People wanted to take part in building the new, democratic Barcelona with autonomy and the capacity to undertake its own initiatives. One of the responsibilities reserved for District Municipal Councils was to give support to cultural initiatives that grew from below.

Many came from political parties and residents’ associations, which had channelled dissident demands during the anti-Franco years and became the repositories of an alternative culture to the official one.

In the new democratic times, parties and associations combined their socio-political role with that of organising life in the neighbourhood, while being behind new social impetuses that led to the revival of popular festivals, which combined with the official ones promoted by the City Council.