Monday's music: Betagarri - 1976 martxoak 3

Last Saturday was March 3rd, and I would like to tell something that happened in Basque Country in 1976. With Franco recently dead the Spanish situation was a bit chaotic, people wanted freedom and democracy but it was still not clear what was going to happen. Economic situation was not at the best moment so there you have the ingredients for a strike.

In Vitoria-Gasteiz, capital city of the Basque Country, workers call to the strike on January to defend their rights, after this strike they call to another strike on March. In this last one lots of workers and students were meeting in the Church of Saint Franciscus of Asis for an assembly, police arrived and despite the will of the church's priest they throw tear gas in the church, when workers started to came out they were beaten up and fired, provoking 5 dead people and tens of injured.

The responsible head of all this was Manuel Fraga, founder of the Popular Party, current  ruler of Spain, who was never judge for this and he died quietly in his bed in January 2012. That's how democracy arrived to Spain, just writing a new page of the History Book without cleaning up the previous ones, forgetting 40 years of history.

Betagarri is a ska band from Vitoria-Gasteiz that sings in basque and made this song to remember what happened. I translated it myself, I hope it is correctly translated.


Update: In the homage that was done last Saturday police attacked the demonstrators and arrested several people (at least three guys), here you have some images and a video of what happened.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RbmTCs_En5w

Betagarri - 1976, March 3rd

You were cold in your bones

and you had hate in your veins on that days

you fought for your basic rights.

Trying to get back worker's dignity

you gave your years and your life

You sang The International in churches 

and you shouted "Global Strike!" in the streets.

You could feel the strength and the worker's fight in the atmosphere

you made the city an example of fight.

March 3rd, dark March,

Black March, dark day,

beloved day

in the memory of Gasteiz's folk.

Violence assassinated sons of this city,

five carnations on the floor, people on the street.

Victory was for the worker resistance.

Death and suffering made our hearts harder.