O Marisquiño can claim to have the record for registered female skaters in an event of the World Cup Skateboarding. In fact, it holds both the first and second records, with 47 and 51 participants in the last two editions. To tell us more about this record, we spoke with Raisa Abal, a photographer for the #OMBrigade and editor of Dolores Magazine, a magazine 100% dedicated to skate for women and gender minorities with which we have a media partner agreement.
Two records from the World Cup Skateboarding. How do you value it?
In women's skate events and jams, this level of participation is normal, so it's really cool to see that more and more are encouraged to participate in conventional competitions and official championships, as that helps the level to grow. It's very beautiful to experience it firsthand. I would like it to become the norm and continue to grow exponentially. Can you imagine having to split the girls' category into Sub16 and Open because there are 90 participants?
We were few, but O Marisquiño is becoming more and more diverse, everyone has a place and representation. It’s amazing. Even now, the riders' area within the competition is full of girls...
As a skater and as a Galician who has come to OM for many years, how have you experienced the evolution of the festival regarding women's skate?
I remember that in the girls' category there were years when there were only 3-4 registered (including Leticia Bufoni, Julia Brueckler, Pamela Rosa, and Eugenia Ginepro), and gradually the participation grew. I remember the early years of Valentina Planes and Natalia Muñoz skating their rounds as super little girls, the first time Keet came, Lúcia Seixo, Andrea Benítez… It was like the meeting point for the best European competitors. Julia Brueckler always came to the square to practice manuals on the long curb in the days leading up to the event, and it was a spectacle to see her skate. There were few back then. Moreover, as the Náutico filled up that weekend, finding female skaters was quite a challenge; I don’t even know how many we would have been in total. Ten counting the competitors?
Over the years, the atmosphere has become much more diverse, where everyone has a place and representation. It’s amazing. Even now, the riders' area within the competition is full of girls: Keet, Lore, Natalia, África, Valentina Planes and Valentina K, Nahia, Olayita, Arlet, Vanessa Konte, Jechu, Agatha, Giovana, Aldana, Itzel, Daniela… These last three years, where we've come as a group from Barcelona, has been great because meeting all of them in Vigo is honestly a very beautiful moment.
You will have a thousand stories to tell about O Marisquiño. Are you up for one?
The coolest and most recent one that comes to mind is from the 2022 edition. I remember that a few weeks before going to Vigo, I showed Roxana on Google Maps ‘the mini’ at Samil. We saw it from the bus on the first day, and we decided to go right after the women's final. Rox was thinking of doing an invert and several friends had previously told us it would be difficult for her to do an invert there. She not only did it in about 5-6 tries, but there were some kids just out of the beach on towels flipping out and a brutal mid-afternoon light. Just after filming it and taking the picture, she says to me: ‘wait, I want you to film me doing kickflip indy.’ Well, I don’t know what happened, but she fell while making some weird gesture because the next thing is Roxana going to the hospital in an ambulance with a broken bone in her hand. It wasn't much of a drama because it wasn't her main arm, so we laughed about that moment for a few weeks, and we will remember it every single time we see the cover of Dolores #7.
O Marisquiño and Vigo are our home, so every year we try to gather as many friends as possible so that we can all enjoy the event together!
Now that you mention Dolores. How’s it going? What stage are you at?
Dolores Magazine is growing in a very organic way, so we are very happy. We are already on our 11th issue, and the truth is that we haven't stopped in 2024. We’re taking it slow and steady. We love being firsthand witnesses to everything that is happening in the female and non-traditional scene, and even though sometimes it’s very intense to always be traveling, we are very happy. Personally, I try to make the most of my time to produce, skate as much as I can, and discover new places.
From Dolores, as a medium and as a community, we like to support projects that help promote skateboarding for women and gender minorities. In this case, O Marisquiño is inviting international female skaters, offering equal accommodation and prizes, allocating warm-up and practice time for both categories in different time slots, and inviting specialized media like ours. O Marisquiño and Vigo are our home, so every year we try to gather as many friends as possible so that we can all enjoy the event together!
There is still a long way to go to achieve full equality. What do you think would be a good step?
It may seem prehistoric, but in our country, there are still events where the monetary prize for the women's category is less than the prize for the men's category, or that the prize for the girls' category is in merchandise. There are even competitions that merge both categories and are called ‘open,’ so there is no need to split the money between two. It’s very curious because 7-8 years ago, it was necessary to have a women's category in competitions, and now that it has gradually been included in all events and that the level has had the opportunity to grow thanks to participation and representation, suddenly there are organizations that decide to merge both categories into open, which completely erases the girls' category where probably many more girls would sign up than would dare to do so in an open category.
In general, there is still much to be done, as there is a notable absence of female commentators, photographers, filmers, and judges at most official events, even though there are many of them in the industry and attending as spectators.
With the hope that this will be fulfilled sooner rather than later, we leave you with some photos captured by Raisa Abal from the women's competition of the WCS at O Marisquiño in the last two years.