| Federico Borrell García | |
 Federico Borrell at Cerro Muriano, on September 5, 1936
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| Born | January 3, 1912 Alcoi |
|---|---|
| Died | September 5, 1936 (aged 24) Cerro Muriano |
| Cause of death | Killed in action |
| Known for | The Falling Soldier |
| Relatives | Everisto García, brother |
Federico Borrell García (January 3, 1912 – September 5, 1936) was a Spanish Republican soldier during the Spanish Civil War known for appearing in the image The Falling Soldier.[1]
Biography
He was born in Benilloba, Spain, and went by the nickname "Taino". He worked at a mill in Alcoi and he founded the local branch of the anarchist Iberian Federation of Libertarian Youth (FIJL). He joined the local Loyalist militia, the Columna Alcoyana, set up to defend the Spanish Republic against the Spanish Nationalist forces of Francisco Franco.[1]
According to some sources, on the morning of September 5, 1936, Borrell was one of about fifty men who arrived at Cerro Muriano in Córdoba to reinforce the militia against Francoist forces commanded by General José Varela. During that afternoon Borrell was defending the artillery battery to the rear of the Alcoi infantry when enemy troops infiltrated behind the Loyalists and fired at them from behind. Borrell was fatally shot around five o’clock on or near the hill known as La Loma de las Malagueñas. According to Spanish government records, he was the only member of the Columna Alcoyana to die in the fighting at Cerro Muriano that day. Everisto García, his brother, was able to identify him from the photo.[1]
Other versions claim that Borrell could have been shot and killed by rebels when posing for Robert Capa.[2] The documentary La sombra del iceberg claims that the picture was staged and that Borrell is not the individual in the picture.[3]
Reportedly no death certificate was issued by the Spanish government for Borrell.[4]
References
- ^ a b c "Proving that Robert Capa's "Falling Soldier" is genuine: A detective story". American Masters. http://www.pbs.org/wnet/americanmasters/database/capa_r.html. Retrieved on 2008-07-17. "Because Brotóns had himself fought at Cerro Muriano on September 5, 1936, he remembered from his first-hand knowledge that Federico Borrell García had been killed there that day. In the course of his research, Brotóns contacted the historian Francisco Moreno Gómez (author of the definitive book about the civil war on the Córdoba front), who informed him that the records in the Spanish government archives in Salamanca and Madrid confirm that only one member of the Columna Alcoyana died at Cerro Muriano on September 5, 1936. Brotóns then could be certain that the man in Capa's photograph must be Federico Borrell García. When Brotóns showed Capa's photograph to Federico's younger brother, Everisto, he confirmed the identification."
- ^ The camera never lies. But photographers can and do, Isabel Hilton, The Guardian, September 27, 2008
- ^ Autopsia al miliciano de Robert Capa, El Mundo
- ^ http://www.photographers.it/articoli/cd_capa/img/documentidaarchivi/defuncion.jpg From the comprehensive dossier compiled by photography critic Luca Pagni at http://www.photographers.it/articoli/cd_capa/index.html
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