Vitoria-Gasteiz’s Gara initiative will publish a documentary to keep stirring the memory
- The audiovisual will be carried out with the intention of "bringing to light all the history that exists in silence".
The documentary will be completed with the testimonies of March 3, as, according to the members of Memoria Gara, “it is often thought that everything lived by Vitoria-Gasteiz in 1976 is well told and written and it is not true, there are still many new microstories to discover.”
However, the idea of the documentary begins to germinate in another initiative, that of seeking lost time, chocolate and a cupcake in exchange for a memory.
The day was based on the novel Denbora galduaren bila by Marcel Proust: “The protagonist of the novel stirred his memory with the help of flavors, and we organized our own version in Zaramaga, around a chocolate and a cupcake, inviting society to share the memories of March 3,” said Gara members.
In addition, they add that this type of conference is still necessary at present: “It was a very enriching and nice exercise for all of us who were there. The wound of March 3 is still open in Vitoria-Gasteiz and you have to offer this kind of restorative exercises to feed and take care of the popular memory.”
From the experience of that day, they became clear from the first moment the need to continue with the project, and thus emerged the idea of the documentary: “We thought it was possible to do something with everything recorded; to complement it with more testimonies, to add reflections of writers…”.
Gara memory
The Memory Gara initiative was launched in September 2018. Based on a manifesto signed by Vitorians from different areas, it is intended to build a Center for Memory and Human Rights in the Church of San Francisco de Zaramaga.
The initiatives undertaken so far have been based on two axes: Contacts and meetings with the Church and institutions and actions to obtain popular support for the Church's claim of March 3 as a memory center, among others, Collection of signatures, the human chain Eliza Inguratu, the publication of a book on the memory of the Zaramaga neighborhood and the In Search for Lost Time Day mentioned above.
However, they are clear that all these dynamics are merely tools oriented towards a concrete objective: “There are many struggles, sufferings and experiences that have happened in the Basque Country in recent decades. That is why we demand the need for a centre for Memory and Human Rights, which has to carry out dynamic initiatives to work the whole memory in a broad way. Until this project materializes, we will continue to make progress with our resources.”
