Manifest by Tullis Rennie

An acousmatic documentary in two parts, based on the sounds of protests recorded in Barcelona.

Los Indignados
In May 2011, Plaça Catalunya in Barcelona became one of the focal points for a movement whose participants have come to be known as 'Los Indignados'. This is a grassroots, politically motivated "collective cultural awakening" which demands a sea-change towards government transparency, economic justice, social investment, increase in employment opportunities, better living standards and changes to the government's austerity plans.

I took recordings on Friday 20th May 2011. It was the 6th and largest day of demonstrations - the final day before local elections that would soon indicate the mood of the nation. There was a strong communal sense of positivity and hope. It felt like a fiesta.

Vaga General
The 29th March 2012, a national strike was observed across Spain. This followed a general election which gave an overall majority to the conservative Partido Popular (PP). Unemployment had since risen to 25% nationally (nearly 50% in under 30s) and the new government continued huge spending cuts to education, health and welfare.

Throughout the day of the strike, the mood in the streets was edgy & tense. Pockets of violence flared, with the police content to stand by and watch as a small core of trouble-makers threw paint and set alight rubbish bins.

As the organised march at 6pm began, riot police opened fire with rubber bullets on a crowd populated by families, young children & pensioners.

1.	Manifest	14:00