Mientras visito la Región del Ebro, Barcelona, San Sebastián, Valencia y Madrid del 14 de octubre al 17 de noviembre de 2022, pienso en esta primera vez que visité cuando no sabía nada de mi padre.
***This piece was first published in English in September 2021***
Continue readingEste artículo se publicó en inglés en julio de 2020. Se tradujo con Google Translate y publicado el 12 de octubre de 2022. Luchando por La Democracia de Jim Higgins fue publicado por PUZ el 27 de septiembre de 2022.
***This piece was published in English in July 2020***
Sucedió por primera vez en enero de 2018. Estaba en una cena organizada por mi amiga Katrina en San Miguel de Allende, México. Katrina había dirigido la conversación hacia mi proyecto de publicar las memorias de mi padre, ahora previstas para el otoño de 2020 y tituladas Fighting for Democracy: The True Story of Jim Higgins (1907-1982), A Canadian Activist in Spain’s Civil War. (Actualización: el libro se publicó en septiembre de 2020).
Les estaba contando a los otros invitados un poco sobre él, cuando un compañero canadiense preguntó: “¿Cómo se llamaba tu padre?” Dije: “Jim Higgins”. Él respondió: “Estoy seguro de que acabo de escuchar sobre él en las noticias”. Dije: “¡Imposible!”. y rápidamente se olvidó de él.
Continue readingArtículo publicado por primera vez en inglés el 7 de mayo de 2021. Traducido con Google Translate y publicado el 9 de octubre de 2022. Luchando por La Democracia de Jim Higgins fue publicado por PUZ el 27 de septiembre de 2022.
***This article was published in English in May 2021***
Sabía poco sobre Juan José Ibañez Esnal, el hombre detrás de la traducción al español del libro de Jim Higgins, Fighting for Democracy, A Canadian Activist in Spain’s Civil War. Me propuse averiguar más sobre su familia pero, lo que es más importante, quería saber por qué lo hizo. Sus razones son algo sorprendentes.
Traducido con Google Translate y publicado el 6 de octubre de 2022. Luchando por La Democracia de Jim Higgins fue publicado por PUZ el 27 de septiembre de 2022.
***This article was published in English in May 2021***
Todavía me froto los ojos con incredulidad: tengo en la mano una traducción completa al español de Fighting for Democracy de Jim Higgins. Sí, el libro Luchando por la Democracia de Jimmy Higgins, ¡ha sido traducido al español!
Continue readingIt first happened in January 2018. I was at a dinner party hosted by my friend, Katrina, in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico. Katrina had steered the conversation towards my plans to publish my father’s memoir which is primarily about his experience of the depression of the 1930s and the Spanish Civil War (1936-1939).
I was telling the other guests a bit about him, when a fellow Canadian asked, “What was your father’s name?” I said, “Jim Higgins.” He replied, “I’m sure I just heard about him on the news.” I said, “Impossible!” and promptly forgot about it.
Continue readingI’m thrilled to have a feature article, A Mac-Pap Amongst the Lincolns, published in The Volunteer, the magazine of the Abraham Lincoln Brigade in New York, Click on it, and learn why Jim Higgins ended up seeking refuge there during the winter of 1940/41.
Continue readingTens of thousands of international volunteers stood against the tyranny of fascism during the Spanish Civil War, Jim Higgins among them. Most volunteers had already acted against tyranny more than once. For Jim, the first time was at school in England when he was no older than thirteen.
Jim had been orphaned during the Great War, and around the age of eight, after a short stay on a country estate with caring staff in an orphanage for eight boys, he was taken to the Ardwick Industrial School in Manchester. He studied there for several years before going on to a small secondary school in Bristol.
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Jim Higgins defied Canadian law to fight for democracy in the Spanish Civil War. On return, he was branded a communist, hounded by the RCMP, and welcomed by Lincoln Battalion comrades when he sought refuge in New York.
Continue reading“I was riveted. There are few workers’ memoirs as excellent…engaging, informative, and very well written.” James L. Turk, Centre for Free Expression, Ryerson University and Author, Free Speech in Fearful Times
“The fact that (Jim) was involved in secret ops makes this book particularly memorable…a key read for historians looking for new details of the Battle of the Ebro.” Jason Webster, Author, Violencia: A New History of Spain
I received Jim Higgins’s RCMP file in Spring 2019 under a Freedom of Information request. Not only did the Royal Canadian Mounted Police file document many of his activities during the Great Depression, and after, it also held an intriguing glimpse into his romantic life, a couple of years before he met his wife, Reta Palliser.
Continue reading“Just the facts, ma’am.” That line came from Dragnet—a 1950s TV show with detective Joe Friday. I was reminded of it a few months ago when retired academic Ray Hoff, one of my invaluable fact-checkers, cautioned me against speculating about what Jim Higgins was up to in the Spanish Civil War, especially after the international brigades were withdrawn. I was advised to “forget the 007 stuff”. Good advice. Still……
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