Street demonstrations frequently constitute an extra-institutional area of politics, in which ordinary people mobilize to demonstrate their demands and criticize those in power. At the same time, events organized in connection with a specific date that refers to history constitute a ritual that aims to integrate and mobilize participants. Initiatives such as the celebration of International Workers’ Day are a hybrid of these two types of political activity, when, on the one hand, there is a celebration at a specific time and place of an established universe of symbols, and on the other, an evolution that adapts such a ritual to modern realities. This issue will be discussed based on observing the 1st of May 2024 ceremonies in Madrid. The tradition of these celebrations dates back to the late 19th century. Their character has evolved together with the political changes in Spain. The contemporary ritual related to Workers’ Day maintains the working-class struggle for rights traditions, adapting them to the conditions of a democratic regime. The voice of more radical factions that contest such a self-limited political agenda is also visible during the demonstration. Observation of the event makes it possible to analyze the interactions between the demonstration as a form of protest and the celebration of a particular political ritual, as well as the tendencies present in Spanish politics.
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