Researcher: Elizabeth Chao, Stuyvesant '26

Juan Álvarez was an Italian American volunteer for the Abraham Lincoln Brigade during the Spanish Civil war with two years of prior military service before sailing for Spain on January 9, 1937 aboard the Lafayette. He arrived in Spain and entered the International Brigade on January 26, 1937, along with the first few groups of American contingents. He served in the infantry and likely began fighting very soon after his arrival at the battle of Jarama valley from February to June, 1937.

Likely the child of immigrant parents, Álvarez was born in the United States. There are currently no records of Álvarez’s family members or ancestors. However, it's probable that Álvarez had some Spanish ancestry, given that the name Juan Álvarez is actually a traditionally Spanish name, not an Italian one. Juan is the standard Spanish form for the biblical name Yohanan, or Johannes in Latin, while Álvarez is a common Spanish surname meaning “son of alvaro”. Thus, his heritage may have been a factor in his deciding to fight for the Second Republic. While most Italian Americans with strong cultural or political ties with Italy chose to join the primarily Italian-speaking Garibaldi battalion, those whose political socialization took place in the U.S., Álvarez included, typically joined the diverse ranks of the Abraham Lincoln Brigade.

While living in New York City, Álvarez was employed as a waiter, earning somewhere between 5 and 7 dollars a week, and resided at 209 W. 48th Street, NYC, at the edge of what’s now Hell’s Kitchen. He was single and affiliated with the communist party of the U.S. from the year 1930. At the time, Hell’s Kitchen was known to be an Irish-dominated, working class neighborhood also with a significant Italian enclave. Álvarez likely lived in an overcrowded, mixed-use tenement style building and worked long shifts in a small trattoria-style restaurant.

Álvarez was one of the 300 Italian Americans who volunteered for the Second Republic and among the 60% of these volunteers who were communist. Though there is currently no available information on Álvarez’s age in 1937, when he entered the brigades, the average age of Italian American volunteers was 35 and his political socialization likely included the rise of fascism in Italy under Benito Mussolini and Nazism in Germany. Observing the effects of Mussolini’s regime in Italy, Álvarez was likely motivated by a desire to stop the international spread of fascism, seeing as Mussolini was also one of Francisco Franco’s strongest allies.

Álvarez was listed under whereabouts unknown in the International Brigades records on December 31, 1937, nearly a year after he first embarked on his journey to Spain. Many volunteers for the Republic who went missing in action ended up in unmarked mass graves near battlefields or municipal cemeteries in Spain, leaving them unaccounted for even decades after the end of the Spanish Civil War in 1939. Whether Álvarez died on the battlefield or was captured as a POW is unknown at this time.

Sources

“ALVAREZ, Juan | Sidbrint.” Ub.edu, 1936,
sidbrint.ub.edu/brigadista/alvarez-juan

“Álvarez, Juan | the Abraham Lincoln Brigade Archives.” The Abraham Lincoln Brigade Archives, 9 Dec. 2019,
alba-valb.org/volunteers/juan-alvarez/

Fraguas, Rafael. “Madrid Cemetery Repairs May Uncover International Brigades Mass Grave.” EL PAÍS English, 2 Aug. 2017, english.elpais.com/elpais/2017/08/02/inenglish/1501667631_728924.html

Fraser Ottanelli. “Internationalism and the Shaping of National and Ethnic Identity: Italian American Anti-Fascist Volunteers in the Spanish Civil War.” Journal of American Ethnic History, Dec. 2007, www.academia.edu/4131127/_Internationalism_and_the_Shaping_of_National_and_Ethnic_Identity_Italian_American_Anti_Fascist_Volunteers_in_the_Spanish_Civil_War_

Hell’s Kitchen Timeline: From the 1840’S to the 2000’S – Little Free Architectural Library. openlab.citytech.cuny.edu/littlefreearchitecturallibrary/2021/12/12/hells-kitchen-timeline-from-the-1840s-to-the-2000s/

НП ИнфоРост. “Дело 40. Списки добровольцев из США, Англии, Канады, Латинской Америки.” Dlibrary.org, 2026, komintern.dlibrary.org/ru/nodes/12088-delo-40-spiski-dobrovoltsev-iz-ssha-anglii-kanady-latinskoy-ameriki#mode/inspect/page/1/zoom/4

PUZO, MARIO. “Choosing a Dream.” Los Angeles Times, 11 July 1999, www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1999-jul-11-bk-54732-story.html