Josephine and Antonio Bouzas papers

Josephine Bouzas (née Varela) was born on November 18, 1913, in Manhattan, New York. Her mother and father, Carmen Varela Garcia and Jesus Varela Lendoiro, were Spanish immigrants. Jesephine's parents owned and operated a boarding house for sailors and a billiard parlor and tavern. At a young age Josephine and her mother emigrated back to Spain; her father, having prospered in the United States, joined them in the late 1920s. They lived in the Galicia region in Northern Spain. In the 1930s, the family witnessed the civil unrest and increasing violence developing in Spain, culminating in the start of the Spanish Civil War in 1936. Josephine's father was arrested and beaten by fascist paramilitary forces. Josephine, her father, and her brother Pepe had United States passports and were therefore able to flee to the United States, where they were taken in by relatives.

Antonio Bouzas was born on April 26, 1917 in Esteiro, a coastal village in Northern Spain. At age eighteen, Antonio joined the Navy. When the Spanish Civil War broke out, Antonio fought for the Nationalists. After the Civil War, Antonio worked on fishing trawlers and cargo ships. Antonio and Josephine met in 1950 at a dance in Manhattan, New York. The couple was married and had two daughters. The family lived on West 65th Street in Manhattan and ran a local grocery store.