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News, Voices John Collins News, Voices John Collins

Climate Justice Now! Spaniards Demand Decarbonization at Madrid March

“De norte al sur, de este al oeste, la lucha sigue, cueste lo que cueste! (From north to south, from east to west, the struggle continues, whatever it takes!)” With this and other slogans ringing in the air, hundreds of activists of all ages filled the streets of downtown Madrid, Spain, on September 15 to demand rapid decarbonization and climate justice. At a time when news reports here are filled with stories of floods, fires, and killer storms throughout the wider Mediterranean region, Madrid’s 15S Climate March provided a much-needed dose of what is usually missing from those reports: a clear-eyed look at the policy steps that must be taken in order to face down our climate crisis.

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Analysis, Voices Berenice Gervacio Analysis, Voices Berenice Gervacio

Gentrification and Resistance in Lavapiés

I was excited to learn more about this neighborhood and explore it myself. I come from a multicultural neighborhood in New York City, where my community is home to hundreds of immigrants. I was raised by immigrants myself, so I wondered if Lavapiés would remind me of home. However, the professor explained that there is a major problem occurring in Lavapiés: gentrification.

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Analysis, Voices Elena Shaw Analysis, Voices Elena Shaw

Lavapiés: The Perfect Place for Rebellion

Since January 2022, Spain, like much of Europe, has suffered a prolonged drought exacerbated by climate change. Luckily, activist groups such as Extinction Rebellion are paving the way for a revolution to fight the destruction caused by our inaction against climate change. Recently I came across some of Extinction Rebellion’s powerful visuals while walking through the Lavapiés neighborhood in the Spanish capital, Madrid.

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Analysis, Voices Nikita Krakhofer Analysis, Voices Nikita Krakhofer

Exploring the Underground Graffiti Culture in Madrid

I am fascinated by how graffiti artists like SODA express themselves by using the public space of a city as their canvas. Graffiti is not only an artform, it is also a lifestyle, a culture. Painting at night, breaking into train stations, exploring underground tunnels, running from police (hopefully not) are part of the everyday life of a graffiti artist. They go to great extents and risk their lives, careers, and freedom to realize their work. I have a lot of respect for those who keep this culture alive.

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Analysis Skylar Bergeron Analysis Skylar Bergeron

Chueca: A Complex Site of Struggle

Is Chueca also a site of radical resistance? Is the counter-cultural queer struggle of 1970s and ’80s Madrid still alive? The quiet but subtly powerful presence of posters, stickers, and wall art strewn between the trendy shops and narrow streets make one inclined to say yes. The point, then, is that this struggle is one of many.

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Analysis Skylar Bergeron Analysis Skylar Bergeron

Chueca: Looking Beyond Left Vs. Right

In her second installment of our Weaving the Streets series, Skylar Bergeron continues her exploration of the Chueca neighborhood in Madrid, where the politics of queer liberation defy simple divisions between Left and Right parties.

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Stories, News, Analysis Ajok Deng Stories, News, Analysis Ajok Deng

What’s Written on the Walls: Gendered Resistance in Lavapiés

By Ajok Deng

In the Madrid neighborhood of Lavapiés, groups such as Mujeres Libres (Free Women) join anonymous street artists in expressing defiant resistance to the structures of patriarchy and the gendered violence that it generates. As part of our Weaving the Streets project, reporter Ajok Deng describes what she has been seeing on the walls, and in the streets, of Lavapiés.

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Stories, Analysis Ajok Deng Stories, Analysis Ajok Deng

Lavapiés: The Streets Speak Many Languages

By Ajok Deng

"Skulls and bones emerge from the ground beneath your feet. They peek right above the sidewalks and leave a chilling impression of what was once hidden." Ajok Deng joins our Weaving the Streets project with a report from Lavapiés, an immigrant neighborhood in the heart of Spain's capital. "The history surrounding the dictatorship has long been buried, but it still has a way of creeping up to the surface."

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