- The Francoist cross of the Argiles was on Mount Artxanda and was demolished this month by the City Council of Ilbo. In order to avoid what happened in Bilbao (when four people were injured in the demolition of a Francoist emblem), they decided to do so without saying anything. Juan Mari Zulaika says that Francoist symbols still remain in Bilbao.
With the exception of some of Artxanda’s neighbours, few in Bilbao knew the Francoist cross of the Agirlas. In fact, it is not in the place of passage and has been "hidden and silent" for almost 81 years, after the fall of Bilbao in 1937, when it was lifted by the Carlist regents of the national troop.
The monument to the Agirlas has a three-cylinder structure with a two-headed eagle and a cross over it. There are also three dates on the body. 1833 – the year of the beginning of the First Carlist War –, 1873 – the year of the beginning of the Second Carlist War – and 1937 – the year of the fall of Bilbao, the ‘year of liberation’ for the Francoists.
It is not far from the monument of La Huella de Artxanda.La Huella was honored by associations working on the recovery of memory in 2006 to honor the men and women who died in defense of Bilbao and in defense of freedom.
Now, the Francoist cross of the Agirlas, the Francoist eagle of Plaza Moyua and other symbols have been removed from Bilbao. However, Juan Mari Zulaika clarifies that there is still some symbol left. Among them, a couple of streets and some plates in favor of the Falangs that follow in some houses of Bilbao. As Juan Mari explains: "What they threw out was the biggest thing there was, yes, but it wasn't the last Francoist symbol of Bilbao."
This news has been published by Uriola and we have brought it to LUZ thanks to the CC-by-sa license.