Rural Life in Granada
The world of Granada was particularly classist and sexist, with high classes remaining in control of the land the peasants worked. At the same time, the rates were vastly different, even though they were minimum in these dire times of economic crisis
Granada and Rural Spain
As the Great Depression approached, many North–Western European countries put into place land reforms and market forces, in order to most equitably help their citizens. Spain, however, did not follow and maintained high levels of inequality, mostly seen in the Southern region of the country. While some of the regions began to progress and introduce new technologies, majority of the rural areas relied on traditional farming methods.
Rural Spain was characterized by its weather, which carried and average of up to 88 degrees Fahrenheit (30 C) during the summer of 1936. It was elevated by the major droughts the southern rural areas faced during the 1930s. These towns, up to 4 hours away from the next one over, relied solely on agriculture. The Second Republic, up until the end of the Civil War, were times of civil unrest, with many southern provinces, including Granada, demanding land reform and improved working conditions. However, these didn’t come, and the higher classes remained in power with what was called “Latifundismo.” The term refers to the families of high social status that often lived in large estates modeling the Roman Latifundia style, and were in charge of the land and its plantations.
The economic crisis of 1931, elevated by the Civil War and limited resources/funds, only made matters worse for the agrarian industry. In Granada, many peasants faced malnutrition and starvation due to the shortage of basic supplies. For the men, their main source of income for families was with the fields, whether it was owning or working them. In the 1930s, rural Spain was characterized by widespread poverty and hardship for agricultural laborers. Many worked 16-hour days for low wages on large estates, often seasonally, and faced job insecurity. As for the women, it was centralized on the home: working in the home revolved around harvesting the crops after the men picked them and domestic tasks, often with harsh conditions and limited resources. Women typically managed the household, including cooking, cleaning, and childcare, while also assisting with farm work.
Poverty rates skyrocketed as well, since the wealthy landowners were unable to plant as much crops as possible, but refused to sell their lands. Because of this, work was often seasonal, and low/middle class families were left without income for majority of the year. When they could use the fields, the crops were based on resources the government sent them, as well as the preference and necessity of the wealthy families. These estates produced agricultural goods like olive oil, wine, and grain, and their owners enjoyed a lifestyle distinct from the poverty experienced by many rural workers.
Granada through Pictures
Services Offered
Collaborative Projects
Embroidering
In rural Spain during the 1930s, embroidery was a common occupation for women, often done at home for extra income, but with low wages and poor working conditions.
There are various ways of looking at and learning embroidery: learned and popular. While learned embroidery focuses on the practice and skills acquired to put into luxurious fabrics and noble materials, popular embroidery is centered on personalized items used for special occasions. In Spain, you will find popular embroidery.
That said, popular embroidery is different and can be analyzed through the geographical influences. According to María Ángeles Mena, popular inland embroidery is more solid, with greater strength, greater colour contrast and stronger and flatter tones, as well as more limited colour combinations. On the coasts, however, the pieces have more openings, more fretwork, more polychromy and fewer marked contrasts.
At the same time, during the 19th and 20th century, you could find embroidery schools around the country. The most well-known and respected embroidery schools in Spain are located in different provinces and regions: Toledo, Salamanca, León, Granada, Mallorca, and the Canary Islands.
I have included various videos for manual embroidery that showcases equipment, form, and different styles. Although the videos are more modern, they are closely accurate to what historians describe for the 20th century.