There are those who might think that there are areas of Catalonia where there is no popular culture. And this is simply a cliché or a prejudice far from reality. In the heart of Barcelona we find an entity that dismantles this fact: the Gegants del Raval. Figures, of humble origin, that have been traversing the streets of the neighborhood for four decades and are part of its cultural identity. They are Lola and Mister Ramon, two giants who do not represent noble kings, nor legendary characters. They are two neighbors, two workers who honor the common people of the neighborhood as a collective symbol and reflection of society.
Rosa Gaya, head of the Gegants del Raval group, and Pedro Molina, president of the Association of Friends of the Giants Ramon and Lola, explain to AMIC Cultura that the origin of the figures dates back to the years 1985 and 1986, thanks to a neighborhood initiative from Carrer d'en Guifré. First came the giantess and, shortly after, the giant. The reception, they recall, was immediate and enthusiastic.
Those years, they relate, they were experiencing a moment of effervescence of street festivals, with a way of organizing similar to that of neighborhoods like Sants or Gràcia. In this context, the giants quickly became a differential and identity element within the Raval.
Lola symbolizes a butcher from Mercat del Ninot and Ramon, a shopkeeper from the Raval. “The construction of the giants began with standard big-heads and with the idea of representing the workers who make up the majority of the neighborhood's population,” they detail. This desire to portray the working class remains fully valid today: “Most of the people living in the neighborhood continue to be working class. So we believe the message remains valid.”
Maintaining popular culture in the heart of Barcelona
In a neighborhood as changing and diverse as the Raval, keeping popular culture alive is also a way to preserve a collective memory and Catalan festivals and traditions. Despite the social and urban transformations that the Raval is experiencing, the group defends the Catalan giant tradition with an open perspective, as it is committed to doing new activities and modernizing giant activities.
In fact, Lola and Ramon have not danced alone in the streets for years. Over the years, the family has grown with the incorporation of the giantess Quimeta and the dwarf Manolito, two figures that have especially connected with the children's audience.
Beyond making the giants dance
The giant-carrying group of Raval not only manages its giants, it also brings out into the street the Dragon of Ciutat Vella and the Bull of Barcelona, a task that requires a lot of organization and effort. “Sometimes it is very complicated, we are a small entity and if we bring out all the figures we lack hands”, they explain. For this reason they work coordinately, making lists and distributing the participants according to the preferences and needs of each event. When necessary, they even ask for support from other groups and friendly entities.
When they do not dance through the streets, Lola, Ramon, Quimeta and Manolito rest at the Casa dels Entremesos, where they are exhibited since the year 2010 next to a good part of the festive imagery of Ciutat Vella. And for whoever wants to discover the giant world from within, the group opens its doors to new participants: “With us they will have the best time”.
For this year's edition of their Main Festival, on July 11, they prepare a special celebration for forty years of life: they will premiere a new image and also their own dance, which they are already training with great enthusiasm. It will be in the afternoon, in the Gardunya square.
