He participated in the first open combat against fascism in the Spanish Civil War. His political activism and social protest art led to his imprisonment several times. It was said that he organized a battalion of Roms to protect the republic against Franco dictatorship. A warrior of freedom, in 1939 he was constrained to go to France, along with 500.000 others. After escaping the camp tortures of “Retirada” he returned to Spain, where once again he was engaged in the fight against Franco.
Again, he was arrested - imprisoned without trial or conviction. Alone in his prison cell he created a frescoe to honor the prisoners. The frescoe was painted in the cell beside prisoners who were sentenced to death, a cell which was considered within the prison as a sacred place. It came to be known as "La Capilla Gitana" (the Gypsy Chapel) and it was so named for the resemblances of the painted characters.
Responsible for a number of brilliant propaganda posters, Helios Gómez saw the war as part of a wider issue which would determine the fate of Roma (the term Roma is used instead of Gitano) everywhere and helped to create the beginnings of a Romani movement. As he mentioned in an interview "from this war, which will produce so many great things, there must come even in Spain the vindication of the Roma".
The artist´s son, Gabriel, is leading the call for restoration of La Capilla Gitana. In 1998 it was covered with a coat of paint as it was judged to be "disrespectful". Technicians have recently proven that it can be restored. The Helios Gomez Cultural Association would like to restore the chapel painted by Helios Gómez, to convert La Capilla Gitana into a museum of political art. "We do not work by restoring only the memory of my father. We work for all who, like him, fought for freedom" says his son, stressing out the importance of maintaining a democratic memorial. The need to restore the work of La Capilla Gitana is important not only for its artistic value but also for its symbolic significance in regard to freedom and the duty to recognize the Roma people.
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| Helios Gómez: Poet, Rebel, Anarchist, Artist |
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| Imprisoned by Franco without trial or conviction Helios Gómez worked alone in his prison cell painting a frescoe on the walls to honor the prisoners. |
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| Helios Gómez spent all his life and work in a revolutionary dream to escape from a nightmarish reality |
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| Self Portrait |
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| EL CAPITALISMO, by Helios Gómez Wobbly old architecture! The bloody gear of your constitution will not crush the new generation! |
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La Capilla Gitana (the Gypsy Chapel): The Virgin and child, and the angels are all dark skinned.
They dance to the rhythm of a guitar and a tambourine; a Gypsy party.
Those sentenced to death prayed in this chapel. It was considered a sacred place within the prison.
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| "Helios Gomez had a pro-Soviet stance. Even after having lived there he was unable to make a single criticism of Russia. The look to that country where many Spanish placed the kingdom of Utopia, was hampered by ideological blinders." José Luis Castro Lombilla |
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| Of Helios Gomez Jean Cassou said: “He was an artist because he was a revolutionary and a revolutionary because he was an artist.” |
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| His political posters defended the republic. strong political conscience and anarchist sensibility. His first works were published in the anarchist newspaper Páginas Libres |
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Gabriel, Helios Gómez´s son, in front of posters made by his father
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Sources:
Reivindicación de la memoria histórica - Arte oculto en la Modelo 
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