“I thought it was worth it.”

Francisca Sauquillo (81, Madrid) lives with two backpacks full of experiences over the years. One of them has brought together endearing peoplestories to tell your grandchildren, moral that life gave him… The other was filled with pain: the death of his fatherof her son, of her husband… And the murder of his brotherJavier Sauquillo, in the hands of some armed men from the extreme right The Atocha massacre of 1977.

That day, she was not present in the company, nor were three other colleagues who saved her life. Surviving such a traumatic event is a mark, but she has marked the history of her profession. As lawyerwas the creator of the first neighborhood association In Spain he promoted cabin renovation in Madrid, and defended three of the the most important trials in recent historyincluding the last executions in 1975 and the rapeseed oil affair.

For the new generations, all this may seem a little distant. However, his legacy remains more alive than ever. Today, the cameras of RTVE and MOD Producciones recreate the events of this bloody attack in The lawyers.

“The lawyers”

The series tells the story of Five labor lawyers shot dead by far-right extremists in an office on Atocha Street, but he does so by saying from the voices of four young peoplealso lawyers, who survived. They are Lola González, Cristina Almeida, Manuela Carmena and Paquita Sauquillo, who helped change the history of Spainawakening new sensitivities within society.

The series, which will count in total seven chapterswas placed in the hands of a casting of fantastic women. Its creator is Patricia Ferreira; on the screenplay, Marta Sánchez, Irene Niubó and Virginia Yagüe. Executive production is by Nieves Fernández Blanco, Fernando Bovaira and Guillem Vidal-Folch. And as protagonists, Paula Usero, Irene Escolar, Elísabet Casanovas and Almudena Pascual.

The latter is responsible for bringing to life Paquita Sauquilloa sincere, courageous and combative woman with whom the Magas team had the pleasure of speaking.

How do you remember this fateful event?

I remember it perfectly. On January 22nd we had a meeting, attended by my sister and my sister-in-law Lola, to legalize the neighborhood federation. There we were already worried because there was a tense situation, which was later called the Black Week.

It was Saturday, and on Sunday morning there was a demonstration with a dead person and on Monday another girl died. That January 24, 1977, I went to Vallecas, as always, to the neighborhood association. In the late afternoon, already at home, they called me to ask if I knew where my brother was. I had no idea.

Then my husband, Jacobo, arrived and told me what had happened. We went to October 12, where my brother Javier, already unconscious, and my sister-in-law Lola were. Later, we told my mother. The next day, we didn’t know what was going to happen or what the funeral would be like, because the government that Suárez was then presiding over was afraid of what might happen.

Only the dean of the Madrid bar confronted the government to tell them that the burial had to take place there. It was very impressive because everyone was silent.

What was the reaction of society?

With an impressive silence and pain. The truth is that the funeral, in family, was very impressive because we saw everyone and many colleagues crying. It was a massive funeral, very massive, but in silence.

Do you think justice was served today?

It is difficult to do justice to such a difficult event. They let some of the murderers go and left Spain. It seems to me that they did not behave very well.

The young society cannot remember these events, but the Atocha Lawyers Foundation, created in 2004, has tried to recover the memory of these events so that they do not happen again. I believe that because of the unfortunate Atocha massacre, the Communist Party and other left-wing parties were legalized from April of that year 1977. These events unfortunately contributed to democratizing society.

“I don’t consider myself a heroine, I played the role I played at that time”

How did you learn that a series would be made about the Atocha massacre?

Patricia Ferreira, the director who unfortunately passed away, told me that she wanted to make a series about the events of the 70s. I told her to count on me, but she fell ill and explained to me that other people had taken control of the project, that during the filming they were not counting on us.

I understand that they didn’t. Logically, I think they are afraid to have real characters, because there are specific events that can be told from another point of view and, if you don’t like them, you ruin the production.

Have you met Almudena Pascual, the actress who will play your character?

No, I haven’t met her. I want to do it because it does give you an idea of ​​what I was like at the time.

What do you think is the most difficult thing to play about your character?

I think he did it quite well. It’s hard to put yourself in the shoes of someone who lived through the events of the Atocha massacre. She had to see how I reacted at that moment, to convey the event to my mother…

Women occupy the majority of leadership positions in the series. How important is this in a production like The lawyers?

The sensitivity of women is important. This series is not easy to make because three of the lawyers are still alive. The direction is very good. He tried to choose four women and tell the role they played during the 60s and 70s in events that really marked the history of Spain: the transition from dictatorship to democracy, the Atocha massacre, the last executions…

Since the series was conceived by a woman, like Patricia Ferreira, I think she has a special sensitivity because she also lived through these events and knew us. That everything was done by women seems to me to be a good thing.

He said it was a difficult series to make because all three of you are alive. What do you think Lola, the fourth deceased lawyer, would think if she found out that a series had been made?

It’s hard to put yourself in someone else’s head. Lola lived through very unfortunate events, but she was also happy because she was a wonderful person. She lived through the murder of her boyfriend, Enrique Ruano, and then the murder of her husband, my brother Javier Sauquillo. If Lola saw the series, she would still remember very painful events, but they treat her really well, they treat her as she was.

You four are a clear example of pioneering and autonomous women…

I don’t see myself like that (laughs), I understand that I played the role that I had at that time, but I don’t consider myself as much of a heroine as they try to make us believe in the series, at least I don’t.

This is the role that I had to live, unfortunately, in the events of Atocha and in the defense of the last executions of the Franco regime. I do not consider it a unique example, far from it. Each moment of history shows how to work, and I did what I thought had to be done at the time.

Although she does not consider herself a pioneer, she has made many achievements on a personal and professional level. For example, her decisions have left their mark on jurisprudence, as in the rapeseed oil case.

As a lawyer, I have been fortunate to be able to defend very important cases. In fact, I have defended three trials that have made history. With Cristina Almeida, I defended Process 1001, focused on Franco’s repression, in which they requested heavy sentences of 20 years in prison for meeting with the workers’ commissions.

Then I defended the victims of the last executions of the Franco regime, which did not set a precedent. And I also had the chance to meet a person who had taken rapeseed oil, and it was a trial that marked history and marked the beginnings of consumer law.

I was lucky enough to experience these three trials that marked history. But come on, I don’t think it’s so much because of my merits, even though I worked and studied, but because I received these three summaries.

And on the social level, she is the founder of the first neighborhood association.

Yes, it was the Palomeras Bajas Neighborhood Association in Vallecas, and at the same time another one was created in the Basque Country, the one in Rekalde. This was born from the fact that we passed a law that was not designed for neighborhood associations, but rather for press association issues.

This has set a very important precedent in Spain, because in no European country are there what we call neighbourhood associations. Many studies analyse the role they have played in the absence of democratic municipal councils. I think they have been pioneers and yes, I am quite happy and satisfied with that. We have carried out the renovation of shanty towns throughout the outskirts of Madrid.

With all these achievements that are not rare. Was it difficult to find one’s place in a society much more masculinized than today?

Honestly, I had no problems. As a feminist lawyer, when it came to work, people respected me. In fact, I had a meeting in the old Real Madrid pavilion, which was packed, and they accepted me to speak.

The only problem I had was when a judge told me that since I was a woman, a prosecutor or someone who was a man had to come. That is to say, the legislation in force at the time allowed me to defend others as a lawyer, but I could not defend myself. So I would say that in terms of society, I had no problem, even though at the time it was very patriarchal.

“With the fall of the wall, I thought there would be peace in Europe and that I would see all the spending on arms dedicated to development”

This is a question I ask almost all my interviewees. If you had to say something to the Paquita of the past, to the one from January 24, what would you say?

I should tell him that what he did was worth it. That the work he did was worth it so that today society is a little better. And that many sad events happened in his life, but that he was also lucky enough to meet many great people.

And finally, today, how would you define your life?

I always say: I had two backpacks, a backpack of a lot of pain because I had the misfortune of finding myself without a father at the age of 14, the murder of my brother, the death of my son and that of my husband, who was wonderful.

I have a backpack of pain, but I also have a nice backpack with which I have always lived. Now I have a son, two granddaughters, the fact of knowing that I created the first neighborhood association, after having set up an association of cooperation and aid to emigrants, I met many wonderful people … And with the two backpacks I continue life.

And in the future, do you have any plans?

My project is that society becomes more and more democratic. When I was young, I was convinced that some progress would have already taken place. With the fall of the Berlin Wall, for example, I thought that there would be peace in Europe and that all arms spending would be devoted to development spending. I want what I was looking forward to to actually happen. But now I find it very difficult.