Gandia has experienced a historic day with the official handover to their families of the remains of four victims of Francoism: Manuel Martín Collado, José Giner Gasent, Antonio Orengo Damià, and Manuel Castillo García. These are the first individuals identified following exhumation work carried out in the common graves of the municipal cemetery, ending nearly 87 years of waiting.
The civic ceremony, held in the cloister of the Escola Pia—a site with a past linked to Francoist repression where three of the victims were shot—was marked by reparation, remembrance, and deep emotion. The event brought together family members, representatives of memorialist associations, members of the local council, and authorities from various administrations.
“"Today we do not reopen wounds. Wounds have always existed. What we do is dignify them and return what should never have been taken away: memory, truth, and dignity. (…) Today they return. They do not return guarded by fear, but embraced by the affection of their loved ones. They do not return stripped of their name, but called one by one with pride and tenderness. You have returned home."
The First Deputy Mayor and Councilor for Democratic Memory, Alícia Izquierdo, led the ceremony, thanking the families for their participation in transforming an intimate moment into an act of collective dignity. She emphasized that the goal is not to reopen wounds but to dignify them and restore the memory, truth, and dignity that were taken away.
The Mayor of Gandia, José Manuel Prieto, advocated for public memory policies as a moral duty. He recalled that this is the first democratic government in the city to open the common grave and reaffirmed the commitment to continue with pending tasks of historical justice and guarantees of non-repetition.
The ceremony began with the entrance of the urns containing the remains, accompanied by the musical interpretation of 'Cant dels ocells'. The director of the exhumation works, Miquel Mezquida, along with institutional representatives from the Government of Spain and the Provincial Council of Valencia, also spoke to highlight the technical rigor and institutional importance of the process.
The most emotional moment of the day occurred when the victims' families shared their memories and their decades-long struggle. Musical performances by Borja Penalba and the final chords of the Muixeranga concluded a tribute that is now part of the history of democratic restitution in Gandia.
