José Barberá Armelles, father of Rita Barberá, who was mayor of Valencia for 24 years, had a life marked by multiple professional and political facets. He was a journalist, director of various media outlets, including Levante-EMV during the Movement era, president of the Asociación de la Prensa Valenciana and councilman on the Valencia City Council.
During the II Republic and the Spanish Civil War, José Barberá Armelles actively militated in the most conservative right wing. He was what was known as an "old shirt" of the Falange, demonstrating a deep ideological commitment to the Spanish fascist movement.
His intense traditionalist militancy brought him significant personal consequences. He was detained twice during the thirties, that is, even before the outbreak of the Civil War. The first of these detentions occurred when he was still a minor, which demonstrates the early onset of his political involvement.
The revelation of this past comes in a context of public interest in Rita Barberá's biography, who died in 2016 and was the subject of various judicial investigations related to her municipal management in Valencia. The article thus explores the family background that may explain the political trajectory of the daughter.
