Biography, culture and militancy in Spanish anarchism: Higinio Noja Ruiz (1894–1972)

ABSTRACT Higinio Noja Ruiz (Nerva, Huelva, 1894-Valencia, 1972) remains a little-known figure in the history of anarchism and libertarian culture in Spain. However, he enjoyed great prestige during the 1920s and 1930s thanks to his novels, essays, leaflets, and articles, which were widely read by a libertarian and working-class audience. Noja Ruiz was a man of many talents: a social writer and novelist, an anarcho-syndicalist essayist and thinker, a rationalist teacher, and a pedagogue. In addition to this intellectual and cultural activity, Noja’s militant commitment included agitation and tireless propaganda efforts as a libertarian “man of action,” especially in the late 1910s and early 1920s. This article is part of a broader study on the life and work of Noja and it reflects firstly on the Spanish anarchist culture of the first half of the 20th century; secondly, it deals with the different models of militancy within the libertarian movement in Spain; and thirdly, it assesses how useful the study of biographies can be in those two research fields.