For too long, Josefina Manresa has been nothing but a footnote in the life and work of Miguel Hernández. We know her as his widow, but not as the woman who kept his memory alive, protected his words, and bore witness to an era shaped by war, repression, and loss. In Tu risa me hace libre (Your Laughter Sets Me Free), José Antonio Lucero makes Josefina the main character of her own story.
Miguel Hernández may not be as internationally renowned as Federico García Lorca, but here the focus is placed on the strong woman behind a great man, as we approach the centenary of the Generation of ’27, which will take place next year.
The novel explores the relationship between Josefina Manresa and Miguel Hernández through an intimate and meticulously researched lens. Beyond the legacy of the poet, we meet two people brought together by love, literature, and historical circumstances that tested everything they thought they knew. Josefina is given the voice she deserves: the voice of a woman who endured, remembered, and kept a legacy alive when everything seemed determined to erase it.
Tu risa me hace libre is filled with a love for literature and written after meticulous research that allowed the reconstruction of not only the poet’s life and career, but also the realities and hardships of everyday life. A reminder that history is not only written by the names in textbooks, but also by those who preserve letters, memories, and words when there is no one else left to do so.
Josefina was more than just the woman who stood beside Miguel Hernández: she was his refuge, his memory, and his resistance. And within that resistance, a quote still echoes through his work and the time he lived in: «Para la libertad sangro, lucho, pervivo» (for freedom I bleed, I fight, I live on).
José Antonio Lucero teaches Social Sciences and Spanish Language and Literature at secondary school. He holds a degree in History and a master’s in Writing from the University of Seville, and shares his knowledge of history and teaching in his YouTube channel, La cuna de Halicarnaso, one of the most followed Spanish-language channels in its field. He is the author of Mariela, 1972, La maestra—a tribute to those who make teaching a form of resistance—, and its eagerly awaited sequel, El alumno. He has also published La vida en un minuto, a finalist for the 23rd Ateneo Joven de Sevilla Book Prize, published by Ediciones B.
Tu risa me hace libre is now available in bookstores. A book that allows us to rediscover Miguel Hernández, but more importantly to finally hear Josefina Manresa’s voice.