Paper short abstract:

There are more than 500,000 domestic workers living in Spain today. The large majority are migrant women from Latin American countries.Through the stories of three Latin American women living in Barcelona we get an insight into the reality of being a migrant woman and a domestic worker in Spain today.

Paper long abstract:

There are more than 500,000 domestic workers living in Spain today. The large majority are migrant women from Latin American countries.

This documentary is a collaboration between the organisation Mujeres Pa´lante (Women Forwards) and the anthropologist Tanja Wol, that visually creates a portrait of Latin American migrant women living in Barcelona. Through the stories of three Latin American women living in Barcelona, who all form part of the Mujeres Pa´lante association, we get an insight into the reality of being a migrant woman and a domestic worker in Spain today. We meet Pilar, a young single mother from El Salvador, who for several years worked as a live-in domestic worker, where she experienced both physical and psychological abuse by the family she worked for. After raising her own family, Ramona migrated to Spain to work as a domestic worker, which has given her a freedom and independence she could not find in Uruguay. Finally, Lety from Mexico has dedicated her new life in Barcelona to help other female migrants gain a voice in society. Through their own words, we learn about their motivations for crossing oceans to live in Catalonia, and why they choose to keep living outside of their native country. Despite the discrimination and abuse they experience, these women are actively trying to improve the rights and conditions for themselves and for others.