Luz Paniceres, 80 years old, was standing still yesterday afternoon in the middle of Palacio Valdés Street, the popular "Acerona" in Gijón. She was waiting to see the great feminist demonstration in Asturias, called for in the Jovellanos village, because "when I was young we did not own anything, not even a glass of water. And because we deserve it, we have always been discriminated against, and since we couldn´t do anything about it, it can happen for those who come behind", she stated with the knowing gaze of a group of friends. Unknowingly, standing on the "Acerona", she witnessed a demonstration that the organizers described as "historical": more than 20,000 women on the street to reclaim their rights.
The massive morning gatherings in the squares of the different town halls made it clear that the afternoon would be a purple tide to remember. But the forecasts of the most optimistic ones fell short: "We are more than 20,000 people demonstrating, this is already an overflow", shouted through the megaphone one of those in charge of cheering up the head of the gathering, which left Plaza del Humedal at seven o'clock in the evening and at half past eight, there were still demonstrators around.
The human tide started moving under so many flags and banners as participants grouped under the umbrella of the 8M movement, organizer of the acts, and did not stop chanting for a moment the wage demands, against sexist violence, against sexism and against all kinds of discrimination against women in general.
By then, the union representatives had qualified the call as a "success" without palliatives. The head of equality at CC OO, Ana María Rodríguez, predicted that the International Women's Day celebrated yesterday "will be a turning point in the fight for women's rights", and the deputy secretary general of UGT Asturias, Nerea Monroy, highlighted the follow-up of the strikes "that has been noticed in large companies such as Arcelor or Thyssen and also in stores that have closed throughout the day", setting "a precedent in the feminist movement" and launching "a clear message to the central Government to put in place measures that eradicate the wage gap, discrimination and gender violence". Sara Combarros described the demonstration as a "feminist overflow", and throughout the tour there was a memory for all. For those present and those absent, those who striked and those who could not, the youngest and the oldest, the hetero and the homosexual, the white and the black.
After a long hour of marching, with the Plaza del Marqués so crowded with people, with batucada, applauses and shouts, the minute of silence in memory of Paz Fernández Borrego, the woman from Gijon murdered after disappearing in Navia, was especially emotional. After being quiet as a tomb, the silence exploded in a resounding "not even one less, we want us alive" that was followed by the songs of the Coru Internacional Matriarcal y Antifascista "Al Altu la Lleva".
The climax came with the reading of the manifesto under the motto "Together we are more", to denounce budget cuts, patriarchal justice and repression. It took a long time to clear the area. And as they chanted, "then you will say we are five or six".
