STORIES FROM THE HORROR | The Grave of the Unnamed

Hi everyone, and welcome to this podcast, coming to you from the Canary Islands and reaching listeners around the world. 

This series is a raw and unfiltered look at the darkest chapters of our history. In each episode, we explore dictatorships, hate crimes, and regimes of terror that left scars humanity cannot forget. We give space to silenced voices, forgotten memories, and uncomfortable truths—because some stories must be told if we are to build a better tomorrow. 

We travel to a dark and silent place in the history of the Canary Islands, an abyss that for decades has kept painful secrets. Today I will tell you the story of the Sima de Jinámar, that volcanic hole more than 70 meters deep in Gran Canaria, which was turned into a hell, a mute witness to the most brutal repression during the Spanish Civil War and Franco’s dictatorship.

Did you know that in this pit, starting in 1937, people were thrown simply for thinking differently? People who defended the republican legality, trade unionists, political dissidents, and many more, disappeared there without trial, without justice… without hope.

Decades earlier, the chasm already had dark tales. In ancient times, even back to the era of the Canarian aborigines, it was used as a place of punishment — a precipice where fear and violence found their natural space. But it was in the dreadful decade of the 1930s when it became a symbol of absolute terror.

During the Civil War, while bloody battles were fought on the mainland, the Canary Islands experienced a silent war. Without direct confrontation, repression was swift and ruthless. Many were taken from their homes and brought to the edge of that precipice, only to be killed and their bodies thrown into the void.

Fortunately, in recent years, initiatives by the Cabildo of Gran Canaria and groups dedicated to historical memory have managed to recover human remains and personal objects from the bottom of the chasm. This archaeological work is essential to restore dignity to the victims who never had a proper burial. The sima has ceased to be a complicit silence and now cries out in the collective memory.

Sometimes we forget that behind every story there is a life, a face, and a heart beating with the same hopes as ours. To listen, acknowledge, and respect those realities is the first step toward building a more just and humane world. If we manage to look with empathy, we are already transforming the present and sowing the future."

That’s it for today’s episode. Thank you for listening, and remember: when we keep memory alive, we also keep dignity alive. I hope you’ll join me in the next one. 

If you have any comments or suggestions for future episodes, I’d love to hear from you.

Patricia López Muñoz

Higher Technician in Sociocultural Dynamisation

Specialist Technician in Immigration

Higher Technician in Social Integration