The island of San Simón, located in the Vigo estuary, has once again become the epicenter of remembrance and vindication. In Galicia. This weekend, the historic site hosted the national tribute to the victims of Franco's regime and the prisoners who were held there between 1936 and 1943, a period marked by repression and suffering.
Around 500 people, many of them representatives of memorial associations and families of victims, gathered on the island after leaving by boat from the port of Cesantes, in Redondela. The event, promoted by the Galician Initiative for Memory (IGM), once again highlighted the importance of officially recognizing San Simón as a place of memory, a demand that remains awaited by the state government.
A moving tribute to resistance and democratic memory
The event was marked by the participation of thirty organizations and groups They came from different parts of Galicia and from the national collective La Comuna. They all shared a common goal: to remember the history of the Francoist San Simón prison and honor the memory of its victims.
The central intervention was carried out by the archaeologist and researcher Xurxo Ayan, who emphasized the role of San Simón as a "space for classification and extermination." Ayán defended the need for "make the truth visible and disseminate it" about what happened, considering it essential to transform the island into a place dedicated to collective memory and reflection.
The event also had a moment for family testimony, with the intervention of Mariña Paz, great-granddaughter of the printer Ramiro Paz, who was shot in Pontevedra in 1936. Her story gave voice to the suffering of those who were arrested, tried, and executed for defending freedom of thought and culture, recalling the current political climate and the risk posed by the rise of the far right.
Demands and controversies surrounding the official declaration
The urgency of declaring San Simón as a place of historical memory was one of the main topics of the meeting.The IGM recalled that it has complied with all the legal procedures required for such recognition, with the purpose of stopping the celebration in San Simón of events and activities that, they consider, damage respect towards the victims, like some recent festivals authorized by the regional administration.
Although the central government announced the declaration for this year, the promoting organization denounces that, for now, has not received any official or unofficial communication regarding the progress of this process. This uncertainty adds tension, especially after the controversy that arose recently, when a representative of the Galician government publicly questioned the existence of deaths during the period in which the island functioned as a Francoist prison.
The value of memory in today's society
Various institutional representatives and associations underline the relevance of these historical memory projects. to strengthen democracy and dignify those who suffered repression. In the days leading up to the event, the Government Delegate in Galicia, Pedro Blanco, held meetings with figures from the audiovisual and associative fields linked to memory, highlighting the need to promote initiatives that help repair the pain of the victims and their descendants and keep freedoms alive in the current context.
The case of San Simón stands out as an example of the repression exercised against the Galician population during the dictatorship, being the scene of mass imprisonments and executions.The demand for its recognition pursues preserve history y promote respect for human rightsThe struggle to convert this enclave into an official memorial site reflects the social commitment to not forgetting and to keeping historical memory alive.
