Many of us have heard about the success of Bilbao and its process of urban regeneration. The Guggenheim Museum or the award winning Euskalduna Palace represents the new image of modern Bilbao, an example of city regeneration:“The Bilbao Effect”. But what was there before? Does anyone remember the Battle of Euskalduna?
Urban regeneration sometimes seem to leave behind, perhaps deliberately, the history of these spaces. Places which witnessed a great economic dynamism and social/political struggles, on the context of what was called Welfare State. Below I present (sorry, in Spanish) two fragments of the film “The Battle of Euskalduna”, directed by Jose Angel Pascual more than twenty years ago. The battle erupted in 1984 following the threat of closure of the Euskalduna Shipyards (set up in 1900) which eventually ocurred in 1988. This is a dramatic, sad testimony of history of many of our cities, not only Bilbao, which though in my opinion should not be forgotten.
Please feel free to post here other still “living memories” of our cities which you would like to share..
Wengi wetu tumesikia juu ya mafanikio ya Bilbao na mchakato wake wa uamsho wa mijini. Makumbusho ya Guggenheim au ushindi wa tuzo Euskalduna Palace inawakilisha picha mpya ya Bilbao ya kisasa, mfano wa upyaji wa jiji: <unk>The Bilbao Effect<unk>. Lakini ni nini kilichokuwapo kabla ya hapo? Je, kuna mtu yeyote anayekumbuka Vita vya Euskalduna? Urekebishaji wa mijini wakati mwingine huonekana kuacha nyuma, labda kwa makusudi, historia ya nafasi hizi. Maeneo ambayo yalishuhudia nguvu kubwa ya kiuchumi na mapambano ya kijamii / kisiasa, juu ya muktadha wa kile kilichoitwa Jimbo la Ustawi. Chini mimi kuwasilisha (samahani, katika Kihispania) vipande viwili vya filamu <unk>The Battle of Euskalduna<unk>, iliyoongozwa na Jose Angel Pascual zaidi ya miaka ishirini iliyopita. Vita hivyo vilianza mwaka 1984 baada ya kutishwa kwa kufungwa kwa viwanda vya Euskalduna Shipyards, ambavyo vilikuwa vimefungwa mwaka 1988. Hii ni ushuhuda wa kusikitisha wa historia ya miji yetu mingi, sio Bilbao tu, ambayo ingawa kwa maoni yangu haipaswi kusahaulika. Tafadhali jisikie huru kuchapisha hapa kumbukumbu nyingine bado hai za miji yetu ambayo ungependa kushiriki..