The great Randín fire (1889) and the solidarity that followed

On 20 November 1889 a fire reduced the village of San Xoán de Randín, in the concello of Calvos de Randín, almost to ashes. Its inhabitants were left with only the clothes they wore ^[1].

A border village with straw roofs

In the 16th century Randín was an important settlement on the frontier, as the drawing of the Picoña castle by the Portuguese Duarte de Armas shows, where the village is visible, with straw-roofed houses and a defensive tower. Three centuries later the same material was still in use, a decisive factor in the ferocity of the fire ^[1].

The fire

According to the chronicles, it started at breakfast time (nine in the morning) in a hay store next to the hearth where a woman was cooking; a spark is thought to have reached the nearby fuel store. Most of the men were in the fields and only women and children remained in the village; with the straw of the roofs and a strong wind, the fire advanced "with dizzying speed". When the farmers, some neighbours from other villages and the carabineros arrived, the village was burning "on all four sides" and there was no water or tools to fight the fire and wind. By evening only ruins remained and a hundred and twenty families were destitute ^[1].

Figures that do not agree

The press gave different numbers, and it is best to give them as they are:

• The parish priest of Calvos wrote the same day to the editor of the newspaper «El Eco de Orense» (quote), then Valentín Lamas Carvajal: of 126 households, 120 were left in the open; the larger livestock and almost all the sheep burned, and no rye or potatoes were saved ^[1].
• La Monarquía spoke of 582 inhabitants homeless and of some sick people and children dead from smoke asphyxiation ^[1].
• El Regional of Lugo counted 320 dwellings ruined ^[1].
• The provincial relief board estimated in February 1890 the losses at 60,000 pesetas, with 300 houses burned belonging to 102 families ^[2].

The Gaceta de Galicia criticised that the mayor of Calvos did not report what had happened and that the civil governor, Alonso Román Vega, had to telegraph the mayor of Xinzo and rebuke the one of Calvos for his apathy ^[1].

The aid

The parish priest, Isidro Prieto, and five other neighbours whose houses were spared took in many victims. The governor and Bishop Cesáreo opened subscriptions (the bishop with 500 pesetas) and the governor asked the other Galician provinces for help. Solidarity came from many places ^[2]:

• In Baltar, the mayor Benito Cuquejo and the secretary Gerardo Cabido begged alms in person.
• The Concello of Xinzo agreed that a committee should tour the district.
• The capitalist José García Barbón sent 1,000 pesetas; the Pontevedra provincial commission, another 1,000; the governor of the Bank of Spain, 1,000; the Vigo Casino, the Tertulia and the Gymnasium, 100 each; the priest Valentín Listanco, 2,500 collected at the Madrid Casino; the president of the Galician Centre of Havana, Fidel Villasuso, 1,250.
• The Portuguese village of Tourém contributed alms, food and clothing and offered timber for roofs, but neighbours on both sides feared the carabineros and did not dare cross the border.
• In Ourense a public collection was made (208.35 pesetas net; the band charged 60 for "playing little and badly"), in Lugo a charity show by the Liceo (1 January) and in Verín a subscription in La Voz de Verín and an amateur show.
• The Deputation of Ourense allocated 4,000 pesetas; the bishop’s subscription in the Boletín eclesiástico reached 9,483 and that of the Civil Government 6,999.

The weekly A Monteira criticised that the Concello of Ourense offered 500 pesetas for the best decoration project for the council chamber when the people of Randín had no shelter ^[2].

Distribution and reconstruction

The provincial board could dispose of only 14,000 pesetas, so it was agreed to share them among the neediest farmers. The 70 most affected farmers were given 125 and 150 pesetas each by three priests in April; on 20 May the governor, the president of the Deputation and Lamas Carvajal went to Randín to hand out 15,000 pesetas, in amounts of 525, 250 and 200 according to losses. According to El Liberal, the village would be rebuilt replacing straw roofs with tile to prevent further disasters ^[2].

Links

• Curiosities of A Limia
• Calvos de Randín
• History of A Limia

Sources

1. Alexander de los Ríos Conde, «El gran incendio del pueblo de Randín en 1889», Vía Lethes, 18/12/2016. https://vialethes.es/incendio_randin_1889 (cita El Regional de Lugo, 26 e 30/11/1889; Gaceta de Galicia, 28/11/1889; La Correspondencia de España, 27/11/1889; La Monarquía, 28/11/1889)
2. Alexander de los Ríos Conde, «El gran incendio del pueblo de Randín en 1889. 2ª parte: Solidaridad», Vía Lethes, 25/12/2016. https://vialethes.es/incendio-randin-1889-solidaridad (cita El Correo Gallego, El Lucense, El Liberal, A Monteira e Gaceta de Galicia, nov. 1889 – mar. 1890)