The river ran black

In the 1950s, my grandparents settled in Asturias, Spain's mining basin. Back then, coal mining fueled the region's economy. Raised amidst narrow valleys and black rivers, my father witnessed the workers' descent into the earth, marked by the siren's call. From 1985, strikes fought against industrial decline, but Spain's entry into the EEC sealed the mines' fate. San Nicolás mine ceased operations in 2023, symbolizing Spain's coal era's end. Abandoned mining structures dot the landscape as nature reclaims the land. Villages shuttered, youth departed for better opportunities, leaving behind a nostalgic memory of the region's vibrant past. Born in Madrid, far from these northern lands loaded with the symbolism of the workers' struggle, I wanted to return to the place where my paternal family was born, to photograph the end of an era and collect the stories of the last miners.