The Intruder

The Intruder, by Vicente Blasco Ibáñez, describes in detail the working conditions of Basque iron mining in the vicinity of Triano.
The novel is, perhaps, the most political of Blasco Ibáñez. Starring Luis Aresti, described in symmetry with Dr. Areilza, doctor at the Triano Mining Hospital.
Here are recounted the social conflicts that shaped modern Biscay. One of the central scenes of this novel is the one that recounts the events of October 11, 1903. That day thousands of people clashed in Bilbao, it was Sunday and day of the patron saint of Biscay, the Virgin of Begoña.
Violence broke out between anticlerical workers and pilgrims attending the feast of the Virgin. There were shots, desecration of religious objects and stones.
The proletarians of the mines and blast furnaces fought in terrible street riots against the former Carlists, affiliated with the newly founded nationalist party. The latter also had the support of the Jesuits of Deusto, while the liberal bourgeoisie remained in the middle. The brawl was later called by the people “the day the saints threw themselves into the estuary”.
The Intruder is a clear portrait of early twentieth-century Spain, striving to leave behind America’s colonial past and enter modernity.
The events of October 11 unleashed a series of social political events that had enormous influence on modern Biscay.