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SPANISH HISTORY

How Spain’s Vigo celebrates kicking out Napoleon

Discover why every year on March 28th, the old town of Vigo, in Galicia takes a step back in time to the 19th century.

How Spain’s Vigo celebrates kicking out Napoleon
Fiesta de Reconquista in Vigo. Photo: Jordi Vich Navarro / Unsplash

On March 28th, 1809 Vigo became the first European city to gain its independence from French occupation.

Napoleon and his French army invaded Spain on May 2nd 1808 moving their way across Spain into Galicia and then down into Portugal. Ultimately, Napoleon’s men only managed to stay in Spain for almost six years, unable to conquer the uprisings from the Spanish population, as well as help from the British and Portuguese armies. 

To mark the uprising, when the people of Vigo expelled Napoleon’s French troops from the city at the beginning of the Peninsular War, a local festival is held. 

Every year on the anniversary of this day, the people of Vigo proudly celebrate this historic event, which they call the Reconquista da Vila de Vigo.

This year, the festival runs until April 2nd 2023. 

READ ALSO: The story of the Spanish village that went from being called Black to White

During the day the Old Town of Vigo transforms into a large open-air market lined with food and craft stalls. The streets are decorated and residents dress up in period costumes to represent the soldiers, peasants and fishermen who lived there during the 18th century.

Mock battles take place across the city representing various parts of the conflict. One of the highlights is the battle of Puerta de Gamboa featuring two of the most beloved local heroes –  Carolo and Cachamuiña. 

Carolo was an old sailor from Berbés, who on March 28th, attacked the Porta da Gamboa, behind enemy lines with just an axe. Even though he was courageous and fought fearlessly, he ended up dying at the hands of the French army when he was shot.  

READ ALSO: Why does Valencia have so many blooming oranges?

Cachamuiña, whose real name was Bernardo González del Valle, was a Galician soldier known for his role in the defence of Vigo. He thankfully survived the war, but later in 1848.  

As well as the historic parts of the event, the festivities continue for several days into the beginning of April with concerts, food tastings and performances.

One of the most important theatrical performances of the festival is the Reconquest itself, where over 500 people take part, representing 50 French soldiers, between 60 and 70 militias and around 400 civilians. After the fight, the Napoleonic troops flee the city by boat.

READ ALSO – REVEALED: The most and least polite cities in Spain

The Reconquest enabled the city of Vigo to gain the status of ‘city’ and shaped what it has become today. 

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POLITICS

Spanish government begins proceedings to outlaw Franco Foundation

Spain's Ministry of Culture has opened legal proceedings to shut down the 'Fundación Francisco Franco', a group dedicated to the dictator who ruled Spain for almost forty years.

Spanish government begins proceedings to outlaw Franco Foundation

Spain’s Ministry of Culture has begun the process of outlawing the Fundación Francisco Franco because it fails to comply with the Democratic Memory Law, controversial legislation passed two years ago by the ruling Socialists (PSOE) to try and help Spain come to terms with its dictatorial past.

The foundation, which essentially promotes the legacy of former dictator General Francisco Franco, who ruled Spain from 1939 to 1975, was founded in 1976 and presents itself as a “cultural institution without political affiliation”. It also sells nationalist memorabilia and books.

Among many admiring articles on its website, the foundation claims that Franco helped lay “the foundations on which it was possible for the democracy we enjoy to be built” and that “his successes are considerably greater than his mistakes.”

READ ALSO: 13 changes you may have missed about Spain’s new ‘Civil War’ law

The Ministry explained that it started legal proceedings to shut down the foundation “because it is considered contrary to the general interest to defend Francoism”. The move, which will likely prove controversial in Spain, has been justified by the government because it “complies with the provisions of the Democratic Memory Law.”

The legal justification is an article of the law that outlaws any group “that glorifies the coup d’état and the dictatorship or extols its leaders, with contempt and humiliation of the dignity of the victims of the coup d’état, the war or Francoism, or direct or indirect incitement to hatred or violence against them because of their status as such.”

The Democratic Memory Law, sometimes also referred to as the Historical Memory Law, was passed in October 2022 and is a wide-ranging piece of legislation that aims to settle Spanish democracy’s debt to the past and deal with the complicated legacies of its Civil War and the Franco dictatorship.

READ ALSO: Spain to relocate remains of Franco’s fascist allies to more low-key grave

The Spanish right has long been opposed to any kind of historical memory legislation, claiming that it digs up old rivalries and causes political tension. Spain’s centre-right party, the Partido Popular, pledged at the time to overturn the law if it entered government.

Among many other measures, the law made the search and excavation of mass graves the responsibility of the government, started DNA banks to identify victims, and annulled Franco-era convictions.

Culture Minister Ernest Urtasun stated in the Spanish press that the decision will ultimately be made by the courts. “Basically what we are doing is starting the implementation of the Democratic Memory Law,” he said.

The Franco Foundation said in a press statement that “we find it incomprehensible” that the law is being “directed exclusively against the Francisco Franco National Foundation.”

The process is expected to be lengthy and could involve several levels of the Spanish judiciary. The Franco Foundation may appeal any decision.

Democratic memory legislation is one of a series of steps by the PSOE government to make amends with the past, including exhuming Franco’s body and moving his body to a private family grave in 2019.

The Franco dictatorship is in living memory for many Spaniards and still an emotive issue. Critics argue historical memory legislation digs up historical divisions, and several right-wing run regions of Spain have attempted to repeal the Democratic Memory Law, including Valencia, the Balearic Islands, and Castilla y León.

READ ALSO: IN PICTURES: Franco exhumed, transported by helicopter, and reburied as Spain takes ‘step towards reconciliation’

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