Maestros

In the vibrant shadow of classrooms, in the dusty corridors of 19th-century universities, and in the physical and moral exile of those who dreamed of a different Spain, the voices of the three protagonists of this book resonate: the teachers. With incisive, ironic, and luminous prose, Antonio Rodríguez Vela paints a collective portrait of a generation of thinkers, professors, and reformers who challenged conformity and confronted dogma, fanaticism, and intellectual apathy. The common thread is education in Spain, exemplified by Giner de los Ríos, Marcelino Menéndez Pelayo, and María de Maeztustos, who could embody totally opposing positions not in their conception of teaching, but of the country, yet among whom there are many points in common. This is neither a hagiographic work nor a history textbook. Nor is it an ideological chronicle or a pamphlet disguised as nostalgia. It is, above all, an informative critical tribute to those who tried to change the country from the ground up: education. With sharp humor and a contemporary perspective, the author reconstructs the gestures, weaknesses, and greatness of these characters: their quirks, their contradictions, their faith in the moral and rational progress of human beings, and their desire to educate free citizens in a nation that did not always deserve them. Throughout these pages, scenes of academic fervor and political persecution, heroic renunciations and small human miseries, lofty ideals and inevitable failures parade before our eyes. The story unfolds with narrative rhythm and an unmistakable style, peppered with nods to the modern reader, connecting past and present with astonishing naturalness. A necessary work for those who believe that teaching is a political act, that education is a trench of freedom, and that the past, when read well, is not a burden but a compass. 'A book that invites us to think of education as an engine of social transformation.' José Carlos Ruiz