Monday, September 24, 2007

squatters

squatters: okupas (Spain)

In Spain it seems squatters are more likely to be the young anarchist punk types you're likely to see in a squat in the States and Canada - thus the k in okupas. a squat itself is called a casa okupa or a casa okupada (though my friends from Barcelona say it's usually casa okupa - many thanks to Saray and Guille for this insight and the links). Is this word being used in Latin America? Not sure, the urban squatting scene is pretty different. Certainly no punks in the amazing Bogotá squat movie La estrategia del caracol, which I highly recommend.

2 comments:

Raul said...

I swear to God that I left a comment about this word a while ago. Squatter would be "paracaidista" in español de México

Anonymous said...

there are several 'casas okupas' in chile and argentina. you can google "la casa aki' en santiago and 'casa t.i.a.o.' en valparaíso... they are less about living space and more like community cultural centers.... talleres, teatro, arte, etc