At the onset of the twentieth century, Gijón's fortunes seemed to be directly opposed to those of the rest of the country. As Spain sagged under the weight of military defeat and economic crisis, Gijón was poised for industrial take-off. The war with the United States that brought an inglorious end to Spain's coveted imperial identity had a quite different effect in Gijón. A wave of repatriated capital from Asturians in the colonies created an unparalleled growth spurt that put the province and its major industrial city on the map.

In this heady atmosphere, many people believed not only that Asturias would take its place as the newest industrial region, after Catalonia and the Basque country, but that it would assist in sparking a national recovery. Thus, while the nation plunged into pessimistic analysis of its decline, Asturias radiated success.

Despite the apparent uniqueness of the regional and local trajectory of development, the fin de siècle marked a similar turning point for both city and nation. In stark terms, it signaled a hegemonic break, the beginning of a long-term crisis of authority that would only be resolved on the battlefield of the Civil War, several decades later.