The first thing we are going to do in order to understand the meaning of the term march is to discover its etymological origin. In this case, we have to emphasize that it is a word that derives from French, specifically from the verb “marcher”.
The act of marching is defined as moving, advancing, functioning. The concept has several uses depending on the context .
The notion of a march can refer to a coordinated movement of individuals with a certain objective . Marches are usually carried out as a form of protest to make a problem visible or to demand solutions from the authorities.
For example: “Thousands of women held a march in the city center against gender violence” , “The opposition called for a march to force the government to give up on its labor reform project” , “The police repressed those who participated in a march in favor of the legalization of abortion” .
In athletics , race walking is a discipline that consists of walking quickly , but not running. Therefore, when race walking, one foot of the athlete must always be in contact with the ground.
It should also not be forgotten that one of the most interesting novels by the writer Stephen King has the term we are now dealing with in its title. We are referring to the book “The Long Walk”, which was published in 1979 and which he signed with the pseudonym Richard Bachman.
It tells the story of a 17-year-old teenager, Ray Garraty, who is chosen to take part in a unique race. 100 young people take part in it, risking their lives to achieve not only fame but also to see their wish come true. During the race they are forced to maintain a certain speed and to respect the strict rules imposed by the organisation. If the walkers do not do so, they will be executed.
If we focus on music , a march is a composition with a specific rhythm that marks the pace of a procession or a troop . It is usually structured in a binary beat, with beats that are divided into two different values.
Likewise, we cannot overlook the fact that “La quinta marcha” was a television programme that was a huge success in the 1990s. It was broadcast on Telecinco between 1990 and 1993, was aimed at a younger audience, revolved around music and was presented by two girls and two boys who became true idols. Among these presenters was, for example, the actress Penélope Cruz, who at that time was taking her first professional steps.
In colloquial language , the development , advancement or development of something is called march: "I am concerned about the progress of this project, it is moving forward more slowly than we anticipated" , "The Paraguayan team added a new victory and maintains its successful march in the continental tournament" , "Despite pressure from the government, the writer did not stop his march and continued to denounce the authorities through his texts" .