Josep Gené Figueras

He was born on July 3 of 1890 in Igualada (Barcelona, Catalonia). The son of a baker Igualada, he studied until the age of 15 in the Igualadi Athenaeum of the Working Class and it was soon seen attracted by political-social issues, joining the Party in 1908 Federal Democratic Republican (PRDF) He read a lot of Catalan literature, especially theatre. Although he suffered from asthma, he was qualified as fit for the military service, so he defected from the Army and went to France. A Beginnings of the ten of the last century he lived first in Lyon, where he frequented in 1912 the premises of the "Causeries Populaires" (Charlas Popular), and then in Paris, where he worked at the National Company of Phones.

1914 he collaborated from Paris in El Modern worker of Igualada. Affiliate to the French Trade Unionist Youth, He was actively involved in his campaigns. At that time he met Lev Trotsky and did A good friendship with Charles Malato and Sébastien Faure. In 1919, for their Activities of agitation, he was expelled by the French government. Passed the border after mocking the Civil Guard and settled in Barcelona, where he formed part of the board of the Metallurgical Union of the National Confederation of Work (CNT) during the time of the patronal gun. In these years he suffered numerous arrests. 1921 he headed in the Regional Committee of Catalonia of the CNT and, after the murder of his great friend Ramón Archs, the following year he took care of it to reorganize the regional. In June 1922 he attended the Conference of Zaragoza of the CNT. 1922 was locked in the Barcelona Model prison during A few months and it was the soul of help to the Zenetist prisoners.

Once free, he returned in October 1922 in Equalized and worked as an adjuster. In 1931 he was a member of the Regional Committee Cenetist and 1932 married María Serrarols. During the Second Republic he maintained the militancy, although they were only limited to the region of Anoia, doing Rallies in Capellades, Vallbona and Pobla de Claramunt, and collaborating in the "Athenaeum Future". When the 1936 Revolution broke out, collectivize the flock family member and took a poultry farm, she was in charge of supplying milk Socialized the city, he made rallies and lectures (Equalized, Orpi) and between 1937 and 1938 was part of the editorial staff of the confederal spokesman of Igualada CNT-FAI Newsletter. At the end of the war, he went into exile with his family in France. 1948 was treasurer of the Local Federation of the CNT of Mazamet. Then it'll sail towards Mexico with the "Mexique".

In Aztec exile, after different jobs, will put a drugstore and continue to militate in the CNT During his last era he was a member of his Relations Committee. Your partner, María Serrarols, died in Mexico City (Mexico) in 1972. In 1979 he participated in the oral history project “Spanish refugees in Mexico”, organized by the “Archive of the Word” of the National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH) of Mexico. José Gené Figueras, very close friend of Juan Ferrer Farriol died on August 30, 1980 in Mexico City, Mexico, Considering himself Mexican and never having wanted to return to Catalonia.