Femininely Juxtaposed in Spain

I don’t know how many people can say they went to a feminist rally/parade in Spain and carried one of the protest figures, but I can.

It began when I saw a poster for what appeared to be a feminist event at my university, but I wasn’t very sure what this implied for the Spaniards. I had no face that popped into my head when I imagined a Spaniard feminist. That soon changed. It was the International Day of Women, (or something like that, I was translating from the poster), and the galegas y galegos (citizens of Galicia) celebrated it right.

Photo from: http://media.collegepublisher.com/media/paper309/stills/8dfi14o9

Intending to stand back and observe, a woman came up to me and asked me to help carry one of the protest dolls that would be marching at the front of the parade. I was then commanded by another woman to make the doll dance with the drum beats and to chant whatever they were saying in galego. This resulted in me uttering nondescript noises and then yelling the words I did know.

I looked behind me and realized I knew someone who was playing the drums, a local Viguesa (female resident of Vigo.) As we paraded together, buses full of angry onlookers couldn’t pass and police guarded the sides of the line. Protests or rallies are not anything unusual here, I’ve seen at least five since I’ve been here.

The parade culminated in speeches by six women, spouting things like how they won’t rest until there’s liberty for all women. They yelled in galego, and no matter how loud they cranked up the PA system, I only caught certain phrases.

It really doesn’t matter though. No matter the language, women’s rights are a universal issue.

Femininely juxtaposed, I am left to ponder my experiences with an open mind.