Julia Becerra Malvar was born in the family palace in Salcedo (Pontevedra, Galicia, Spain) on 9 April 1892.
Her father, Manuel Becerra, together with other Galician noblemen, gifted King Alfonso XIII the Island of Cortegada.
On her mother's side, she was related to Archbishop Malvar and to the famous writer Emilia Pardo Bazán.
In 1910, when she was going to make her debut at the Milan's Scala, her father brought her back to Spain because he did not want her to be a singer.
However, when the earl of Creixell fell ill with tuberculosis, in 1933, they decided moved into the Barrantes Palace.
As it was told by her granddaughter Cristina Cebrián, Julia was really impressed by all the technological and medical advances that she could see at the American hospitals.
According to her granddaughter Cristina, who was pregnant at that time, Julia did not let them wallow in their misery, instead she forced them to go on with their lives.
Julia grew up in an atmosphere which encouraged her political interests and her adoration for her home village.
Consequently, when she was married her parents gave her "El Pazo de Barrantes" where she spent all the summers.
Due to all these ideas she met Ramón Cabanillas, Cambó and José Sánchez Guerra.
On 25 September 1930, several important galician intellectuals and Julia met in Pazo de Barrantes to write a document which demanded the rights of Galicia.
This contract was signed by Ramón Cabanillas, Paz Andrade, Basilio Álvarez and others..... except Julia because she was a woman.
Julia, countess of Creixel, was always between the devil and the deep blue sea because although she was in favour of the Republic, she was a friend of the king Alfonso XIII too.
After the republic reclamation Julia participated more in politics, for instance she ran as a deputy in the province of Pontevedra, although she was not elected.
During the Spanish Civil war she had a lot of contacts in the republican party, so she helped a lot of people who had their lives in danger.She contributed to saving a considerable number of lives thanks to her links to the organization "Socorro Blanco" The Spanish Civil war was a hard time for everybody.
Her granddaughter Cristina Cebrián explains that thanks to the Barrantes Palace's house keepers, Julia and her family never lacked food or money because they kept all her shares despite the war.
Some years later, she renounced to give up politics when the Civil war finished with the democracy in Spain.
Julia spent the final years of her life in Spain, in Barrantes to be precise, after performing humanitarian works around Europe during W.W.II.
Although she liked singing and playing the piano for her family, Julia also loved working in the fields, specially during the grape harvest.
It should be mentioned that she donated a great part of her land so that the local school was built, just because she loved Barrantes and its inhabitants very much.