María Vinyals, the woman of the future

seven lives under the shadow of a castle

Piay Augusto, Diego

This work is the result of a rigorous and thorough research, with a great amount of unpublished material (documental, graphic and oral testimonies), about the fascinating history of María Vinyals y Ferrés, born in 1875 in the Soutomaior Castle (Pontevedra).
She grew up in a wealthy family, lived intense experiences and ended up becoming a prolific writer, a pioneer in feminism and a woman worried about the future of the society that surrounded her.In her private life, she would rebel against the chains of an ill-fated marriage.
With her second husband –the Cuban doctor Enrique Lluria–, she would share politic and social ideals. Together they would end up founding a great sanatorium in 1910 using the old theatre of the Soutomaior Castle. They moved there with their five children, four of whom were from their previous marriages.
In 1917, drowning in debts and marginalized because of their political views, María Vinyals and Enrique Lluria would leave the Soutomaior Castle forever. It was then when their paths and those of their children Antonio, Enrique, Emilia, María Teresa and Roger, would take different courses and would never meet again.
This historical essay looks back on those seven lives that grew up under the shadow of a castle. From this impressive medieval fortress, nowadays a public property owned by the Deputación de Pontevedra, Diego Piay travels beyond its walls and its battlements, beyond Pontevedra, Galicia... or Europe.
This history took shape inside the robust walls of this castle and now, so many years after, goes back to where it all began.