Castellano, English, Català
A foundation towards an international historical and cultural festival in the fight against fascism.
The Solidarity Park Festival 2024 was a tremendous success, thanks to the invaluable contributions of all participants. We extend our gratitude to the 34 organisations, associations, groups, and institutions that helped make this year’s festival so impactful. One of our key objectives is to bring together diverse groups under a shared banner, fostering collaboration and friendship.
Students and Teachers
We are especially proud of the students who participated in Solidarity Park, with over 400 students from seven educational institutions joining us this year. A heartfelt thank you goes to the students from Hull, UK, who presented their exceptional work at two events. The exhibition continues at El Rovell in Malgrat. This year, over 100 students took part in the Student Activity Day, which was a significant success, thanks to the dedication of the Solidarity Park Teachers’ Group. Historical memory is safe in the hands of these young people who study the history of the International Brigades with such talent and enthusiasm, proving that freedom of expression will always triumph over fascism.
International Visitors and IB Families
We extend our deepest gratitude to the Brigaders’ families and international visitors. The festival embodies the spirit of internationalism, and the efforts made by so many people from across Europe greatly enhanced the festival atmosphere. This year, Tad Lewis and friends undertook an extraordinary journey, retracing the steps of his uncle from Wales to Catalonia, sharing their story at several events, including with the students. It was wonderful to have the dynamic Wendy Lewis and uke, alongside the ever-lovely Mark and Mo Newman. Though they couldn’t attend, the Freeman family’s unwavering support ensured the event took place. We are building an international anti-fascist festival that reconnects local and international stories. The International brigaders we are sure would be proud of how their families continue the struggle.
Celebrating the Artistic Performers
We are deeply grateful to all the performers at the festival. The incredible talents of Joe Solo and The Brigada Intergenerational, who each performed three sets over the four days, left a lasting impression. Joe’s powerful and humble performances had us all singing and shouting, reaffirming our commitment to the struggle. No one left the festival without one of his unity choruses echoing in their minds. The multinational, beautiful talents of Brigada Intergeneracional, with their ever-changing lineup, delivered the history of songs of struggle with passion and grace. Los Pedroches made a dynamic debut, wowing everyone with their radical flamenco-pop. Arturo Gaya Iglesias moved us with his creative and emotional songs at the inauguration of the ‘Memory Spaces’ exhibition. This year, we chose to build a choir from festival attendees, led by the talented duo of Bruno from France and Maria from Malgrat. This ‘pop-up’ choir delivered two excellent songs at the final ceremony in Malgrat. We also had a poignant poetry reading by Solidarity Park stalwart Paul Couchman, telling the story of the monument’s construction. Artistic performance plays a crucial role in bringing communities together, and these artists were the heart of Solidarity Park this year, setting the tone and atmosphere for solidarity. Importantly this year we also had a special panel session on the role of artists in the struggle against fascism, we hope to build on this in the future and continue to use the festival as a platform for artists of the world to unite.
Unity of associations
Special appreciation goes to Amical de les Brigades Internacionals de Catalunya, who have been integral to the project over the years. This time, they organised a historical session on language and the International Brigades with Sidbrint and collaborated in the session on women as combatants in the Civil War.
The Associations’ Market featured many long-time friends, including Porta de la Historia, the Associació Catalana de Persones Ex-preses Polítiques del Franquisme (ACPEPF), the Grup de Recerca de la Memòria Històrica de Mataró, LaDesbandà, and the Brigada Intergeneracional, as well as new groups like Mesa Catalunya and the artist Melissa Corbett. The XV Brigada Mixta also contributed by setting the historical scene with their reenactments. We enjoyed a wonderful communal dinner with over 70 friends joining us.
This year, we established new connections with associations like Hull Trades Council, the Portuguese association Opá Associaçâo Lusófona, and historic centres such as the Ateneu Maig de Flor in Barcelona and Anònims in Granollers. We deeply appreciate the support from Malgrat City Council, the Diputacio de Barcelona and Democratic Memory, who assisted logistically and financially. Special thanks also go to the Ateneu El Rovell, which provided food, drink, entertainment, and serves as the home of Solidarity Park.
Together, we continue to fight for the preservation and development of historical memory so that the realities of fascism are never forgotten.
Highlighting Literary Contributions
We are also thankful for the three books presented at the festival. Hablamos diferentes idiomas, pero una misma lengua by Lourdes Prades Atrigas and Ramón Naya Ortega, and Les Combatents by Gonzalo Berger and Tània Balló Colell, sparked significant interest and important historical debates – central to Solidarity Park’s mission. We were particularly pleased to introduce No Pasarán, an innovative and accessible book for younger readers, written in three languages by Joe Solo and Kevin Pearson, and funded by the Hull Trades Council. Literature that reaches people of all ages is vital to understanding the International Brigades’ legacy.
Memory Spaces.
We are grateful to Vicens Tomàs and Carme Beltran for providing a powerful photographic exhibition of memory spaces around the world – a remarkable life’s work. This exhibition connects Solidarity Park with other important memory spaces. We hope it will tour, allowing many more people to see it. As we fight to preserve the historical memory of the Spanish Civil War and the International Brigades, we must also link this history to other terrible world events and genocides occurring today. Human solidarity is our only defence against human atrocity.
Roc Blackblock – Solidarity with Solidarity
A special thank-you goes to Roc Blackblock, who not only created a stunning mural that connects the people of Malgrat to the International Brigades but also made significant contributions to the discussion on art and fascism. His humble dedication to the cause of historical memory and the fight against fascism across Catalonia is truly inspirational. Despite uncertainties about funding, Roc was prepared to create the mural regardless, demonstrating the true spirit of solidarity. You can read about the mural here and the students involvement Solidarity with solidarity (mursdebitacola.com)
Technical and Organisational Support
We express our gratitude to the technical teams and organisers who made this year’s festival a success. We were thrilled to have Shaun from Reel News documenting the project, with the film set for release in the autumn. Mark and his team from ITES captured Saturday’s events, and we appreciate the live streaming efforts. The translation team, led by Viki and Chris, with support from Myriam and Carles, did a fantastic job with simultaneous and consecutive interpreting. Special thanks to the Malgrat City Council workers who ensured that all spaces and equipment functioned smoothly, as well as to Mesa Catalunya for the loan of their portable PA system and the catering team for providing lunch.
This year, we had a larger event organising team, each member working tirelessly, some to the point of exhaustion. The festival would not have been possible without months of dedication from Mar, Dani, Brigid, Eduard, Quim, Monica, Eduard, Sonia, Paco, Chris, and Rob. The collective effort, both locally and internationally, was enormous and reflects a deep commitment to the project. As the festival grows, so do the demands, and we certainly need more financial resources to ease the burden on organisers. We have many lessons to learn from this festival and we know it can improve in important areas. For example the gender imbalance in certain sessions. We hope others will step forward to help us next year. If you’re interested in volunteering, please contact us.
Solidarity Park 