Synopses & Reviews
The land belongs to those who work it—
“La tierra es de quien la trabaja.”One hundred kilometers from Seville, there is a small village, Marinaleda, that for the last thirty years has been at the center of a long struggle to create a communist utopia. In a story reminiscent of the Asterix books, Dan Hancox explores the reality behind the community where no one has a mortgage, sport is played in the Che Guevara stadium and there are monthly “Red Sundays” where everyone works together to clean up the neighbourhood. In particular he tells the story of the village mayor, Sánchez Gordillo, who in 2012 became a household name in Spain after leading raids on local supermarkets to feed the Andalucian unemployed.
Synopsis
The story of a village that dreamed of a better future, and won.
For the last thirty-five years the small Andalusian village of Marinaleda has been the centre of a tireless struggle to create a living utopia. Dan Hancox reveals the fascinating history of a community that seized the land owned by wealthy aristocrats in order to work it themselves. Since the 1980s, led by the charismatic mayor, Juan Manuel Sánchez Gordillo, the villagers have been fighting for a better life. But as the economic crisis started to bite, how long could the utopia hold on to its dreams?
About the Author
Dan Hancox is a journalist who has written for the Guardian, the New Statesman, Independent, Frieze, New Inquiry, National, Dazed & Confused, Q magazine, Mute and the Wire. He is the author of two ebooks: Kettled Youth and Utopia and the Valley of Dreams.