How the photographer got the pictures

I set out on Nov. 12 with my fellow photographer and roommate, Alex, with the intention to take photographs of the ongoing protests organized by the conservative parties, Partido Popular and VOX. We first began to enter the protests at the Plaza de Callao, and moved our way through the protests to Plaza del Sol. What caught my attention as we were taking photographs was the surprising amount of children that we came across during the protest and is something that I tried to capture.  The swarm of people that participated in the protest were clad in Spanish flags and chanting against Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez and his Socialist party, the Partido Socialista Obrero Español (PSOE). However, the chant that was repeated most frequently was “Viva España,” reflecting the strong nationalist feelings of the protest.

After we reached Sol, we decided to make our way back to Moncloa, and we stumbled across the protests that were happening in the Argüelles neighborhood, in front of the PSOE headquarters on the Calle Ferraz. This protest was distinct from the one that we had been in in Sol, with a heavy police presence blocking direct access to the PSOE headquarters. The group of people protesting here was also different to the previous one, with a less notable presence of children, who while present, stayed at the outskirts of the protest. The people we encountered here were more aggressive, with various protesters visibly consuming alcohol. Also more energetic than what we had seen before, the protester’s were chanting nonstop. In my photographs I tried to capture this energy, alongside the senses of nationalism that had been present throughout, capturing images of people waving Spanish flags with the coat of arms cut out.

— Diego Torres-Carrion