International Day of Working Women

By Berta Moya and Irene Monferrer

On March 8th we have celebrated the International Day of Working Women every year since 1911. This is a festivity recognized by the United Nations Organization. This day commemorates the fact that women participate in the same way as men in the world of work and in society.

The establishment of this date as the International Women's Day was the result of a long process. It supposedly relates to a fire that took place in a textile factory in New York in 1908, causing the death of a hundred striking workers. The reality, however, was more complex. There were three events, not just a single fire in New York: the textile workers’ strike in 1857, the fire in the Cotton Factory and the Triangle Shirtwaist Company on March 25th 1911. In the latter, 142 workers (mostly young immigrants) died. They had been on strike the year before to demand better working conditions.

Medieval festival

By Thamesis Balceda

In Badalona, from 25th to 27th March, we celebrated the medieval festival along La Salut Avenue. The streets of the neighborhood of La Salut were crowded. They were full of lights and the floor was full of straw. There were a lot of of fools, knights and kings. The atmosphere was very medieval. People wore medieval clothes. There were all kind of medieval shops, donkeys… The objects were handmade. You could watch, for example, how a man made bread, and then he put it into the oven. You could also see how women sewed clothes. You could mount the donkeys and go for a ride. You could eat medieval meals and listen to medieval music.