Francisco de Paula Ureña Navas (1871–1936) was a Spanish publisher and poet. He was a longtime owner and manager of the Jaén daily El Pueblo Católico (1893–1932) and animated also other, minor and short-lived provincial periodicals. He published one poetic volume, though his numerous poems were scattered across local press titles. As a poet he was recognized mostly in his native Jaén, partially thanks to his own verses and partially thanks to his role as leader of an informal poetic and cultural circle, known as "El Madroño". As a zealous Traditionalist he advanced intransigent Catholicism. Politically throughout most of his life he supported the Integrist cause, in the 1930s amalgamated in the re-united Carlist structures.
Family and youth
There is almost nothing known about Ureña's distant ancestors; they were of condición humilde and formed part of the east-Andalusian peasantry.Manuel Fernández Espinosa, Un intelectual católico asesinado en 1936: Francisco de Paula Ureña Navas, [in:] Desde Mi Campañario service 25.08.18, available here His father, Juan José Ureña Ortega, was agricultural worker in Torredonjimeno, a rural municipality in the Jaén province; he married María del Rosario Navas Colomo, a girl of the same, humble status.Fernández Espinosa 2018 The couple settled in Torredonjimeno. None of the sources provides information how many children they had.apart from Francisco, the only one known is his brother Prudencio, Boletín Oficial de la Provincia de Jaén 15.08.03, available here In his native Santa María parish Francisco was noted as a talented boy; local clergy arranged with the hierarchy that he received financial support, enabling him to commence secondary education.Fernández Espinosa 2018 According to some authors he initially studied in a seminary, graduating in theology and canon law.Manuel López Pérez, La Asociación de la prensa de Jaén (1911-2011). Apunte histórico, Jaén 2011, p. 54 According to others he frequented Liceo de Granada, where his master was Juan de Dios de la Rada y Delgado.Fernández Espinosa 2018 At unspecified time, though probably in the mid-1880s, Ureña enrolled at the University of Seville, pursuing two paths. In law he majored as doctor, while in philosophy and letters he obtained the licenciatura;Enciclopedia Universal Ilustrada Europeo-Americana, vol. LXV, Madrid 1966, pp. 1418-1419 he also befriended some literary personalities, like the future director or Real Academia Española, Francisco Rodríguez Marín.
In the early 1890s Ureña returned to Jaén, where he assumed teaching duties in Colegio de Santo Tomás, the local educational establishment run by the religious. His subject was retórica, poética y literatura; one of his disciples was Antonio Alcalá Venceslada, and it was reportedly Ureña who discovered his talent.Manuel María Morales Cuesta, Antonio Alcalá Venceslada, [in:] Senda de los Huertos 32 (1993), p. 79 It is not clear how long he was employed in the college; the last known information listing Ureña among the teaching staff comes from the school year of 1898/1899.Anuario de la Institución de Santo Tomás de Jaén, Jaén 1898, p. 5 In 1899 he commenced work for another religious institution, namely the diocese of Jaén;Manuel Fernández Espinosa, La poesía en Jaén: D. Francisco de Paula Navas y el grupo literario ‘El Madroño’, [in:] Giennium 11 (2008), p. 198 he became "notario mayor",Anuario de la Institución de Santo Tomás de Jaén, Jaén 1898, p. 5 later noted as "notario eclesiástico";El Diario 20.04.04, available here this would be the position held for decades to come.he was at times referred to as "abogado", El Pueblo Católico 05.04.07, p. 7; it is not clear whether he ran his own law office, or whether this refers to his practice for the diocese
In 1904 Ureña married Josefa Ortega de Torres, his distant relative from the Ortega family.Patria [Jaén] 25.04.29, p. 2 Before he was widowedManuel Fernández Espinosa, Tres cartas de D. Francisco de Paula Ureña Navas a D. Marcelino Menéndez y Pelayo, [in:] El Blog de Cassia service 15.07.14; elblogdecassia.blogspot.com/2014/07/cartas-de-un-tosiriano-don-marcelino.html is blocked by WP the couple had one child, María Josefa.El Siglo Futuro 01.10.25, available here He then re-married with Socorro Mantilla de los Ríos y Mantilla (b. 1893)Socorro Mantilla de los Ríos y Mantilla de los Ríos entry, [in:] Geneanet service, available here from Antequera,Roberto Gómez Bastida, El Círculo de El Madroño: Literatos tradicionalistas del Santo Reino de Jaén (y III), [in:] La Esperanza service 04.10.22, available here descendant to the aristocratic Andalusian lineage which for generations has been holding the title of marqués de Casa Saavedra. Her paternal grandfather was the 8. marqués,Carlos Mantilla de los Ríos y Valderrama, compare Socorro Mantilla de los Ríos y Mantilla de los Ríos entry, [in:] Geneanet service, available here though her father did not inherit the title and served as administrative official. None of the sources consulted provides any insight as to the background of such socially unequal marriage; they first lived in Jaén,they lived at calle Muñoz Garnica 5, very close to the Cathedral, Fernández Espinosa 2014 and later at their estate El Madroño near Martos, the olive-rich municipality.no municipality in the world produces more olive oil than Martos, Daniel Ceped, Ni Bailén ni Pozoblanco: este es el pueblo que más aceite de oliva produce del mundo y está en España, [in:] As 20.11.24, available here In the union with Socorro Ureña had 4 sons (Francisco,Francisco de Paula Ureña Mantilla de los Ríos (?-1936) already in 1932 was publishing some pieces in periodicals, compare El Siglo Futuro 27.01.32, available here José,El Siglo Futuro 14.08.25, available here Carlos,Carlos Ureña Mantilla in 1930 was about to pass bacclaureate exams, El Siglo Futuro 22.04.30, available here JuanJuan Ureña Mantilla was a boarder at the Jesuit college in Villafranca de los Barros; once the Republican legislation delegalised the Jesuits, Juan followed the transferred college to Estremoz in Portugal, El Defensor de Cordoba 26.08.33, available here) and 3 daughters (Socorro,she died in 2010, ABC 20.11.10, available here Rosario and Milagrosborn 1922, died 1990, ABC 04.03.90, available here).Socorro Mantilla de los Ríos y Mantilla de los Ríos entry, [in:] Geneanet service, available here His first daughter María Josefa died at 15 years of age in 1922,which plunged the father into deep depression, see the obituary note about "la ángelica señorita", published 3 years after her death, El Siglo Futuro 01.10.25, available here José passed away as one-year-old child in 1925.El Siglo Futuro 14.08.25, available here The oldest son Francisco was killed by Republican militia together with the father during early days of the war in Madrid; two remaining sons were killed by the revolutionaries in Martos.one press note claimed they were killed on September 27, 1937, Pueblo 25.09.40, available here. The date must by typo, as official prints claimed September 27, 1936, compare Boletín Oficial de la Provincia de Jaén 24.05.40, p. 852, also Antonio Carmona Navas, Escenas de violencia política y represión durante la Guerra Civil y la posguerra en la Campiña de Jaén [PhD thesis Universidad de Jaén], Jaén 2020, p. 360. Both men, Carlos and Francisco, had their licenciado titles confirmed 2 months earlier, Boletín Oficial de la Provincia de Jaén 27.07.36, p. 6 Socorro Ureña Mantilla married a Carlist politician, Jesús Elizalde y Sainz de Robles.ABC 20.11.10, available here l
Publisher
In 1893 Ureña was engaged in launch of El Pueblo Católico, a Jaén-based bi-weekly.issued on Mondays and Thursdays According to some sources he was the key man behind the enterprise,Juan Manuel Matés Barco, Las empresas periodísticas durante la II República: el discurso polítivo y económico de tradicionalismo giennense, [in:] Boletin del Instituto de Estudios Giennenses 145 (1992), p. 99 according to others it was rather Emilio Mariscal Mendoza, who financed the launch and became the first director.Antonio Checa Godoy, Historia de la prensa en Jaén. 1808-2012, Jaén 2016, p. 70 Exact Ureña position in relation to El Pueblo during first decades of its lifetime is in doubt; numerous sources present him as spiritus movens, yet it remains unclear whether he was the owner or the co-owner of the title. Though the periodical bore no sub-title, it boasted of approval by ecclesiastic censorship;one historian claims that when editing the daily, Ureña was heavily assisted by the Jesuits, José Luis Agudín Menéndez, El Siglo Futuro. Un diario carlista en tiempos republicanos (1931-1936), Zaragoza 2023, ISBN 9788413405667, p. 143. The claim is based on speculation; its author also confused the son, Francisco Ureña Mantilla, and the father, Francisco Ureña Navas in terms of political line it clearly represented Integrism, the most intransigent and extreme current within Spanish Right. From the onset it adhered to ultra-Catholic unyielding standpoint, by historians categorized as "esencialmente dogmático" and marked by "extremismo".Checa Godoy 2016, p. 210 Though in 1909 it converted into a dailyMatés Barco 1992, p. 100 (according to some sources in 1910),Aurelio Valladares Reguero, Diccionario biográfico de la Provincia de Jaén, vol. IV, Ubeda 2012, p. 249 El Pueblo remained "periódico secundario dentro del panorama periodístico"Checa Godoy 2016, p. 70 with circulation of some 1,500 copies.Checa Godoy 2016, p. 126 Periodically Ureña acted as the director,e.g. in 1907 he was noted as "ex-director", El Pueblo Católico 07.06.07, p. 3, but is known to have assumed the again post later, e.g. for 1928 see Don Lope de Sosa December 1928, p. 369 yet the holders of this role changed frequently.in 1898 it was José de Gregorio y Tejada, in 1905-1907 Fernando Fernández Morales, in 1907-1909 José Valladar Serrano and in 1909 Clemente Santamarina Muñoz, Checa Godoy 2016, pp. 101, 126 Despite this, the daily remained on the market and in 1917 celebrated its 25th anniversary, proud to "be faithful to the line set in 1893"."sigue fiel a la línea iniciada en 1893", quoted after Checa Godoy 2016, p. 126
Commercially things took the turn for the better in the late 1910s, when El Pueblo "acquired solid stand";"poco a poco adquiriendo solidez", Checa Godoy 2016, p. 70 at the time Ureña was its sole owner and again its director.Don Lope de Sosa December 1928, p. 369 In the mid-1920s the daily was selling in 3,000 copiesMatés Barco 1992, p. 100 and employed 24 people;including editorial staff, workers in own printing facilities, and other employees, Checa Godoy 2016, p. 182 it also grew in size from 4 to 6 pages. At the time it already "dominated the informative panorama" of Jaén"domina el panorama informativo del período, y desde luego el de los diarios", Checa Godoy 2016, p. 182 and during long spells it was the only daily published in the provincial capital, at the time the 35,000-people city.Checa Godoy 2016, p. 181 The 1920s was also the period when El Pueblo - and, by this token, also Ureña - exercised the greatest influence in the province. Politically the daily retained its Integrist "increíble reaccionarismo" and lambasted the Primo dictatorship as "liberalism in disguise";Checa Godoy 2016, p. 182 however, there were no repressive measures undertaken by the regime.