The workers’ memory thread

The families who took part in the building of Los Hurones dam (Cádiz) now live scattered around Spain. Since its construction 70 years ago, they have transmitted to their children and grandchildren their recollections of working and living on the site, recollections which sometimes verge on myth and oral literature. Digital communication on the web, together with the invaluable support from younger relatives, have allowed us to overcome geographical distance and find former neighbours and workmates, swap photos and fill in the blanks in the puzzle of their communal memory.

The face-to-face interviews were carried out in Madrid, Seville, Galdakao (Vizcaya) and several places in Cádiz (San Fernando, Jerez de la Frontera, Algar and Ubrique). And we interviewed online several residents from Barcelona, Mataró (Barcelona), Minglanilla (Valencia), Coslada (Madrid) and El Puerto de Santa María (Cádiz). We interviewed 29 people, 11 women and 18 men of different ages and social backgrounds. The women interviewed focussed their attention and memories on the family, emotions and everyday life, whereas the men interviewed reflected more on the social, working and technical environment. 

The oldest were born between the 1930s and early 1940s and started working at the ages of 12-14. Others were born later and in the 1950s were the children who listened to their elders talking and watched the progress of the building work with curiosity. During break time some students played at making dams in a nearby small stream of water: they were careful to follow the right architectural phases; pebbles simulated the stonework and pressed mud served as concrete. From an early age Pepe Benítez and Blasina Orellana brought food to their parents’ workplaces and shared with them their rest moments and work conditions. This allows us nowadays to learn about their parents’ lives in greater detail.