Emiliano Hidalgo Fernández, great-grandfather of Geri Halliwell, executed in post-Civil War Spain

The family history of Spice Girls member Geri Halliwell has been linked to the Spanish Civil War through her great-grandfather, Emiliano Hidalgo Fernández. Hidalgo served as the Republican mayor of Dos Torres during the Second Republic.

Following his arrest in May 1939, Hidalgo was brought before a court martial due to his socialist activism and opposition to the 1936 military coup. A 116-page case file described him as a ‘Marxist leader’ and the ‘founder of the Socialist Party’ in Dos Torres. Although the records noted that some accusations lacked proof of direct responsibility, he was sentenced to death for ‘adhering to the military rebellion.’ He was executed by firing squad on December 27, 1940, at the La Salud cemetery in Córdoba.

The family's history in the region continued with his son, Máximo, who was sentenced to 20 years in prison after the war. It was during his imprisonment that Máximo met a prison guard, a union that eventually led to the lineage of Halliwell.