{"id":203082,"date":"2022-10-29T11:06:43","date_gmt":"2022-10-29T09:06:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/agencevu.com\/?post_type=serie&#038;p=203082"},"modified":"2025-08-29T16:33:07","modified_gmt":"2025-08-29T14:33:07","slug":"the-river-ran-black-2020-2022","status":"publish","type":"serie","link":"https:\/\/agencevu.com\/en\/serie\/the-river-ran-black-2020-2022\/","title":{"rendered":"The river ran black: The end of the coal, 2020-2022"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id='av_section_1'  class='avia-section main_color avia-section-small avia-no-border-styling  avia-bg-style-scroll  avia-builder-el-0  el_before_av_submenu  avia-builder-el-first   container_wrap fullsize' style='background-color: #f1f1f1;  '  ><div class='container' ><main  role=\"main\" itemprop=\"mainContentOfPage\"  class='template-page content  av-content-full alpha units'><div class='post-entry post-entry-type-page post-entry-203082'><div class='entry-content-wrapper clearfix'>\n<section class=\"av_textblock_section \"  itemscope=\"itemscope\" itemtype=\"https:\/\/schema.org\/CreativeWork\" ><div class='avia_textblock  '   itemprop=\"text\" ><p class=\"titre-page\"><a style=\"text-decoration: none; color: #707070;\" href=\"https:\/\/agencevu.com\/en\/series\/\">Series<\/a><\/p>\n<hr class=\"hr-titre-page\">\n<\/div><\/section>\n\n<\/div><\/div><\/main><!-- close content main element --><\/div><\/div><div class='clear'><\/div><div id='sub_menu1'  class='av-submenu-container main_color  avia-builder-el-2  el_after_av_section  el_before_av_section  av-sticky-submenu  submenu-not-first container_wrap fullsize' style='  z-index:301' ><div class='container av-menu-mobile-disabled '><ul id='av-custom-submenu-1' class='av-subnav-menu av-submenu-pos-center'>\n<li class='menu-item menu-item-top-level  menu-item-top-level-1'><a href='https:\/\/agencevu.com\/en\/serie\/the-river-ran-black-2020-2022\/' ><span class='avia-bullet'><\/span><span class='avia-menu-text'>Part I: The end of the coal<\/span><\/a><\/li>\n<li class='menu-item menu-item-top-level  menu-item-top-level-2'><a href='https:\/\/agencevu.com\/en\/serie\/the-river-ran-black-2023-2025\/' ><span class='avia-bullet'><\/span><span class='avia-menu-text'>Part II: Reinventing a land<\/span><\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul><\/div><\/div><div class='sticky_placeholder'><\/div>\n<div id='av_section_2'  class='avia-section main_color avia-section-default avia-no-shadow  avia-bg-style-scroll  avia-builder-el-3  el_after_av_submenu  el_before_av_section   container_wrap fullsize' style=' '  ><div class='container' ><div class='template-page content  av-content-full alpha units'><div class='post-entry post-entry-type-page post-entry-203082'><div class='entry-content-wrapper clearfix'>\n<div class=\"flex_column av_one_full  flex_column_div av-zero-column-padding first  avia-builder-el-4  el_before_av_textblock  avia-builder-el-first  \" style='border-radius:0px; '><section class=\"av_textblock_section \"  itemscope=\"itemscope\" itemtype=\"https:\/\/schema.org\/CreativeWork\" ><div class='avia_textblock  '   itemprop=\"text\" ><p style=\"color: #76a38b; font-size: 20px; font-weight: 600;\"><strong>The river ran black: The end of the coal<\/strong>, <em style=\"font-weight: 100;\">2020-2022<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div><\/section><\/div><section class=\"av_textblock_section \"  itemscope=\"itemscope\" itemtype=\"https:\/\/schema.org\/CreativeWork\" ><div class='avia_textblock  '   itemprop=\"text\" ><h5><a href=\"\/en\/photographer\/lys-arango\">Lys Arango<\/a><\/h5>\n<\/div><\/section>\n<div class='flex_column_table av-equal-height-column-flextable -flextable' ><div class=\"flex_column av_one_half  flex_column_table_cell av-equal-height-column av-align-top av-zero-column-padding first  avia-builder-el-7  el_after_av_textblock  el_before_av_one_half  column-top-margin\" style='border-radius:0px; '><section class=\"av_textblock_section \"  itemscope=\"itemscope\" itemtype=\"https:\/\/schema.org\/CreativeWork\" ><div class='avia_textblock  '   itemprop=\"text\" ><p>My grandparents settled in the mining basin of Asturias, Spain, in the 1950s. A time when coal mining was the engine of economic development in the region.<\/p>\n<p>My father grew up in these narrow valleys surrounded by mountains, where the river ran black and where the sound of the siren announced the descent of the workers into the depths of the Earth.<\/p>\n<p>From 1985 began a great cycle of general strikes intended to prevent the industrial desertification of the mining basins. Despite this movement, Spain&#8217;s entry into the European Economic Community triggered the countdown to the definitive closure of the mines. In 2023, that of San Nicol\u00e1s will cease its activity, sealing the end of the history of coal in Spain.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/section><\/div><div class='av-flex-placeholder'><\/div><div class=\"flex_column av_one_half  flex_column_table_cell av-equal-height-column av-align-top av-zero-column-padding   avia-builder-el-9  el_after_av_one_half  el_before_av_one_full  column-top-margin\" style='border-radius:0px; '><section class=\"av_textblock_section \"  itemscope=\"itemscope\" itemtype=\"https:\/\/schema.org\/CreativeWork\" ><div class='avia_textblock  '   itemprop=\"text\" ><p>This decline has marked the landscape and the population. The rusting mining towers still stand as nature reclaims the space. In the villages, hundreds of houses and businesses have closed their shutters. Young people leave for lack of job prospects and those who stay remember with nostalgia the years when the region attracted workers from all over Spain, and when a strong associative life flourished.<\/p>\n<p>Born in Madrid, far from these northern lands loaded with the symbolism of the workers&#8217; 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.<\/p>\n<p>Today the river runs clean and yet, every day, there are fewer people to admire it.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/section><\/div><\/div><!--close column table wrapper. Autoclose: 1 --><div class='flex_column_table av-equal-height-column-flextable -flextable' ><div class=\"flex_column av_one_full  flex_column_table_cell av-equal-height-column av-align-middle av-zero-column-padding first  avia-builder-el-11  el_after_av_one_half  el_before_av_three_fourth  column-top-margin\" style='border-radius:0px; '><div  class='avia-image-container  av-styling-no-styling    avia-builder-el-12  avia-builder-el-no-sibling  avia-align-center '  itemprop=\"image\" itemscope=\"itemscope\" itemtype=\"https:\/\/schema.org\/ImageObject\"  ><div class='avia-image-container-inner'><div class='avia-image-overlay-wrap'><a href=\"https:\/\/agencevu.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Asturia_01-1-1030x687.jpg\" href=\"https:\/\/agencevu.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Asturia_01-1-1030x687.jpg 1030w, https:\/\/agencevu.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Asturia_01-1-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/agencevu.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Asturia_01-1-80x53.jpg 80w, https:\/\/agencevu.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Asturia_01-1-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/agencevu.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Asturia_01-1-1536x1025.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/agencevu.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Asturia_01-1-1500x1001.jpg 1500w, https:\/\/agencevu.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Asturia_01-1-705x470.jpg 705w, https:\/\/agencevu.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Asturia_01-1.jpg 1619w\" href=\"(max-width: 1030px) 100vw, 1030px\" class='avia_image' ><img width=\"1619\" height=\"1080\" class='wp-image-202495 avia-img-lazy-loading-not-202495 avia_image' src=\"https:\/\/agencevu.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Asturia_01-1.jpg\" alt='' title='Laviana, November 10 2020 - The tower of the Carrio coal mine, closed in 2018 after 70 years of activity, stands next to the Nal\u00f3n river, in the municipality of Laviana. Today the water runs clean and nature recovers the space that one day was stained black by industrial activity.'  itemprop=\"thumbnailUrl\" srcset=\"https:\/\/agencevu.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Asturia_01-1.jpg 1619w, https:\/\/agencevu.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Asturia_01-1-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/agencevu.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Asturia_01-1-1030x687.jpg 1030w, https:\/\/agencevu.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Asturia_01-1-80x53.jpg 80w, https:\/\/agencevu.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Asturia_01-1-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/agencevu.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Asturia_01-1-1536x1025.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/agencevu.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Asturia_01-1-1500x1001.jpg 1500w, https:\/\/agencevu.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Asturia_01-1-705x470.jpg 705w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1619px) 100vw, 1619px\" \/><\/a><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><!--close column table wrapper. Autoclose: 1 --><div class='flex_column_table av-equal-height-column-flextable -flextable' ><div class=\"flex_column av_three_fourth  flex_column_table_cell av-equal-height-column av-align-middle av-zero-column-padding first  avia-builder-el-13  el_after_av_one_full  el_before_av_one_fourth  column-top-margin\" style='border-radius:0px; '><div  class='avia-image-container  av-styling-no-styling    avia-builder-el-14  avia-builder-el-no-sibling  avia-align-center '  itemprop=\"image\" itemscope=\"itemscope\" itemtype=\"https:\/\/schema.org\/ImageObject\"  ><div class='avia-image-container-inner'><div class='avia-image-overlay-wrap'><a href=\"https:\/\/agencevu.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Asturia_02-1030x687.jpg\" href=\"https:\/\/agencevu.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Asturia_02-1030x687.jpg 1030w, https:\/\/agencevu.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Asturia_02-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/agencevu.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Asturia_02-80x53.jpg 80w, https:\/\/agencevu.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Asturia_02-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/agencevu.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Asturia_02-1536x1025.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/agencevu.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Asturia_02-1500x1001.jpg 1500w, https:\/\/agencevu.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Asturia_02-705x470.jpg 705w, https:\/\/agencevu.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Asturia_02.jpg 1619w\" href=\"(max-width: 1030px) 100vw, 1030px\" class='avia_image' ><img width=\"1619\" height=\"1080\" class='wp-image-202378 avia-img-lazy-loading-not-202378 avia_image' src=\"https:\/\/agencevu.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Asturia_02.jpg\" alt='' title='Mieres, January 26 2022 - Thais Mellado Fern\u00e1ndez, 36, rests in the waiting room for the elevator that goes down to the galleries of the San Nicol\u00e1s mine. She started working as a miner at the age of 21 under the condition of &quot;absolute preference&quot;, since her father died in a work accident inside the mine. The San Nicol\u00e1s mine, in Spain&#039;s northern Asturias region, is the last operating coal mine in the country. It once had 1,500 workers, but today there are only 200 left.'  itemprop=\"thumbnailUrl\" srcset=\"https:\/\/agencevu.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Asturia_02.jpg 1619w, https:\/\/agencevu.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Asturia_02-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/agencevu.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Asturia_02-1030x687.jpg 1030w, https:\/\/agencevu.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Asturia_02-80x53.jpg 80w, https:\/\/agencevu.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Asturia_02-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/agencevu.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Asturia_02-1536x1025.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/agencevu.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Asturia_02-1500x1001.jpg 1500w, https:\/\/agencevu.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Asturia_02-705x470.jpg 705w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1619px) 100vw, 1619px\" \/><\/a><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><div class='av-flex-placeholder'><\/div><div class=\"flex_column av_one_fourth  flex_column_table_cell av-equal-height-column av-align-middle av-zero-column-padding   avia-builder-el-15  el_after_av_three_fourth  el_before_av_one_half  column-top-margin\" style='border-radius:0px; '><section class=\"av_textblock_section \"  itemscope=\"itemscope\" itemtype=\"https:\/\/schema.org\/CreativeWork\" ><div class='avia_textblock  '   itemprop=\"text\" ><p align=\"JUSTIFY\">At the age of 9, Thais Mellado&#8217;s life took a decisive turn. Her father, whom she adored, lost his life in the mine, crushed under a rock. Alongside her older sister, she grew up in absolute poverty, while her mother worked tirelessly as a cleaning lady. The decline of industry and the scarcity of jobs in the Asturian coalfields created an increasingly difficult situation.<\/p>\n<p align=\"JUSTIFY\">Faced with this panorama, when the Hunosa mining company offered her a job on the condition of absolute preference, giving priority to the children of miners who had died in industrial accidents, she didn&#8217;t hesitate to seize the opportunity. Today, with over 15 years of dedication to the mine, Thais proudly heads her team in San Nicol\u00e1s, standing out as one of the brave women who resist in this predominantly male world.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/section><\/div><\/div><!--close column table wrapper. Autoclose: 1 --><div class=\"flex_column av_one_half  flex_column_div av-zero-column-padding first  avia-builder-el-17  el_after_av_one_fourth  el_before_av_one_half  column-top-margin\" style='border-radius:0px; '><div  class='avia-image-container  av-styling-no-styling    avia-builder-el-18  avia-builder-el-no-sibling  avia-align-center '  itemprop=\"image\" itemscope=\"itemscope\" itemtype=\"https:\/\/schema.org\/ImageObject\"  ><div class='avia-image-container-inner'><div class='avia-image-overlay-wrap'><a href=\"https:\/\/agencevu.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Asturia_03-1030x687.jpg\" href=\"https:\/\/agencevu.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Asturia_03-1030x687.jpg 1030w, https:\/\/agencevu.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Asturia_03-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/agencevu.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Asturia_03-80x53.jpg 80w, https:\/\/agencevu.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Asturia_03-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/agencevu.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Asturia_03-1536x1025.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/agencevu.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Asturia_03-1500x1001.jpg 1500w, https:\/\/agencevu.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Asturia_03-705x470.jpg 705w, https:\/\/agencevu.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Asturia_03.jpg 1619w\" href=\"(max-width: 1030px) 100vw, 1030px\" class='avia_image' ><img width=\"1619\" height=\"1080\" class='wp-image-202372 avia-img-lazy-loading-not-202372 avia_image' src=\"https:\/\/agencevu.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Asturia_03.jpg\" alt='' title='Mieres, February 15 2022 - Rub\u00e9n Viejo, 45, in gallery number seven (around 580 metres underground) in the San Nicol\u00e1s mine. He is in charge of security at the last coal mine in Spain.'  itemprop=\"thumbnailUrl\" srcset=\"https:\/\/agencevu.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Asturia_03.jpg 1619w, https:\/\/agencevu.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Asturia_03-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/agencevu.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Asturia_03-1030x687.jpg 1030w, https:\/\/agencevu.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Asturia_03-80x53.jpg 80w, https:\/\/agencevu.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Asturia_03-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/agencevu.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Asturia_03-1536x1025.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/agencevu.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Asturia_03-1500x1001.jpg 1500w, https:\/\/agencevu.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Asturia_03-705x470.jpg 705w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1619px) 100vw, 1619px\" \/><\/a><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><div class=\"flex_column av_one_half  flex_column_div av-zero-column-padding   avia-builder-el-19  el_after_av_one_half  el_before_av_one_third  column-top-margin\" style='border-radius:0px; '><div  class='avia-image-container  av-styling-no-styling    avia-builder-el-20  avia-builder-el-no-sibling  avia-align-center '  itemprop=\"image\" itemscope=\"itemscope\" itemtype=\"https:\/\/schema.org\/ImageObject\"  ><div class='avia-image-container-inner'><div class='avia-image-overlay-wrap'><a href=\"https:\/\/agencevu.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Asturia_04-1030x687.jpg\" href=\"https:\/\/agencevu.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Asturia_04-1030x687.jpg 1030w, https:\/\/agencevu.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Asturia_04-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/agencevu.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Asturia_04-80x53.jpg 80w, https:\/\/agencevu.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Asturia_04-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/agencevu.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Asturia_04-1536x1025.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/agencevu.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Asturia_04-1500x1001.jpg 1500w, https:\/\/agencevu.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Asturia_04-705x470.jpg 705w, https:\/\/agencevu.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Asturia_04.jpg 1619w\" href=\"(max-width: 1030px) 100vw, 1030px\" class='avia_image' ><img width=\"1619\" height=\"1080\" class='wp-image-202360 avia-img-lazy-loading-not-202360 avia_image' src=\"https:\/\/agencevu.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Asturia_04.jpg\" alt='' title='Mieres, February 15 2022 - Miners talk inside the gallery number 7, about 580 meters underground in the San Nicolas mine, in Mieres, Spain. The HUNOSA San Nicolas mine in Spain&#039;s northern region of Asturias is the last working coal mine in Spain. At its peak around 2500 people were employed - today, some 200 people work there.'  itemprop=\"thumbnailUrl\" srcset=\"https:\/\/agencevu.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Asturia_04.jpg 1619w, https:\/\/agencevu.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Asturia_04-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/agencevu.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Asturia_04-1030x687.jpg 1030w, https:\/\/agencevu.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Asturia_04-80x53.jpg 80w, https:\/\/agencevu.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Asturia_04-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/agencevu.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Asturia_04-1536x1025.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/agencevu.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Asturia_04-1500x1001.jpg 1500w, https:\/\/agencevu.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Asturia_04-705x470.jpg 705w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1619px) 100vw, 1619px\" \/><\/a><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><div class='flex_column_table av-equal-height-column-flextable -flextable' ><div class=\"flex_column av_one_third  flex_column_table_cell av-equal-height-column av-align-middle av-zero-column-padding first  avia-builder-el-21  el_after_av_one_half  el_before_av_two_third  column-top-margin\" style='border-radius:0px; '><section class=\"av_textblock_section \"  itemscope=\"itemscope\" itemtype=\"https:\/\/schema.org\/CreativeWork\" ><div class='avia_textblock  '   itemprop=\"text\" ><p lang=\"es-ES\" align=\"JUSTIFY\">Artemio Fern\u00e1ndez was born in a small village in the Tur\u00f3n valley in the midst of the Spanish Civil War. He grew up in the poverty and deprivation of the post-war period. Lacking financial resources, he was unable to complete his studies and began working in the San V\u00edctor mountain mine. In those days, there were no work uniforms or showers on site. Artemio remembers how he would run down the mountain at the end of his working day, his clothes soaked with sweat, and then bathe with a bucket of cold water on the way home.<\/p>\n<p lang=\"es-ES\" align=\"JUSTIFY\">After his retirement, he decided to devote his remaining years to his great passion: singing. He joined the Tur\u00f3n Mining Choir and, now in his eighties, travels the world with a group of former miners, dressed in their hard hats and work clothes, singing the songs of the mine and earning the nickname of guardians of mining history. His voice becomes a living testimony to the past, preserving the legacy and memory of the mining industry that so profoundly affected them.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/section><\/div><div class='av-flex-placeholder'><\/div><div class=\"flex_column av_two_third  flex_column_table_cell av-equal-height-column av-align-middle av-zero-column-padding   avia-builder-el-23  el_after_av_one_third  el_before_av_one_half  column-top-margin\" style='border-radius:0px; '><div  class='avia-image-container  av-styling-no-styling    avia-builder-el-24  avia-builder-el-no-sibling  avia-align-center '  itemprop=\"image\" itemscope=\"itemscope\" itemtype=\"https:\/\/schema.org\/ImageObject\"  ><div class='avia-image-container-inner'><div class='avia-image-overlay-wrap'><a href=\"https:\/\/agencevu.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Asturia_05-1030x687.jpg\" href=\"https:\/\/agencevu.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Asturia_05-1030x687.jpg 1030w, https:\/\/agencevu.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Asturia_05-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/agencevu.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Asturia_05-80x53.jpg 80w, https:\/\/agencevu.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Asturia_05-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/agencevu.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Asturia_05-1536x1025.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/agencevu.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Asturia_05-1500x1001.jpg 1500w, https:\/\/agencevu.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Asturia_05-705x470.jpg 705w, https:\/\/agencevu.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Asturia_05.jpg 1619w\" href=\"(max-width: 1030px) 100vw, 1030px\" class='avia_image' ><img width=\"1619\" height=\"1080\" class='wp-image-202358 avia-img-lazy-loading-not-202358 avia_image' src=\"https:\/\/agencevu.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Asturia_05.jpg\" alt='' title='Mieres, March 18 2022 - Artemio Fern\u00e1ndez \u00c1lvarez, 84, a member of the Tur\u00f3n Mining Choir, stands in front of the mountain mine where he worked: San V\u00edctor. It closed in 1991 and today the entrance is completely covered by nature.'  itemprop=\"thumbnailUrl\" srcset=\"https:\/\/agencevu.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Asturia_05.jpg 1619w, https:\/\/agencevu.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Asturia_05-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/agencevu.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Asturia_05-1030x687.jpg 1030w, https:\/\/agencevu.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Asturia_05-80x53.jpg 80w, https:\/\/agencevu.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Asturia_05-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/agencevu.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Asturia_05-1536x1025.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/agencevu.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Asturia_05-1500x1001.jpg 1500w, https:\/\/agencevu.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Asturia_05-705x470.jpg 705w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1619px) 100vw, 1619px\" \/><\/a><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><!--close column table wrapper. Autoclose: 1 --><div class='flex_column_table av-equal-height-column-flextable -flextable' ><div class=\"flex_column av_one_half  flex_column_table_cell av-equal-height-column av-align-middle av-zero-column-padding first  avia-builder-el-25  el_after_av_two_third  el_before_av_one_half  column-top-margin\" style='border-radius:0px; '><div  class='avia-image-container  av-styling-no-styling    avia-builder-el-26  avia-builder-el-no-sibling  avia-align-center '  itemprop=\"image\" itemscope=\"itemscope\" itemtype=\"https:\/\/schema.org\/ImageObject\"  ><div class='avia-image-container-inner'><div class='avia-image-overlay-wrap'><a href=\"https:\/\/agencevu.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Asturia_06-1030x687.jpg\" href=\"https:\/\/agencevu.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Asturia_06-1030x687.jpg 1030w, https:\/\/agencevu.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Asturia_06-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/agencevu.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Asturia_06-80x53.jpg 80w, https:\/\/agencevu.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Asturia_06-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/agencevu.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Asturia_06-1536x1025.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/agencevu.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Asturia_06-1500x1001.jpg 1500w, https:\/\/agencevu.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Asturia_06-705x470.jpg 705w, https:\/\/agencevu.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Asturia_06.jpg 1619w\" href=\"(max-width: 1030px) 100vw, 1030px\" class='avia_image' ><img width=\"1619\" height=\"1080\" class='wp-image-202364 avia-img-lazy-loading-not-202364 avia_image' src=\"https:\/\/agencevu.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Asturia_06.jpg\" alt='' title='Mieres, January 1 2022 - One of the doors that gave access to the toilet room of the San Nicol\u00e1s mine, in Mieres, padlocked. In these facilities there were more than 2,500 workers, today there are only 200 left. San Nicol\u00e1s is the last coal mine in operation in Spain, but its activity will soon cease, complying with the closure plan agreed between unions, the company Hunosa and the central government.'  itemprop=\"thumbnailUrl\" srcset=\"https:\/\/agencevu.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Asturia_06.jpg 1619w, https:\/\/agencevu.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Asturia_06-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/agencevu.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Asturia_06-1030x687.jpg 1030w, https:\/\/agencevu.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Asturia_06-80x53.jpg 80w, https:\/\/agencevu.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Asturia_06-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/agencevu.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Asturia_06-1536x1025.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/agencevu.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Asturia_06-1500x1001.jpg 1500w, https:\/\/agencevu.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Asturia_06-705x470.jpg 705w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1619px) 100vw, 1619px\" \/><\/a><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><div class='av-flex-placeholder'><\/div><div class=\"flex_column av_one_half  flex_column_table_cell av-equal-height-column av-align-middle av-zero-column-padding   avia-builder-el-27  el_after_av_one_half  el_before_av_three_fifth  column-top-margin\" style='border-radius:0px; '><div  class='avia-image-container  av-styling-no-styling    avia-builder-el-28  avia-builder-el-no-sibling  avia-align-center '  itemprop=\"image\" itemscope=\"itemscope\" itemtype=\"https:\/\/schema.org\/ImageObject\"  ><div class='avia-image-container-inner'><div class='avia-image-overlay-wrap'><a href=\"https:\/\/agencevu.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Asturia_07-1030x687.jpg\" href=\"https:\/\/agencevu.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Asturia_07-1030x687.jpg 1030w, https:\/\/agencevu.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Asturia_07-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/agencevu.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Asturia_07-80x53.jpg 80w, https:\/\/agencevu.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Asturia_07-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/agencevu.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Asturia_07-1536x1025.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/agencevu.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Asturia_07-1500x1001.jpg 1500w, https:\/\/agencevu.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Asturia_07-705x470.jpg 705w, https:\/\/agencevu.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Asturia_07.jpg 1619w\" href=\"(max-width: 1030px) 100vw, 1030px\" class='avia_image' ><img width=\"1619\" height=\"1080\" class='wp-image-202370 avia-img-lazy-loading-not-202370 avia_image' src=\"https:\/\/agencevu.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Asturia_07.jpg\" alt='' title='Felechosa, February 9 2022 - Manuel Cadenas, 98, gets ready in the residence for the elderly in Montep\u00edo, Asturias. Manuel started working as a miner at the age of 16 and later became a nurse. He did not leave the mine, but he worked taking care of injured colleagues until he retired. He paid a mutual benefit throughout his life, which today allows him to spend his last years in this nursing home, originally created for the miners and their families.'  itemprop=\"thumbnailUrl\" srcset=\"https:\/\/agencevu.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Asturia_07.jpg 1619w, https:\/\/agencevu.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Asturia_07-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/agencevu.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Asturia_07-1030x687.jpg 1030w, https:\/\/agencevu.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Asturia_07-80x53.jpg 80w, https:\/\/agencevu.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Asturia_07-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/agencevu.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Asturia_07-1536x1025.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/agencevu.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Asturia_07-1500x1001.jpg 1500w, https:\/\/agencevu.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Asturia_07-705x470.jpg 705w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1619px) 100vw, 1619px\" \/><\/a><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><!--close column table wrapper. Autoclose: 1 --><div class=\"flex_column av_three_fifth  flex_column_div av-zero-column-padding first  avia-builder-el-29  el_after_av_one_half  el_before_av_one_half  column-top-margin\" style='border-radius:0px; '><section class=\"av_textblock_section \"  itemscope=\"itemscope\" itemtype=\"https:\/\/schema.org\/CreativeWork\" ><div class='avia_textblock  '   itemprop=\"text\" ><p align=\"JUSTIFY\">Manuel Cadenas became a minor at just 16 years of age. Life forced him to run fast, as he had already been a war refugee in Paris and an orphan. Without a mother and with a sick father, the hard, dark and deadly mine was, paradoxically, his salvation. He started out as a &#8220;guaje&#8221;, a miner&#8217;s helper, in the San V\u00edctor mountain mine in the Tur\u00f3n valley. Nine hours a day, seven days a week.<\/p>\n<p align=\"JUSTIFY\">Accidents were so frequent that they inspired Manuel, who combined his job as a miner with nursing studies for a decade. He then worked in the company hospital until his retirement 40 years later. Today, at 98, he lives in the Montepio retirement home in Felechosa, a place designed so that former coal miners can spend their last days surrounded by the mountains where, two centuries ago, mining began in Spain.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/section><\/div><div class='flex_column_table av-equal-height-column-flextable -flextable' ><div class=\"flex_column av_one_half  flex_column_table_cell av-equal-height-column av-align-middle av-zero-column-padding first  avia-builder-el-31  el_after_av_three_fifth  el_before_av_one_half  \" style='border-radius:0px; '><div  class='avia-image-container  av-styling-no-styling    avia-builder-el-32  avia-builder-el-no-sibling  avia-align-center '  itemprop=\"image\" itemscope=\"itemscope\" itemtype=\"https:\/\/schema.org\/ImageObject\"  ><div class='avia-image-container-inner'><div class='avia-image-overlay-wrap'><a href=\"https:\/\/agencevu.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Asturia_08-1030x687.jpg\" href=\"https:\/\/agencevu.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Asturia_08-1030x687.jpg 1030w, https:\/\/agencevu.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Asturia_08-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/agencevu.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Asturia_08-80x53.jpg 80w, https:\/\/agencevu.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Asturia_08-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/agencevu.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Asturia_08-1536x1025.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/agencevu.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Asturia_08-1500x1001.jpg 1500w, https:\/\/agencevu.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Asturia_08-705x470.jpg 705w, https:\/\/agencevu.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Asturia_08.jpg 1619w\" href=\"(max-width: 1030px) 100vw, 1030px\" class='avia_image' ><img width=\"1619\" height=\"1080\" class='wp-image-202394 avia-img-lazy-loading-not-202394 avia_image' src=\"https:\/\/agencevu.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Asturia_08.jpg\" alt='' title='Mieres, June 8 2022 - Six members of the Tur\u00f3n mining choir sing in the Casa Ita bar after lunch.'  itemprop=\"thumbnailUrl\" srcset=\"https:\/\/agencevu.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Asturia_08.jpg 1619w, https:\/\/agencevu.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Asturia_08-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/agencevu.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Asturia_08-1030x687.jpg 1030w, https:\/\/agencevu.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Asturia_08-80x53.jpg 80w, https:\/\/agencevu.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Asturia_08-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/agencevu.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Asturia_08-1536x1025.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/agencevu.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Asturia_08-1500x1001.jpg 1500w, https:\/\/agencevu.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Asturia_08-705x470.jpg 705w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1619px) 100vw, 1619px\" \/><\/a><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><div class='av-flex-placeholder'><\/div><div class=\"flex_column av_one_half  flex_column_table_cell av-equal-height-column av-align-middle av-zero-column-padding   avia-builder-el-33  el_after_av_one_half  el_before_av_one_full  \" style='border-radius:0px; '><div  class='avia-image-container  av-styling-no-styling    avia-builder-el-34  avia-builder-el-no-sibling  avia-align-center '  itemprop=\"image\" itemscope=\"itemscope\" itemtype=\"https:\/\/schema.org\/ImageObject\"  ><div class='avia-image-container-inner'><div class='avia-image-overlay-wrap'><a href=\"https:\/\/agencevu.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Asturia_09-1030x687.jpg\" href=\"https:\/\/agencevu.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Asturia_09-1030x687.jpg 1030w, https:\/\/agencevu.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Asturia_09-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/agencevu.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Asturia_09-80x53.jpg 80w, https:\/\/agencevu.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Asturia_09-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/agencevu.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Asturia_09-1536x1025.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/agencevu.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Asturia_09-1500x1001.jpg 1500w, https:\/\/agencevu.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Asturia_09-705x470.jpg 705w, https:\/\/agencevu.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Asturia_09.jpg 1619w\" href=\"(max-width: 1030px) 100vw, 1030px\" class='avia_image' ><img width=\"1619\" height=\"1080\" class='wp-image-202392 avia-img-lazy-loading-not-202392 avia_image' src=\"https:\/\/agencevu.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Asturia_09.jpg\" alt='' title='San Mart\u00edn del Rey Aurelio, December 3 2021- The Pozo Sot\u00f3n Mining Memorial pays homage to the thousands of workers who died in a work accident in coal mining in Asturias.'  itemprop=\"thumbnailUrl\" srcset=\"https:\/\/agencevu.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Asturia_09.jpg 1619w, https:\/\/agencevu.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Asturia_09-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/agencevu.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Asturia_09-1030x687.jpg 1030w, https:\/\/agencevu.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Asturia_09-80x53.jpg 80w, https:\/\/agencevu.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Asturia_09-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/agencevu.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Asturia_09-1536x1025.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/agencevu.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Asturia_09-1500x1001.jpg 1500w, https:\/\/agencevu.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Asturia_09-705x470.jpg 705w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1619px) 100vw, 1619px\" \/><\/a><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><!--close column table wrapper. Autoclose: 1 --><div class=\"flex_column av_one_full  flex_column_div av-zero-column-padding first  avia-builder-el-35  el_after_av_one_half  el_before_av_one_half  column-top-margin\" style='border-radius:0px; '><div  class='avia-image-container  av-styling-no-styling    avia-builder-el-36  avia-builder-el-no-sibling  avia-align-center '  itemprop=\"image\" itemscope=\"itemscope\" itemtype=\"https:\/\/schema.org\/ImageObject\"  ><div class='avia-image-container-inner'><div class='avia-image-overlay-wrap'><a href=\"https:\/\/agencevu.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Asturia_10-1030x687.jpg\" href=\"https:\/\/agencevu.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Asturia_10-1030x687.jpg 1030w, https:\/\/agencevu.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Asturia_10-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/agencevu.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Asturia_10-80x53.jpg 80w, https:\/\/agencevu.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Asturia_10-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/agencevu.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Asturia_10-1536x1025.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/agencevu.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Asturia_10-1500x1001.jpg 1500w, https:\/\/agencevu.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Asturia_10-705x470.jpg 705w, https:\/\/agencevu.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Asturia_10.jpg 1619w\" href=\"(max-width: 1030px) 100vw, 1030px\" class='avia_image' ><img width=\"1619\" height=\"1080\" class='wp-image-202362 avia-img-lazy-loading-not-202362 avia_image' src=\"https:\/\/agencevu.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Asturia_10.jpg\" alt='' title='Mieres, April 2 2022 - The mining town of R\u00edoturbio, in Mieres, was built in the 1960s to provide shelter for coal workers in the area. With 602 houses, it once had a population of more than 2,500 people, but the closure of the mines in the valley caused the exodus of its population and the few people that remain are mostly elderly.'  itemprop=\"thumbnailUrl\" srcset=\"https:\/\/agencevu.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Asturia_10.jpg 1619w, https:\/\/agencevu.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Asturia_10-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/agencevu.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Asturia_10-1030x687.jpg 1030w, https:\/\/agencevu.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Asturia_10-80x53.jpg 80w, https:\/\/agencevu.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Asturia_10-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/agencevu.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Asturia_10-1536x1025.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/agencevu.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Asturia_10-1500x1001.jpg 1500w, https:\/\/agencevu.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Asturia_10-705x470.jpg 705w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1619px) 100vw, 1619px\" \/><\/a><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><div class='flex_column_table av-equal-height-column-flextable -flextable' ><div class=\"flex_column av_one_half  flex_column_table_cell av-equal-height-column av-align-middle av-zero-column-padding first  avia-builder-el-37  el_after_av_one_full  el_before_av_one_half  column-top-margin\" style='border-radius:0px; '><div  class='avia-image-container  av-styling-no-styling    avia-builder-el-38  avia-builder-el-no-sibling  avia-align-center '  itemprop=\"image\" itemscope=\"itemscope\" itemtype=\"https:\/\/schema.org\/ImageObject\"  ><div class='avia-image-container-inner'><div class='avia-image-overlay-wrap'><a href=\"https:\/\/agencevu.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Asturia_11-1030x687.jpg\" href=\"https:\/\/agencevu.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Asturia_11-1030x687.jpg 1030w, https:\/\/agencevu.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Asturia_11-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/agencevu.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Asturia_11-80x53.jpg 80w, https:\/\/agencevu.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Asturia_11-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/agencevu.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Asturia_11-1536x1025.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/agencevu.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Asturia_11-1500x1001.jpg 1500w, https:\/\/agencevu.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Asturia_11-705x470.jpg 705w, https:\/\/agencevu.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Asturia_11.jpg 1619w\" href=\"(max-width: 1030px) 100vw, 1030px\" class='avia_image' ><img width=\"1619\" height=\"1080\" class='wp-image-202356 avia-img-lazy-loading-not-202356 avia_image' src=\"https:\/\/agencevu.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Asturia_11.jpg\" alt='' title='Laviana, Match 28 2022 - Jos\u00e9 Manuel Lamelas, 80, wakes up in his house in the Laviana council, in the Asturias mining basin. He worked as a miner since he was 17, as well as his father that started at the age of 9. Most of the former miners suffer from silicosis, a long-term lung disease caused by inhaling large amounts of crystalline silica dust, usually over many years.'  itemprop=\"thumbnailUrl\" srcset=\"https:\/\/agencevu.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Asturia_11.jpg 1619w, https:\/\/agencevu.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Asturia_11-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/agencevu.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Asturia_11-1030x687.jpg 1030w, https:\/\/agencevu.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Asturia_11-80x53.jpg 80w, https:\/\/agencevu.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Asturia_11-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/agencevu.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Asturia_11-1536x1025.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/agencevu.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Asturia_11-1500x1001.jpg 1500w, https:\/\/agencevu.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Asturia_11-705x470.jpg 705w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1619px) 100vw, 1619px\" \/><\/a><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><div class='av-flex-placeholder'><\/div><div class=\"flex_column av_one_half  flex_column_table_cell av-equal-height-column av-align-middle av-zero-column-padding   avia-builder-el-39  el_after_av_one_half  el_before_av_two_third  column-top-margin\" style='border-radius:0px; '><div  class='avia-image-container  av-styling-no-styling    avia-builder-el-40  avia-builder-el-no-sibling  avia-align-center '  itemprop=\"image\" itemscope=\"itemscope\" itemtype=\"https:\/\/schema.org\/ImageObject\"  ><div class='avia-image-container-inner'><div class='avia-image-overlay-wrap'><a href=\"https:\/\/agencevu.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Asturia_13-1030x687.jpg\" href=\"https:\/\/agencevu.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Asturia_13-1030x687.jpg 1030w, https:\/\/agencevu.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Asturia_13-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/agencevu.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Asturia_13-80x53.jpg 80w, https:\/\/agencevu.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Asturia_13-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/agencevu.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Asturia_13-1536x1025.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/agencevu.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Asturia_13-1500x1001.jpg 1500w, https:\/\/agencevu.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Asturia_13-705x470.jpg 705w, https:\/\/agencevu.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Asturia_13.jpg 1619w\" href=\"(max-width: 1030px) 100vw, 1030px\" class='avia_image' ><img width=\"1619\" height=\"1080\" class='wp-image-202368 avia-img-lazy-loading-not-202368 avia_image' src=\"https:\/\/agencevu.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Asturia_13.jpg\" alt='' title='Mieres, June 3 2022 - Former miner Oscar Iglesias holds a wooden cage with his canary in front of the mine entrance. An allusion to caged canaries that miners carried down into the mine tunnels with them. If dangerous gases such as firedamp, the gases killed the canary before killing the miners, thus providing a warning to exit the tunnels immediately. Today these yellow birds remain an important symbol in the Asturian mining basin.'  itemprop=\"thumbnailUrl\" srcset=\"https:\/\/agencevu.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Asturia_13.jpg 1619w, https:\/\/agencevu.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Asturia_13-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/agencevu.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Asturia_13-1030x687.jpg 1030w, https:\/\/agencevu.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Asturia_13-80x53.jpg 80w, https:\/\/agencevu.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Asturia_13-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/agencevu.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Asturia_13-1536x1025.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/agencevu.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Asturia_13-1500x1001.jpg 1500w, https:\/\/agencevu.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Asturia_13-705x470.jpg 705w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1619px) 100vw, 1619px\" \/><\/a><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><!--close column table wrapper. Autoclose: 1 --><div class='flex_column_table av-equal-height-column-flextable -flextable' ><div class=\"flex_column av_two_third  flex_column_table_cell av-equal-height-column av-align-middle av-zero-column-padding first  avia-builder-el-41  el_after_av_one_half  el_before_av_one_third  column-top-margin\" style='border-radius:0px; '><div  class='avia-image-container  av-styling-no-styling    avia-builder-el-42  avia-builder-el-no-sibling  avia-align-center '  itemprop=\"image\" itemscope=\"itemscope\" itemtype=\"https:\/\/schema.org\/ImageObject\"  ><div class='avia-image-container-inner'><div class='avia-image-overlay-wrap'><a href=\"https:\/\/agencevu.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Asturia_12-1030x687.jpg\" href=\"https:\/\/agencevu.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Asturia_12-1030x687.jpg 1030w, https:\/\/agencevu.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Asturia_12-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/agencevu.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Asturia_12-80x53.jpg 80w, https:\/\/agencevu.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Asturia_12-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/agencevu.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Asturia_12-1536x1025.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/agencevu.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Asturia_12-1500x1001.jpg 1500w, https:\/\/agencevu.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Asturia_12-705x470.jpg 705w, https:\/\/agencevu.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Asturia_12.jpg 1619w\" href=\"(max-width: 1030px) 100vw, 1030px\" class='avia_image' ><img width=\"1619\" height=\"1080\" class='wp-image-202366 avia-img-lazy-loading-not-202366 avia_image' src=\"https:\/\/agencevu.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Asturia_12.jpg\" alt='' title='Laviana, June 4 2022 - Maricusa Arg\u00fcelles P\u00e9rez, a miner&#039;s widow, walks through the mining town of Barredos. Despite the rampant depopulation of the region due to the closure of coal mines and the lack of job opportunities, Maricusa and many other women refuse to leave. They played a very important role in the workers&#039; struggle and today they keep the history of mining alive.'  itemprop=\"thumbnailUrl\" srcset=\"https:\/\/agencevu.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Asturia_12.jpg 1619w, https:\/\/agencevu.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Asturia_12-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/agencevu.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Asturia_12-1030x687.jpg 1030w, https:\/\/agencevu.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Asturia_12-80x53.jpg 80w, https:\/\/agencevu.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Asturia_12-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/agencevu.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Asturia_12-1536x1025.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/agencevu.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Asturia_12-1500x1001.jpg 1500w, https:\/\/agencevu.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Asturia_12-705x470.jpg 705w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1619px) 100vw, 1619px\" \/><\/a><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><div class='av-flex-placeholder'><\/div><div class=\"flex_column av_one_third  flex_column_table_cell av-equal-height-column av-align-middle av-zero-column-padding   avia-builder-el-43  el_after_av_two_third  el_before_av_one_full  column-top-margin\" style='border-radius:0px; '><section class=\"av_textblock_section \"  itemscope=\"itemscope\" itemtype=\"https:\/\/schema.org\/CreativeWork\" ><div class='avia_textblock  '   itemprop=\"text\" ><p lang=\"es-ES\">Maricusa Arg\u00fcelles was a resistance fighter during Franco&#8217;s dictatorship in Spain. Alongside her husband, a mining trade unionist, they fought for the rights of all, workers and the population in general, particularly in the mining districts, where many families were totally dependent on the mine. Maricusa, along with other women, organized clandestine meetings, which they disguised as tea parties, but where in reality they prepared for strikes and demonstrations. They printed leaflets to distribute and mobilize the population.<\/p>\n<p lang=\"es-ES\">Among their most notable achievements, they lobbied the company and the state to bring water and electricity to the workers&#8217; village of Barredos. In addition, they took part in the great strike of 1962, which, with the solidarity of the whole region, put the dictatorship to the sword. For many years, the women&#8217;s struggle was ignored and silenced. Without them, however, these achievements would not have been possible. Today, with her husband dead and the mines almost closed, Maricusa continues to fight, but now on the side of feminism.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/section><\/div><\/div><!--close column table wrapper. Autoclose: 1 --><div class='flex_column_table av-equal-height-column-flextable -flextable' ><div class=\"flex_column av_one_full  flex_column_table_cell av-equal-height-column av-align-middle av-zero-column-padding first  avia-builder-el-45  el_after_av_one_third  el_before_av_one_half  column-top-margin\" style='border-radius:0px; '><div  class='avia-image-container  av-styling-no-styling    avia-builder-el-46  avia-builder-el-no-sibling  avia-align-center '  itemprop=\"image\" itemscope=\"itemscope\" itemtype=\"https:\/\/schema.org\/ImageObject\"  ><div class='avia-image-container-inner'><div class='avia-image-overlay-wrap'><a href=\"https:\/\/agencevu.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Asturia_14-1030x687.jpg\" href=\"https:\/\/agencevu.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Asturia_14-1030x687.jpg 1030w, https:\/\/agencevu.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Asturia_14-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/agencevu.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Asturia_14-80x53.jpg 80w, https:\/\/agencevu.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Asturia_14-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/agencevu.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Asturia_14-1536x1025.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/agencevu.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Asturia_14-1500x1001.jpg 1500w, https:\/\/agencevu.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Asturia_14-705x470.jpg 705w, https:\/\/agencevu.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Asturia_14.jpg 1619w\" href=\"(max-width: 1030px) 100vw, 1030px\" class='avia_image' ><img width=\"1619\" height=\"1080\" class='wp-image-202380 avia-img-lazy-loading-not-202380 avia_image' src=\"https:\/\/agencevu.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Asturia_14.jpg\" alt='' title='Mieres, April 3 2022 - A group of young people in the bar-disco La Carbonera, one of the few places that remain open in Mieres.'  itemprop=\"thumbnailUrl\" srcset=\"https:\/\/agencevu.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Asturia_14.jpg 1619w, https:\/\/agencevu.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Asturia_14-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/agencevu.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Asturia_14-1030x687.jpg 1030w, https:\/\/agencevu.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Asturia_14-80x53.jpg 80w, https:\/\/agencevu.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Asturia_14-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/agencevu.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Asturia_14-1536x1025.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/agencevu.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Asturia_14-1500x1001.jpg 1500w, https:\/\/agencevu.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Asturia_14-705x470.jpg 705w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1619px) 100vw, 1619px\" \/><\/a><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><!--close column table wrapper. Autoclose: 1 --><div class=\"flex_column av_one_half  flex_column_div av-zero-column-padding first  avia-builder-el-47  el_after_av_one_full  el_before_av_one_half  column-top-margin\" style='border-radius:0px; '><div  class='avia-image-container  av-styling-no-styling    avia-builder-el-48  avia-builder-el-no-sibling  avia-align-center '  itemprop=\"image\" itemscope=\"itemscope\" itemtype=\"https:\/\/schema.org\/ImageObject\"  ><div class='avia-image-container-inner'><div class='avia-image-overlay-wrap'><a href=\"https:\/\/agencevu.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Asturia_15-1030x688.jpg\" href=\"https:\/\/agencevu.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Asturia_15-1030x688.jpg 1030w, https:\/\/agencevu.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Asturia_15-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/agencevu.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Asturia_15-80x53.jpg 80w, https:\/\/agencevu.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Asturia_15-768x513.jpg 768w, https:\/\/agencevu.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Asturia_15-1536x1025.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/agencevu.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Asturia_15-1500x1001.jpg 1500w, https:\/\/agencevu.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Asturia_15-705x471.jpg 705w, https:\/\/agencevu.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Asturia_15.jpg 1618w\" href=\"(max-width: 1030px) 100vw, 1030px\" class='avia_image' ><img width=\"1618\" height=\"1080\" class='wp-image-202384 avia-img-lazy-loading-not-202384 avia_image' src=\"https:\/\/agencevu.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Asturia_15.jpg\" alt='' title='Mieres, April 2 2022 - Rub\u00e9n Viejo and his wife, \u00c1ngela, kiss in a bar in Mieres. This used to be a city full of Young people and with a renowned nightlife. Since the closure of the industry and in particular the mines, it has caused a huge population decline. Since the 1960s, the council has lost 33,845 residents at a rate of approximately four hundred annually.'  itemprop=\"thumbnailUrl\" srcset=\"https:\/\/agencevu.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Asturia_15.jpg 1618w, https:\/\/agencevu.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Asturia_15-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/agencevu.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Asturia_15-1030x688.jpg 1030w, https:\/\/agencevu.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Asturia_15-80x53.jpg 80w, https:\/\/agencevu.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Asturia_15-768x513.jpg 768w, https:\/\/agencevu.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Asturia_15-1536x1025.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/agencevu.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Asturia_15-1500x1001.jpg 1500w, https:\/\/agencevu.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Asturia_15-705x471.jpg 705w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1618px) 100vw, 1618px\" \/><\/a><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><div class=\"flex_column av_one_half  flex_column_div av-zero-column-padding   avia-builder-el-49  el_after_av_one_half  el_before_av_one_half  column-top-margin\" style='border-radius:0px; '><div  class='avia-image-container  av-styling-no-styling    avia-builder-el-50  avia-builder-el-no-sibling  avia-align-center '  itemprop=\"image\" itemscope=\"itemscope\" itemtype=\"https:\/\/schema.org\/ImageObject\"  ><div class='avia-image-container-inner'><div class='avia-image-overlay-wrap'><a href=\"https:\/\/agencevu.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Asturia_16-1030x688.jpg\" href=\"https:\/\/agencevu.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Asturia_16-1030x688.jpg 1030w, https:\/\/agencevu.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Asturia_16-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/agencevu.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Asturia_16-80x53.jpg 80w, https:\/\/agencevu.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Asturia_16-768x513.jpg 768w, https:\/\/agencevu.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Asturia_16-1536x1025.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/agencevu.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Asturia_16-1500x1001.jpg 1500w, https:\/\/agencevu.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Asturia_16-705x471.jpg 705w, https:\/\/agencevu.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Asturia_16.jpg 1618w\" href=\"(max-width: 1030px) 100vw, 1030px\" class='avia_image' ><img width=\"1618\" height=\"1080\" class='wp-image-202376 avia-img-lazy-loading-not-202376 avia_image' src=\"https:\/\/agencevu.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Asturia_16.jpg\" alt='' title='Ribera de Arriba, April 12 2022 - The Soto de Ribera thermal power plant is a combined cycle thermoelectric facility in the municipality of Ribera de Arriba, in Asturias.'  itemprop=\"thumbnailUrl\" srcset=\"https:\/\/agencevu.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Asturia_16.jpg 1618w, https:\/\/agencevu.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Asturia_16-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/agencevu.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Asturia_16-1030x688.jpg 1030w, https:\/\/agencevu.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Asturia_16-80x53.jpg 80w, https:\/\/agencevu.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Asturia_16-768x513.jpg 768w, https:\/\/agencevu.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Asturia_16-1536x1025.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/agencevu.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Asturia_16-1500x1001.jpg 1500w, https:\/\/agencevu.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Asturia_16-705x471.jpg 705w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1618px) 100vw, 1618px\" \/><\/a><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><div class=\"flex_column av_one_half  flex_column_div av-zero-column-padding first  avia-builder-el-51  el_after_av_one_half  el_before_av_one_half  column-top-margin\" style='border-radius:0px; '><div  class='avia-image-container  av-styling-no-styling    avia-builder-el-52  avia-builder-el-no-sibling  avia-align-center '  itemprop=\"image\" itemscope=\"itemscope\" itemtype=\"https:\/\/schema.org\/ImageObject\"  ><div class='avia-image-container-inner'><div class='avia-image-overlay-wrap'><a href=\"https:\/\/agencevu.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Asturia_17-1030x688.jpg\" href=\"https:\/\/agencevu.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Asturia_17-1030x688.jpg 1030w, https:\/\/agencevu.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Asturia_17-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/agencevu.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Asturia_17-80x53.jpg 80w, https:\/\/agencevu.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Asturia_17-768x513.jpg 768w, https:\/\/agencevu.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Asturia_17-1536x1025.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/agencevu.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Asturia_17-1500x1001.jpg 1500w, https:\/\/agencevu.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Asturia_17-705x471.jpg 705w, https:\/\/agencevu.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Asturia_17.jpg 1618w\" href=\"(max-width: 1030px) 100vw, 1030px\" class='avia_image' ><img width=\"1618\" height=\"1080\" class='wp-image-202374 avia-img-lazy-loading-not-202374 avia_image' src=\"https:\/\/agencevu.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Asturia_17.jpg\" alt='' title='Mieres, February 15 2022 - Four miners take a break on floor 7 (530 meters) inside the San Nicol\u00e1s coal mine, in Mieres. It is the last active coal mine in Spain. The workers have seven hours shifts, and during that time they cannot go out, so they bring their drinks and food to be able to regain strength during breaks.'  itemprop=\"thumbnailUrl\" srcset=\"https:\/\/agencevu.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Asturia_17.jpg 1618w, https:\/\/agencevu.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Asturia_17-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/agencevu.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Asturia_17-1030x688.jpg 1030w, https:\/\/agencevu.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Asturia_17-80x53.jpg 80w, https:\/\/agencevu.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Asturia_17-768x513.jpg 768w, https:\/\/agencevu.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Asturia_17-1536x1025.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/agencevu.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Asturia_17-1500x1001.jpg 1500w, https:\/\/agencevu.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Asturia_17-705x471.jpg 705w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1618px) 100vw, 1618px\" \/><\/a><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><div class=\"flex_column av_one_half  flex_column_div av-zero-column-padding   avia-builder-el-53  el_after_av_one_half  el_before_av_one_half  column-top-margin\" style='border-radius:0px; '><div  class='avia-image-container  av-styling-no-styling    avia-builder-el-54  avia-builder-el-no-sibling  avia-align-center '  itemprop=\"image\" itemscope=\"itemscope\" itemtype=\"https:\/\/schema.org\/ImageObject\"  ><div class='avia-image-container-inner'><div class='avia-image-overlay-wrap'><a href=\"https:\/\/agencevu.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Asturia_19-1030x687.jpg\" href=\"https:\/\/agencevu.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Asturia_19-1030x687.jpg 1030w, https:\/\/agencevu.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Asturia_19-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/agencevu.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Asturia_19-80x53.jpg 80w, https:\/\/agencevu.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Asturia_19-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/agencevu.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Asturia_19-1536x1025.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/agencevu.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Asturia_19-1500x1001.jpg 1500w, https:\/\/agencevu.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Asturia_19-705x470.jpg 705w, https:\/\/agencevu.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Asturia_19.jpg 1619w\" href=\"(max-width: 1030px) 100vw, 1030px\" class='avia_image' ><img width=\"1619\" height=\"1080\" class='wp-image-202388 avia-img-lazy-loading-not-202388 avia_image' src=\"https:\/\/agencevu.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Asturia_19.jpg\" alt='' title='Laviana, November 11 2020 - Poster of a half-naked woman in the repair shop of the Carrio mine, closed since 2018.'  itemprop=\"thumbnailUrl\" srcset=\"https:\/\/agencevu.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Asturia_19.jpg 1619w, https:\/\/agencevu.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Asturia_19-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/agencevu.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Asturia_19-1030x687.jpg 1030w, https:\/\/agencevu.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Asturia_19-80x53.jpg 80w, https:\/\/agencevu.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Asturia_19-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/agencevu.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Asturia_19-1536x1025.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/agencevu.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Asturia_19-1500x1001.jpg 1500w, https:\/\/agencevu.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Asturia_19-705x470.jpg 705w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1619px) 100vw, 1619px\" \/><\/a><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><div class='flex_column_table av-equal-height-column-flextable -flextable' ><div class=\"flex_column av_one_half  flex_column_table_cell av-equal-height-column av-align-middle av-zero-column-padding first  avia-builder-el-55  el_after_av_one_half  el_before_av_one_half  column-top-margin\" style='border-radius:0px; '><div  class='avia-image-container  av-styling-no-styling    avia-builder-el-56  avia-builder-el-no-sibling  avia-align-center '  itemprop=\"image\" itemscope=\"itemscope\" itemtype=\"https:\/\/schema.org\/ImageObject\"  ><div class='avia-image-container-inner'><div class='avia-image-overlay-wrap'><a href=\"https:\/\/agencevu.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Asturia_18-1030x687.jpg\" href=\"https:\/\/agencevu.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Asturia_18-1030x687.jpg 1030w, https:\/\/agencevu.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Asturia_18-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/agencevu.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Asturia_18-80x53.jpg 80w, https:\/\/agencevu.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Asturia_18-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/agencevu.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Asturia_18-1536x1025.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/agencevu.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Asturia_18-1500x1001.jpg 1500w, https:\/\/agencevu.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Asturia_18-705x470.jpg 705w, https:\/\/agencevu.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Asturia_18.jpg 1619w\" href=\"(max-width: 1030px) 100vw, 1030px\" class='avia_image' ><img width=\"1619\" height=\"1080\" class='wp-image-202386 avia-img-lazy-loading-not-202386 avia_image' src=\"https:\/\/agencevu.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Asturia_18.jpg\" alt='' title='Mieres, June 7 2022 - Jos\u00e9 Manuel Guerra, 37, a miner at the San Nicol\u00e1s mine, shows off his fresh tattoo of the tower of the first mine where he worked: Monsacro.'  itemprop=\"thumbnailUrl\" srcset=\"https:\/\/agencevu.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Asturia_18.jpg 1619w, https:\/\/agencevu.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Asturia_18-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/agencevu.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Asturia_18-1030x687.jpg 1030w, https:\/\/agencevu.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Asturia_18-80x53.jpg 80w, https:\/\/agencevu.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Asturia_18-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/agencevu.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Asturia_18-1536x1025.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/agencevu.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Asturia_18-1500x1001.jpg 1500w, https:\/\/agencevu.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Asturia_18-705x470.jpg 705w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1619px) 100vw, 1619px\" \/><\/a><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><div class='av-flex-placeholder'><\/div><div class=\"flex_column av_one_half  flex_column_table_cell av-equal-height-column av-align-middle av-zero-column-padding   avia-builder-el-57  el_after_av_one_half  el_before_av_one_full  column-top-margin\" style='border-radius:0px; '><div  class='avia-image-container  av-styling-no-styling    avia-builder-el-58  avia-builder-el-no-sibling  avia-align-center '  itemprop=\"image\" itemscope=\"itemscope\" itemtype=\"https:\/\/schema.org\/ImageObject\"  ><div class='avia-image-container-inner'><div class='avia-image-overlay-wrap'><a href=\"https:\/\/agencevu.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Asturia_21-1030x687.jpg\" href=\"https:\/\/agencevu.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Asturia_21-1030x687.jpg 1030w, https:\/\/agencevu.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Asturia_21-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/agencevu.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Asturia_21-80x53.jpg 80w, https:\/\/agencevu.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Asturia_21-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/agencevu.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Asturia_21-1536x1025.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/agencevu.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Asturia_21-1500x1001.jpg 1500w, https:\/\/agencevu.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Asturia_21-705x470.jpg 705w, https:\/\/agencevu.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Asturia_21.jpg 1619w\" href=\"(max-width: 1030px) 100vw, 1030px\" class='avia_image' ><img width=\"1619\" height=\"1080\" class='wp-image-202390 avia-img-lazy-loading-not-202390 avia_image' src=\"https:\/\/agencevu.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Asturia_21.jpg\" alt='' title='Langreo, November 29 2021 - The Samu\u00f1o coal mine, closed since 2001, once had more than a thousand workers. Since 2013 part of its facilities have been used for the mining eco-museum that tries to attract tourists to visit the mining history of the region.'  itemprop=\"thumbnailUrl\" srcset=\"https:\/\/agencevu.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Asturia_21.jpg 1619w, https:\/\/agencevu.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Asturia_21-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/agencevu.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Asturia_21-1030x687.jpg 1030w, https:\/\/agencevu.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Asturia_21-80x53.jpg 80w, https:\/\/agencevu.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Asturia_21-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/agencevu.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Asturia_21-1536x1025.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/agencevu.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Asturia_21-1500x1001.jpg 1500w, https:\/\/agencevu.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Asturia_21-705x470.jpg 705w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1619px) 100vw, 1619px\" \/><\/a><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><!--close column table wrapper. Autoclose: 1 --><div class=\"flex_column av_one_full  flex_column_div av-zero-column-padding first  avia-builder-el-59  el_after_av_one_half  avia-builder-el-last  column-top-margin\" style='border-radius:0px; '><div  class='avia-image-container  av-styling-no-styling    avia-builder-el-60  avia-builder-el-no-sibling  avia-align-center '  itemprop=\"image\" itemscope=\"itemscope\" itemtype=\"https:\/\/schema.org\/ImageObject\"  ><div class='avia-image-container-inner'><div class='avia-image-overlay-wrap'><a href=\"https:\/\/agencevu.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Asturia_20-1030x687.jpg\" href=\"https:\/\/agencevu.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Asturia_20-1030x687.jpg 1030w, https:\/\/agencevu.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Asturia_20-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/agencevu.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Asturia_20-80x53.jpg 80w, https:\/\/agencevu.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Asturia_20-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/agencevu.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Asturia_20-1536x1025.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/agencevu.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Asturia_20-1500x1001.jpg 1500w, https:\/\/agencevu.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Asturia_20-705x470.jpg 705w, https:\/\/agencevu.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Asturia_20.jpg 1619w\" href=\"(max-width: 1030px) 100vw, 1030px\" class='avia_image' ><img width=\"1619\" height=\"1080\" class='wp-image-202396 avia-img-lazy-loading-not-202396 avia_image' src=\"https:\/\/agencevu.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Asturia_20.jpg\" alt='' title='Mieres, January 20 2022 - Thais Mellado Fern\u00e1ndez, 36, pushes a cart at the San Nicol\u00e1s mine, the last active coal mine in Spain.'  itemprop=\"thumbnailUrl\" srcset=\"https:\/\/agencevu.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Asturia_20.jpg 1619w, https:\/\/agencevu.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Asturia_20-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/agencevu.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Asturia_20-1030x687.jpg 1030w, https:\/\/agencevu.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Asturia_20-80x53.jpg 80w, https:\/\/agencevu.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Asturia_20-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/agencevu.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Asturia_20-1536x1025.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/agencevu.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Asturia_20-1500x1001.jpg 1500w, https:\/\/agencevu.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Asturia_20-705x470.jpg 705w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1619px) 100vw, 1619px\" \/><\/a><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><!-- close content main div --><\/div><\/div><div id='av_section_3'  class='avia-section main_color avia-section-default avia-no-border-styling  avia-bg-style-scroll  avia-builder-el-61  el_after_av_section  avia-builder-el-last   container_wrap fullsize' style=' '  ><div class='container' ><div class='template-page content  av-content-full alpha units'><div class='post-entry post-entry-type-page post-entry-203082'><div class='entry-content-wrapper clearfix'>\n<div  class='avia-buttonrow-wrap avia-buttonrow-center   avia-builder-el-62  avia-builder-el-no-sibling '>\n<a href='https:\/\/archive.agencevu.com\/series\/1.15960' class='avia-button  avia-color-theme-color-highlight  avia-icon_select-no avia-size-small ' target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" style='margin-bottom:15px; margin-left:8px; margin-right:8px; '><span class='avia_iconbox_title' >ARCHIVES<\/span><\/a>\n<a href='https:\/\/agencevu.com\/contacts\/'  class='avia-button  avia-color-theme-color-highlight  avia-icon_select-no avia-size-small '  style='margin-bottom:15px; margin-left:8px; margin-right:8px; ' ><span class='avia_iconbox_title' >CONTACT<\/span><\/a>\n<\/div>\n<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p><span class=\"tag-extrait\">Series | <\/span>My father grew up in these narrow valleys surrounded by mountains, where the river ran black and where the sound of the siren announced the descent of the workers into the depths of the Earth.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":202405,"menu_order":0,"template":"","categories":[5517],"tags":[4022,19873],"photographe":[19874],"section_taxonomy":[5484],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v16.3 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>The river ran black: The end of the coal, 2020-2022 - Agence VU&#039;<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The river ran black: The end of the coal, 2020-2022 - Agence VU&#039;\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Series | My father grew up in these narrow valleys surrounded by mountains, where the river ran black and where the sound of the siren announced the descent of the workers into the depths of the Earth.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Agence VU&#039;\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/VUagence\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-08-29T14:33:07+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/agencevu.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/00_Asturia_01-1.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"435\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"290\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@agence_vu\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/agencevu.com\/en\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/agencevu.com\/en\/\",\"name\":\"Agence VU&#039;\",\"description\":\"Agency of photographers founded in 1986\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":\"https:\/\/agencevu.com\/en\/?s={search_term_string}\",\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"@id\":\"#primaryimage\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/agencevu.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/00_Asturia_01-1.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/agencevu.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/00_Asturia_01-1.jpg\",\"width\":435,\"height\":290,\"caption\":\"The tower of the Carrio coal mine, closed in 2018 after 70 years of activity, stands next to the Nal\\u00f3n river, in the municipality of Laviana. Today the water runs clean and nature recovers the space that one day was stained black by industrial activity. 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