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Almudena is more than a tour guide, she is a partisan. From her, you will learn more than the history of the war, but also the legacy of the war as it affects Spain today. From her, you will learn of the fascist genocidal brutality during the Battle of Madrid.

As you walk around the city, she shows you photographs of the very ground you walk on from the Civil War. You cannot help but compare the complacency of the shoppers and strollers around you with elations and terrors of those days that you see in the photographs. You learn that the terra firma you stand on was a crater from a Nazi bomb. Almudena personalizes the war by sharing the history of her family through pictures and stories.

One of the highlights was the visit to the University where the Battle of Madrid was most intense. You get a sense of what it must have been like for the volunteers of the International Brigades to hold out against Franco’s trained soldiers when you see the bullet holes in the iron window gratings and the damage to the concrete from the high caliber artillery.

To anyone who is interested in the legacy of the International Brigades or curious about the resistance of the Spanish Republic to fascist brutality, Almudena’s tour is not to be missed.

Charles-Berezin
Los Angeles, California
August 2016
(TripAdvisor Review)