From 18 July to 30 November 2014, the Castell de Montjuïc hosted the exhibition "Baixant de la Font del Gat. Les fonts populars de Montjuïc" (Coming down from the Font del Gat. Popular springs in Montjuïc). The exhibition immerses us in the social life that revolved around these natural heritage sites; freshwater springs which for many years were the indispensable scene of the recreational activities and celebrations of the middle and working classes in Barcelona.
With informative purposes, the exhibition presented representative short stories, sensory narratives describing the not-so-distant past of an iconic site. To explore these past times, it featured photographs, illustrations and lithographs, as well as texts and sound effects to create an experience that evoked the motif of the exhibition.
The documentary archive displayed at the exhibition is based mainly on photos of meetings and celebrations at popular springs on Montjuïc, taken by photographers such as Frederic Ballell, Carlos Pérez de Rozas and Josep Brangulí, plus reproductions of drawings and lithographs from the time, by artists such as Lola Anglada and Pau Febrés Yll. For Barcelona’s inhabitants, Montjuïc meant rural areas and gardens, an idyllic place to relax and enjoy the views and the light high up above the city.
There were many popular springs scattered around Montjuïc, some completely natural and others piped and embellished with stonework. From the late nineteenth to the mid-twentieth century, they drew throngs of visitors and among the most appreciated were the Font del Gat, the Font Trobada, the Font dels Tres Pins, the Font del Geperut, the Font del Tir, the Font del Parc de Baix or Laribal, the Font d’en Conna, the Font de la Vista Alegre, the Font de la Guatlla, the Font d’en Pessetes, the Font de la Mina and the Font de la Satalia. The springs on Montjuïc hosted all kinds of social events. On Sundays and public holidays, families, couples and groups of friends got together for the traditional fontada (afternoon tea around a spring), getting together, playing, dancing, and partying. Events like the Revetlla de Sant Joan (St John’s Eve) drew crowds, while the more beautiful, landscaped springs were the most in demand for weddings, communions and baptisms. Furthermore, during the early years of the Franco regime, the springs hidden by thick woods, such as the Font de Tres Pins, provided a venue for the clandestine meetings of groups and movements considered dangerous by the dictatorship.
Exhibition credits
Organisation:
Institut de Cultura. Ajuntament de Barcelona
Concept, design and set-up:
MagmaCultura
Production:
Reproduccions Sabaté
Digiprint Center
Fusteria Marti
Sound:
Joan Redondo
Correction and translations:
Artslingua:
Joan Lluís Quilis (català / castellà)
Joyce McFarlane (anglès)
Copyright © texts:
Josep M. Riutort
Copyright © photographs:
Lola Anglada
Frederic Ballell
Josep Brangulí
Pau Febrés Yll
Carlos Pérez de Rozas
Lucien Rosin
Josep Sagarra
Pau Lluís Torrents
Acknowledgements:
Arxiu Fotogràfic de Barcelona
Arxiu Històric de la Ciutat de Barcelona
Centre de Recerca Històrica de Poble-sec