April 18 - Catching Up

Feelings of the Day: On this day, when advance elections were occurring in Canada, I thought about the stances of each of the political parties. Juxtaposed with this was some graffiti I saw in town, some which are pro-fascism and some anti-fascism. For Canada, is a steady hand at the helm going to be preferred to a severe change in course? On this day I did not know.

Full Day’s Events: Today was a catchup day: travel diary, emails, FB posts, and reading Chris Hadfield’s “An Astronaut's Guide to Life”. Before lunch I took a long walk, over an hour, through the Arboleda and the South part of town.

    While walking on the main Southern street I saw graffiti that emphasized pro-Franco and pro-fascism stances. For those who do not know, Francisco Franco ruled Spain under a para-fascist system of government, after its civil war against republicanism, from 1936 to Franco’s death in 1975. The anti-republicanism civil war was proclaimed by Francoist Spain as a crusade against communism to defend their Christian civilization. Under his dictatorship, he supported Germany and Italy during WW2, imprisoned more than 270,000 people in concentration camps, and more than 200,000 people died. Culture not considered Spanish, and some that were Spanish but not liked, were suppressed or censored. Basque, Galician, and Catalan languages and culture were banned and suppressed. The Catholic church was given control over marriages, divorces, and education. Children also had to be given Christian names. The rights of women were reversed to be subservient to men and they were not able to control their own finances. Criticism in the media was a crime and news/media outlets had to have a government director appointed to them.

    I did not know if the graffiti was a youth’s desire for a glorious past, that never was, because a severe change may be better for them than hard work. Perhaps they were just being “edgy” and “cool” with their friends because everyone was doing it. Either way it is concerning, but also good that contrary slogans are put up here and there. I was told by my friends that this contrary graffiti is common around Spain.

    In the afternoon I continued with catching up and had a two hour video call with my wife. Modern technology is so handy to keep in touch with loved ones when great distances are between you.

    In the evening there was to be a parade and a procession, with lemonade afterwards, but the weather became rainy and awful. I stayed indoors instead with Chris Hadfield’s book. 5km and 17 flights walked.