Iván Ansaldua González, an engineer living in Missouri (USA), continues his efforts to claim Spanish citizenship. His determination is driven by a desire to restore historical justice for his family, whose fate is closely linked to the dramatic events of the 20th century.
Before her death, his maternal grandmother, Berta Álvarez Trabanco, asked her grandson not to give up the fight for what she believed was rightfully theirs. The Ansaldua family has faced years of denials in their citizenship applications, despite having documents proving Berta was born in Gijón (Asturias) in 1925. However, it turned out that being born in Spain did not automatically guarantee citizenship, and the consulates in Mexico and Chicago recognized her as stateless.
The origins of this story go back to Ivan’s great-grandfather — José Manuel Álvarez González, who was called the elder among Spanish emigrants in the USSR. Born in Cuba in 1900, he found himself in Spain as a child, and later, after active political involvement and persecution, was forced to leave the country. In 1932, through the Communist Party, he went to the Soviet Union, where his life changed dramatically.
In the USSR, Álvarez faced repression: after being arrested in 1935, he spent a month in Lubyanka Prison, followed by five years in a labor camp. After his release, he endured a long exile and was only able to return to normal life in Moscow in 1956, where he regained his party membership.
The Álvarez family’s ties to Asturias span more than one generation. Ivan’s great-great-grandfather, Justo Trabanco García, was born in Lavandera, and the Trabanco family managed the Jovellanos Theater in Gijón in the early 20th century, where renowned performers of that era took the stage. Family memories preserve stories of relatives who emigrated to America in search of a better life.
In 1983, after more than half a century of separation, José Manuel Álvarez was able to reconnect with his children on Spanish radio. This moment became a symbol for the whole family, and for Ivan, an incentive to continue fighting for the recognition of their rights. Today, he insists on the implementation of the Law of Democratic Memory to restore justice for the descendants of Spanish emigrants.
