The Concello de A Coruña will dedicate its municipal tribute on All Saints' Day to María Barbeito Cerviño, Federico Fernández Amor-Calvet, and Manuel Curros Enríquez. The ceremony is scheduled for 1 November at 12:00 in the municipal cemetery of Santo Amaro, featuring performances by the Coral Follas Novas.
Mayor Inés Rey emphasised that the selection of honourees reflects three fundamental aspects of A Coruña's history: "The commitment to education and equality, the dedication to Galician culture, and the shared sense of belonging through Deportivo." This year's celebration coincides with several significant anniversaries, including the 120th anniversary of the founding of Real Club Deportivo de La Coruña and the Real Academia Gallega, alongside the 175th anniversary of Curros Enríquez's birth and the 90th anniversary of the military coup that led to Barbeito's persecution as a teacher.
The procession will commence at the Cruz de los Olvidados and will include floral tributes to the three honourees. The event will conclude at the Monument to the Dead for Freedom in the civil cemetery, where there will be a moment of remembrance for the victims of repression on the 90th anniversary of the 1936 coup. Rey stated, "Santo Amaro preserves a fundamental part of our history. This tribute is also a commitment to the memory of those who built A Coruña and to the dignity of those who suffered repression for defending freedom."
Honouring education, Galician culture, and sports
The tribute to María Barbeito Cerviño (1880-1970) will celebrate her as a key figure in educational reform, advocating for a model of education based on innovation, equality of opportunity, and support for vulnerable children through her work at the Escuelas de la Guarda. An academic at the Real Academia Gallega since 1912, her legacy is also linked to the 120th anniversary of the institution. Rey remarked, "María Barbeito defended a school capable of offering opportunities to all children. Ninety years after the start of her persecution, we reaffirm her example and an educational legacy that the dictatorship sought to silence."
The recognition of Federico Fernández Amor-Calvet (1871-1933) connects the tribute to the 120th anniversary of Deportivo. As the founder of Sala Calvet on Calle Galera, he played a crucial role in the establishment of the club in 1906 and contributed to the development of sports in the city. His legacy serves as a reminder of those who made the birth of an institution closely tied to A Coruña's identity possible. The Real Academia Gallega has preserved and digitised the Calvet family archives, which include nearly 700 documents detailing their history and the social and sporting history of A Coruña. Rey noted, "Remembering Federico Calvet is to return to the origins of Deportivo and acknowledge someone who opened new paths for sport in A Coruña. One hundred and twenty years later, that impetus is part of a shared sentiment that unites generations of A Coruña residents."
Manuel Curros Enríquez (1851-1908) will be commemorated on the 175th anniversary of his birth and the 120th anniversary of the Real Academia Gallega, which he significantly contributed to from Havana. A poet and advocate for the Galician language, he maintained a close connection with A Coruña, where he was crowned as a poet in 1904 and laid to rest in 1908, attended by a large public farewell. Rey stated, "Curros represents a Galician culture committed to its language, to freedom, and to denouncing injustices. A Coruña recognised that commitment in his lifetime and later embraced his memory as part of the city's own history."
