Cartographies of solidarity: oral memory of catalan women in the international solidarity brigades to Central America (1979–1992)

Between the late 1970 s and the early 1990 s, the revolutionary upheavals in Central America – most notably in Nicaragua, El Salvador, and Guatemala – sparked a significant transnational solidarity movement. In Spain, this internationalism was deeply intertwined with the domestic transition from dictatorship to democracy, a context that prompted many individuals to continue their political and social activism in Central America. This article examines the international solidarity generated by women who chose to travel to the aforementioned countries during the 1980 s and 1990 s. Grounded in nine in-depth interviews, the study explores and analyses the factors that determined these women’s decisions to go to the region. It also discusses how the experience was lived and the specific actions they carried out during their time there. Finally, the article analyses the impact that the time spent in Central America had on the subsequent life courses of the interviewed women.