Marina Ginestà — ¡No Pasarán! | Spanish Civil War 1936 Socks

MARINA GINESTÀ — ¡NO PASARÁN!

Barcelona, July 21, 1936. A seventeen-year-old woman stands on a rooftop with a rifle over her shoulder.

Her name was Marina Ginestà.

Photographed by Juan Guzmán (Hans Gutmann) on the rooftop of Barcelona's Hotel Colón, Marina became the subject of one of the most recognizable images of the Spanish Civil War.

The photograph captures an extraordinary historical moment: only days after the military uprising against the Spanish Republic, Barcelona had become a centre of resistance.

Marina was just seventeen. During the war, she worked as a journalist and translator, and later survived the conflict and lived in exile. She died in Paris in 2014.

¡NO PASARÁN! — THEY SHALL NOT PASS!

The slogan became one of the defining rallying cries of the Spanish Republic's resistance to the military rebellion.

Popularized by Dolores Ibárruri, known as La Pasionaria, in July 1936, the words came to symbolize resistance, defiance, and determination.

The slogan was not a documented statement by Marina herself. Here, it accompanies her photograph as a historical reference to the world in which the image was made.

THE DESIGN

These archival photography socks bring together two visual elements of the Spanish Civil War:

• The iconic 1936 portrait of Marina Ginestà.

• The vertical inscription ¡NO PASARÁN!, inspired by the republican slogan.

The black-and-white photograph contrasts with the restrained lettering on white fabric, creating a design that is both historical and contemporary.

READING FRAMES — WEARABLE ARCHIVES

Reading Frames is an independent artistic project exploring archival photography, visual history, and the stories behind historical images.

Our Wearable Archives collection brings carefully selected photographs into contemporary clothing and accessories.

Reading Frames — Wearable Archives

Wear a photograph. Carry a story.