Victoriano José Martínez Berasáin (1886–1960) was a Spanish Carlist politician, noted particularly in his native Navarre. He is best known for his role during anti-Republican conspiracy of early 1936 and during the first months of the Civil War, when he headed the regional wartime Carlist executive. In 1937–1938 he was the provincial leader of Falange Española Tradicionalista; in 1939 he served as vice-president of Diputación Foral de Navarra. During two successive terms of 1955–1960 he was holding a seat in the Cortes. He is also acknowledged as an amateur photographer.
Family and youth
There is close to nothing known about Martínez’ distant ancestors, except that the family has been for centuries related to Navarre. His paternal grandfather Felipe Martínez volunteered to legitimist troops during the First Carlist War and following defeat he spent 4 years on exile in France. In Besançon he learnt the cooper's craft and having returned to Pamplona he opened his own workshop.Pablo Larraz Andía, Víctor Sierra-Sesumaga (eds.), Requetés. De las trincheras al olvidio, Madrid 2011, ISBN 9788499700465, p. 809 He married a local girl, Francisca Larrondo Ollo.Francisca Larrondo Ollo (died 1893) was daughter to Juan Cruz Larrondo and Antonia Ollo, El Eco de Navarra 09.06.93, available here Their son Victoriano Martínez Larrondo (1846Victoriano Martínez Larrondo entry, [in:] Geneaordoñez service, available here-1894El Eco de Navarra 30.12.94, available here) was also a carpenter, professionally active at least since the early 1880s;Anuario del Comercio de la Industria de la Magistratura y da la Administración 1883, available here he became well known in the cityEl Eco de Navarra 30.12.94, available here and grew to "conocido industrial".El Liberal Navarro 29.12.94, available here In 1872Micaela Celedonia Berasain Marin entry, [in:] Geneaordóñez service, available here He married Micaela Celedonia Berasáin Marin (1849Micaela Celedonia Berasain Marin entry, [in:] Geneaordóñez service, available here-1920compare the picture of her tombstone, Sepultura de Micaela Berasáin, madre de José Martínez Berasáin, [in:] Cultura Navarra service, available here), daughter to a local Pamplonese merchanther father Dionisio Berasain Yzalzu (son of Geronimo Berasain and Celedonia Yzalzu ) married Josefa Marín Yriarte (daughter of Jose Marin and Fermina Yriarte), Micaela Celedonia Berasain Marin entry, [in:] Geneaordóñez service, available here of wine preservativesEl Liberal Navarro 30.09.95, available here and foodstuffs.El Eco de Navarra 01.11.95, available here It is not clear how many children the couple had; it is known that José had at least two brothersVictoriano Martínez Berasaín was called to arms in 1907, El Eco de Navarra 13.02.07, available here; for Jacinto see Ecos de Sociedad, [in:] Diario de Navarra 29 May 1919 and at least two sisters.Francisca Martínez Berasáin married Mariano Santesteban Astiz, La Hermandad ante la justicia, [in:], Nueva Tribuna 11.12.18, available here. Another sister became a nun, compare María Victorina, religiosa, [in:] Cultura Navarra service, available here Following the premature death of Victoriano the widow took over the businessEl Liberal Navarro 10.01.95, available here and managed it at least until the early 20th century.Anuario del Comercio, de la Industria de la Magistratura y de la Administración 1902, available here
It is not clear whether José received education beyond the obligatory primary level; in particular, none of the sources consulted notes his academic career. He tried his hand in trade; initially he ran a bookstore at Bajada de Javier, but later he turned it into a shop dealing in religious items, including imagery, sculptures, standards, Cassocks and other liturgical vestments. In the 1920s formally listed as casullero,"casulla" is a type of liturgical vestment, and the term "casullero" used to denote a craftsman who produce it. For Martinez as casullero seeAnuario del Comercio, Industria y Tributación del País Vasco 1929, available here until the 1930s he operated a family company Martínez Berasáin y Cia.Anuario del Comercio, Industria y Tributación del País Vasco 1930, available here; also Anuario del Comercio, Industria y Tributación del País Vasco 1929, available here Until the mid-1920s he held also an unspecified job at La Agrícola, the local insurance and then banking company.Larraz Andía, Sierra-Sesumaga 2011, p. 810 It went bust in 1925, but some time afterwards Martínez found employment in another financial institution, Banco de Bilbao, which opened its Pamplona office in 1926.Banca, [in:] Gran Enciclopedia Navarra service, available here Some authors claim that in the mid-1930s he was already the manager of the Pamplonese branch,Javier Dronda Martínez, Con Cristo o contra Cristo. Religión y movilización antirrepublicana en navarra (1931–1936), Tafalla 2013, ISBN 9788415313311, p. 171, Alfonso Ballestero, José Ma de Oriol y Urquijo, Madrid 2014, ISBN 9788483569160, p. 46, Javier Ugarte Tellería, La nueva Covadonga insurgente: orígenes sociales y culturales de la sublevación de 1936 en Navarra y el País Vasco, Madrid 1998, ISBN 9788470305313, pp. 87, 192, and many others. However, none of the authors provides references to primary sources. Some authors provide also clearly erroneous information, e.g. apart that Martinez Berasain was "director de la sucursal" they identify him also as "diputado carlista a Cortes por Navarra (febrero de 1936)", Aurora Villanueva Martínez, El carlismo navarro durante el primer franquismo, 1937–1951, Madrid 1998, ISBN 9788487863714, p. 551 though this role is confirmed in primary sources only for the post-war period.Julian Rubio López (ed.), Guia de Navarra, Pamplona 1952, p. 126
In 1909Jose Martinez Berasain entry, [in:] Geneaordóñez service, available here Martínez married a girl from Pamplona, Ramona Erro Cia (1886–1972);Ramona Erro Cia entry, [in:] Geni genealogical service, available here she was daughter to Manuel José Erro Ercila,Ramona Erro Cia entry, [in:] Geneaordóñez service, available here employee of Diputación de Navarra who worked as administrator of self-governmental properties.El Eco de Navarra 14.12.04, available here The couple had 11 children,Larraz Andía, Sierra-Sesumaga 2011, p. 810 born between the early 1910s and the late 1920s.Fotografías de José Martínez Berasáin (1886–1960), [in:] La Venta del Arte service, available here None of them became a public figure. Four sons: Luis, Juan Bautista, Alejandro and José Ramón Martínez Erro volunteered to Carlist requeté troops during the civil war.Larraz Andía, Sierra-Sesumaga 2011, p. 816, Julio Aróstegui, Combatientes Requetés en la Guerra Civil Española (1936–1939), Madrid 2013, ISBN 9788499709758, pp. 164, 196, 854, 855 Luis was moderately active within Carlism during the Francoist eraMercedes Vázquez de Prada, El final de una ilusión. Auge y declive del tradicionalismo carlista (1957–1967), Madrid 2016, ISBN 9788416558407, p. 278; he presided over Hermandad Viacrucis de Montejurra, Diario de Burgos 13.05.69, available here and in the 1970s he sided with the progressist faction of Prince Carlos Hugo;Rosa Marina Errea Iribas, Javier Maria Pascual y El Pensamiento Navarro: "con él llego el escándalo" (1966–1970), Pamplona 2007, ISBN 9788477681922, pp. 398–405 José Ramón tried his hand in historiography.see José Ramón Martínez Erro, Olite, corte de reyes. Apuntes históricos, Pamplona 1946; the book was re-issued a number of times until 1990 Among the grandchildren Luis María Martínez Garate was also an active Huguista militantcompare Luis María Martínez Garate, El Pensamiento Navarro, [in:] Lealtad a la Lealtad service 15.11.16, available here to become a locally known Basque-Navarrese historiansee Luis María Martínez Garate, Síntesis de la historia de Navarra, Tafalla 2010, ISBN 9788461450756 and a Nabarralde ideologue,Nabarralde, an institution created in 2001, declared in its manifesto that it would work to "recover Navarrese identity"; from later publications it emerges that its militants understand Great Navarre as part of the Basque country, embracing also Rioja, Bureba, part of Aragón and Gasconia, see e.g. Xabier Zabaltza Pérez-Nievas, De la ‘lingua navarrorum’ al estado vasco, [in:] Historia Contemporanea 47 (2013,) pp. 479–480. For a recent sample of Martínez Garate publications see e.g. Luis María Martínez Garate, Europa: quien manda, manda, [in:] Nabarralde service 23.04.21, available here while Javier Ochoa Martínez is a celebrated bodeguero who developed his own wine brand.in 2017 and as recognition of his contribution to the Navarres winegrowing business he was awarded Cruz de Carlos III by the Navarrese self-government, Pilar Morras, "Gravar el patrimonio productivo es injusto", [in:] Diario de Navarra 28.05.17, available here Martínez’ nephew was Benito Santesteban Martínez, notorious due to his instrumental role in rearguard repression in Navarre during the early phases of Nationalist rule in the region.La Hermandad ante la justicia, [in:], Nueva Tribuna 11.12.18, available here
Early public activity (until 1930)
Ascendants of both Martínez and his wifeManuel José Erro Ercila was also a Carlist; he fought in the Third Carlist War and went on exile afterwards, Larraz Andía, Sierra-Sesumaga 2011, p. 809 were for generations related to Traditionalism; in legitimist ranks they took part in civil wars and paid for it with exile and deportations, in some cases as far away as Cuba.Larraz Andía, Sierra-Sesumaga 2011, p. 809 Martínez Berasáin inherited the Carlist outlook; in his case it contained also a strong Basque and fuerista flavor.according to his son, Martínez Berasain was "vasquista pero dentro del carlismo, no separatista, él fuerista y español", and had many friends among the Basque nationalists, Larraz Andía, Sierra-Sesumaga 2011, p. 810 During his youth he engaged in Juventud Jaimista and in the mid-1910s he grew to president of the local Pamplona branch of the organization.El Correo Español 19.09.18, available here When in 1919 Carlism faced a profound crisis related to secession of the so-called Mellistas, he did not join the rebels; according to his son total loyalty towards the claimant has been for generations the principal political guideline for all the family members.Larraz Andía, Sierra-Sesumaga 2011, p. 813 At the turn of the 1910s and the 1920s he already counted among respected Pamplonese party members. During initial works on vasco-navarrese autonomy he formed part of Comité carlista pro autonomía de Navarra;Martínez Berasáin, José entry, [in:] Aunamendi Euzko Entzikopedia service, available here the body called for full restoration of regional foral rights, abolished in 1839.La Tradicion, [in:] Premín de Iruña blog 27.02.11, available here