The Mancomunidad del Embalse del Atazar presented the documentation project “Las Pastoras del Valle Bajo del Lozoya” on 15 October 2026. The project makes available the personal accounts of women who worked as shepherdesses from childhood in the Sierra Norte de Madrid The plans include an audiovisual collection of interviews, a photographic exhibition and accompanying events at several locations in the Mancomunidad, including La Cabrera.
According to the organisers, around a dozen witnesses have been recorded so far. The interviewees describe how they balanced daily life between going to school, working with livestock and household duties, and the tasks undertaken by girls and boys in farming families. The documentary section is curated by María Julián Prados. The exhibitions and screenings are due to tour different venues in the Valle del Lozoya until autumn.
The organisers emphasise the material’s status as intangible cultural heritage: it documents working knowledge, local techniques and forms of storytelling that have rarely been recorded. The interviews also make clear that formal education was accessible only to a limited extent for many girls in the post-war decades, and that learning often took place within the village community. These assessments are drawn from project descriptions and event announcements by the Mancomunidad del Embalse del Atazar.
Regional institutions see the collection as a resource for educational activities in schools, libraries and cultural centres across the Community of Madrid. Plans include facilitated discussions between the witnesses and younger generations, to compare career opportunities, care work and changes in rural economies. No claims are made about possible political programmes or economic effects, as these go beyond what can currently be substantiated.
The project forms part of a broader context of heritage work in the north of the region, which also includes cooperation with museums, archives and educational organisations in municipalities of the Parque Nacional Sierra de Guadarrama The immediate news is the public presentation of the first results and formats on 15 October 2026. Further events in towns in the Sierra Norte de Madrid have been announced and will be communicated by the Mancomunidad on an ongoing basis.
Editor: Celestina Fuentes (Article created with AI assistance).