“Estimadas familias y alumnado: Ante los tres días de luto oficial decretados por la Comunidad de Madrid, del 29 al 31 de octubre, tras el accidente ferroviario ocurrido ayer en Urda, os informamos de que queda suspendida la celebración de Halloween prevista para mañana, viernes”. El mensaje del Instituto Ramiro de Maeztu de Madrid pasó de emails a grupos de padres y desembocó en conversaciones familiares sobre el luto, la muerte y la gestión de las frustraciones. Sucedió lo mismo en decenas de centros de primaria y secundaria de toda España. Algunas fiestas locales han sido igualmente suspendidas.

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Jorge Guales saw the food cart arrive. He was in car 7 of the Iryo and the train had stopped. Staff passed by offering drinks and snacks. He felt relaxed. What came next was the impact: “The hit, the deafening crash.” He tries to reconstruct what happened afterward. It’s difficult for him. Some passengers were thrown against the seats and several objects fell to the floor. He saw and heard everything, but it’s blurry. He, a 53-year-old Colombian, looked out the window and saw smoke. He stood up. The door was open. He got out and helped others to exit the train. Once outside, they walked together along a ditch and several local residents broke down a fence so they could pass through. He turned and saw the wrecked carriages. He had just walked out of one of them unharmed.

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They came to Madrid to counterprogram one of Europe’s largest real estate fairs, The District. What they found was an 87-year-old woman who was about to be evicted from their home — and was, before their eyes. Around 200 housing activists from more than 20 countries across Europe decided to join the demonstrations against the eviction, and later joined a spontaneous encampment in front of the Madrid regional government headquarters at the historic Puerta del Sol plaza.

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