This arpillera by Francisca Báez Avila, Barcelona, Spain, was made for International Women’s Day 2009, during a 12 session course at Fundació Ateneu San Roc, facilitated by María Viñolo and Alba Pérez.
Francisca, 67 years old at the time of making this arpillera, shared with the facilitators the story behind it: “This is the story of the time I came from Tangiers. I was 21 at the time and had already had my daughter. My parents lived in Tangiers as they had emigrated when they were young. I lived happy there [during] my childhood and youth. At the time the Arabs wanted their independence, by 1957, things changed. Spaniards preferred to leave rather than remain and endure misery. My husband and I wanted to stay and adapt, though my parents were very old and did not want to die there. They wanted to come back to Spain as they had nothing.
This is what I saw from the ship that came to Spain. I could see the Mosque, the Church, the school. Churches and mosques were very beautiful. They are emblematic buildings of different styles. It is all rather run down now as there is no money, there is misery, and it is not like it was.
In my representation of the boat I tell the story of how I crossed the strait, with my daughter clinging to me as she was about seven months old. I have also depicted some small men that are drowning or dying. This to show the situation some Arabs were undergoing at the time they crossed the strait, sometimes dying.
The first time I arrived here, as I left the train station in France, I saw the sky so dark and grey that I was shocked. That is why I have depicted the sky so bright, as I remember it from Tangiers and with its beautiful sea."
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