The Toma - Brian
January 2nd is a holiday in Granada called “La Toma de Granada”, the taking of Granada. On January 2, 1492, the Muslim king of Granada surrendered the keys of the city to the Christian Kings (Los Reyes Catolicos), Ferdinand and Isabella. Granada was the last part of what is now Spain to be returned to Christian rule, a quest the catholic kings of europe had been on for some 700 years. After the surrender Granada was the capital of Spain for a few years. For some time the kings were also buried here at the cathedral in Granada but they’ve since been moved; the ornate tomb remains. All in all this is a big day in the history of the city.
On the toma there is a parade from city hall to the tombs and back and ceremony that goes with it. The parade isn’t huge, but it does include a showing of the military and is a great opportunity to cheer or jeer depending on how you feel about this day. In the past the parade has caused controversy, Los Reyes Catolicos weren’t exactly nice to the locals after they came to power, they quickly introduced things like the Spanish Inquisition and the expulsion of all Muslims and Jews from Spain. Celebrating this is not quite politically correct, and the parade does not pass through our neighborhood, the old arab quarter of the city.
This year however the protesters were right wingers from La Falange, the political party who brought a different set of things to Spain when they had their turn in power, including things like the Spanish Civil War and 40-odd years of the Franco dictatorship following. Aside from the usual racist signs they hold up they had an accidentally featured spot on the parade route. They happen to have an apartment that overlooks the parade route from which they prominently display the old flag of the dictatorship; they took the opportunity to play the national anthem for all present. At least I think that was the plan.
What really happened was a statement on how far the once powerful group has fallen since Franco’s death in 1975. Their sound system consisted of a large horn speaker like you might see in a movie from 1950, which several men struggled to tie to the balcony railing. In the process the door to the balcony fell off with a loud crash and an ensuing struggle to put it back; they failed. After several false starts and lots of static the national anthem finally began. All in front of the gathered crowd for the parade. I don’t think they won any converts this day.