, etc.
The first story is that of the CLEMENTE CANO family (Luis Clemente Cano and Juana Cano Cano Cano) popularly known as “Luis el de la tia Juana”.
– Luis Antonio Clemente Cano was born in Antas on February 22, 1883. He was the son of Francisco Clemente Giménez and Melchora Cano Ridao. Paternal grandparents: José Clemente Pérez and Maria Giménez Cano. Maternal grandparents: Luis Cano Cano and Isabel Ridao Simón.
Profession: day laborer. In some documents he appears as a farmer.
– Juana Cano Cano was born in Antas on May 11, 1889.
She was the daughter of Francisco Cano Giménez and Francisca Cano Clemente. Paternal grandparents: Juan Cano Belmonte and Francisca Giménez Cano. Maternal grandparents: Juan Cano Teruel and Francisca Clemente Pérez.
Profession: your work.
They married in the Parish Church of Antas on June 17, 1908. Luis was 25 years old and Juana was 19 years old. Luis died in Antas on April 24, 1946 and Juana died in Antas on October 31, 1974.
The couple emigrated to Tandil, province of Buenos Aires (Argentina). It is a peculiar emigration since in those years the custom was that only the man emigrated.
Photograph of Tandil, Argentina (source of information Wikipedia) and location map Google Maps, Tandil, Argentina.
They left Antas around 1917-1918 and the boat trip was approximately 25-30 days (according to family testimonies since, for the moment, we do not have documents that guarantee it with exactitude).
In Tandil they had agricultural and livestock farms (according to family testimonies).
They had the following children:
– Francisco Clemente Cano was born in Tandil (Argentina) on September 13, 1920. He returned to Spain with his parents and married Emilia Zamora Serrano in Antas. Later the couple settled in Tandil. Francisco was a wealthy agricultural and livestock businessman.
– Francisca Clemente Cano, was born in Tandil (Argentina) on September 4, 1922. She returned to Spain with her parents and married Salvador Molina Belmonte.
– Luis Clemente Cano, was born in Tandil (Argentina) on May 6, 1925. He died at the age of 5 in Antas, on August 26, 1930.
– José Clemente Cano, was born in Antas (Spain) on November 29, 1926. Married to Úrsula Cano Cano.
– Luis Clemente Cano was born in Antas (Spain) on September 26, 1931. Married in Vera with Ángela Cazorla.
The Clemente Cano family, with their children, had to return to Antas at the end of 1925 or beginning of 1926. They prospered in Tandil and with the money obtained they bought many properties in Antas:
– 23 April 1926 purchase from Mr. Juan Cano Cano Cano in Los Llanos eventual irrigated land of 21 areas for 200 pesetas.
– July 26, 1927 purchase of the following properties from Mr. Manuel Giménez Ramírez, lawyer, Senator, Member of the Spanish Parliament:
– dry land (64 areas) and eventual irrigated land (72 areas) planted with orange trees in the Llanos del Mayor pago for 1,500 pts.
– November 18, 1927 purchase from Mr. Manuel Giménez Ramírez the following property:
– house with 20 low rooms and 3 high rooms with stables, corrals and garages. It measures 16 meters and 10 centimeters front, 20 meters 77 centimeters back and 18 meters 70 centimeters deep. Located in the street of the Air and bordering the orange grove to the back, owned by D. Manuel. In this house lived his father, Mr. Luis Giménez Cano, who suffered an assassination attempt on December 18, 1873, from which he was unharmed. Price of the house : 2.400 pts.
Subsequently sold to the City Council of Antas for the installation of schools for boys and girls in Antas. It is currently the Casa de Cultura poet Antonio Jesus Soler Cano, where the Public Library is located, Municipal Police etc..
– May 13, 1930 purchase from Francisco Moreno García of 41 areas of irrigated land in Llanos del Mayor for 200 pts.
– 17 May 1930 purchase from D. Juan Cano Cano in the Llanos del Mayor eventual irrigated land of 19 areas at a price of 200 pts.
The eventual irrigated lands were irrigated with the surplus water from the La Huerta estate (water from the Fuente de La Cerrada and La Fuente de la Bermeja) which irrigated the Los Llanos, Llanos del Mayor, Llanos de San Roque and Granadico estates.
The lands of Llanos del Mayor were sold in 1974-1975 to Pedro Rodríguez Castaño and Diego Castaño Martínez. They bought this land with the money they earned during their emigration to Germany in 1962-1967.
Luis Clemente Cano was a man of conservative political tendency. His political activity was as follows:
– April 16, 1931 the interim Civil Governor orders the constitution of the new City Council with the councilors elected on April 15. He presents himself as a Republican and is appointed 2nd deputy mayor in a government presided by Juan Soler Haro. The City Council was formed by the Mayor and 10 councilors (as at present).
– Elections were called for and on May 19, 1931 a management commission was appointed and the City Council was dissolved.
– June 5, 1931, in an extraordinary session, the new City Council is constituted (formed by left-wing and right-wing councilmen) and he is elected councilman.
– June 7, 1932 resigns as councilman together with 3 other conservative councilmen.
– In the General Elections of November 19, 1933, the right-wing forces won, formed by the Radical Republican Party of Alejandro Lerroux together with the CEDA (Spanish Confederation of Autonomous Rights), giving rise to the radical cedist biennium that governed from 1933-1935.
– In Antas, on August 22, 1934, an extraordinary session was held, called by the Civil Governor to suspend the mayor and left-wing councilmen and appoint a right-wing City Council, presided over by Juan Soler Haro, who was a councilman occupying the position of member of the Development Commission.
– They governed until February 22, 1936. By order of the Civil Governor, given by the Minister of the Interior, he ordered that the councilors suspended on August 22, 1934 be reinstated and that the right-wing councilors named in that session cease to exist. This is the end of his political activity.
The end of the family was as follows :
– Luis and Juana lived in Antas until their death.
– Francisco and Emilia lived and died in Tandil (Argentina) where their relatives reside.
– Francisca and Salvador lived and died in Los Gallardos where their relatives reside.
– José and Úrsula lived and died in Antas where their relatives reside.
– Luis and Angela lived and died in Tandil, Argentina, where their relatives reside.
Note: Photos and documentation provided by the Clemente Cano Family.
