A Song for Spanish Miners
Crossing Continents
English - September 04, 2014 10:15 - 28 minutes - 25.7 MB - ★★★★★ - 68 ratingsNews Society & Culture Places & Travel Homepage Download Apple Podcasts Google Podcasts Overcast Castro Pocket Casts RSS feed
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In the Spanish mining town of Turon a male choir meets once a week for rehearsals. They often sing to the patron saint of miners Santa Bárbara Bendita. Since 1934 miners have been singing this beautiful song in memory of four miners killed in a mining accident in the Maria Luisa mine. Coal mining, once a major industry in Spain, has been in decline for years and in the next few years the EU's subsidies for non-profitable pits will stop altogether. For most miners the closure of pits signals the death of their communities. Natalio Cosoy travels to northern Spain to talk to the miners and their families. Will Santa Bárbara Bendita watch over them as they face an uncertain future? James Fletcher producing.