casually reached into my hands a publication interesting: Barcelona. Bulletin of the Society of Strangers Attraction (Syndicat d'Initiative) sponsored and funded by the Municipality and Provincial de Barcelona County Council, which, according to its contents, due to be published in 1915. This Bulletin, presumably quarterly, contains in its central pages an extensive description of the Cathedral of Lérida (with 28 illustrations, photographs of Sun and Benet and Herrera and GES), "according to data from the remarkable monograph on the same wrote the remarkable literary D. Luis Roca Florejachs 1 , one of the more prominent figures of the Catalan Renaissance ", information on tourist movement, namely" services provided by the company to outsiders and tourists, during the first quarter of 1915 " 2 ; "outsiders received by hotels and inns in the capital during the current period ," Caravan received during the current quarter " 3 and" yachts and tour vessels arriving at our port during the same time . " Finally set included an extract from the minutes of the meetings of the Board of Directors of the Company held in the fourth quarter of 1914. recognize, and I apologize for my Catalan friends for my ignorance, unaware until now the existence of this Society Attraction of Strangers, which has led me to inquire into the search engine to use on the corporate entity so curious expressive name. Here are the results of these investigations, citing, as one law, the sources from which I have used. The
Attraction of Strangers Society (APS) was born in April 1908 by Domingo Sanllehy, mayor of Barcelona (who died suddenly in 1911 and buried in the cathedral). Was located in the Rambla del Centro, number 30, low, Barcelona. The end of the Company "purely patriotic and selfless " was the promotion of tourism in Barcelona and, by extension, in Catalonia. For this purpose, "says Albert Peris, University Pompeu Fabra Barcelona Attraction. A journal of the Society of Attraction of Strangers " that the proponents of this Society, which can be identified as near the Regionalist League, believed that tourism could be a way to modernize Catalonia, in addition to enriching cultural and economically. Its referent, which would be reflected Catalonia, was, according to that author, Europe and particularly France, then one of the best prepared countries for the promotion of tourism. It was, therefore, this society a sort of Catalan Tourism had an extensive network of offices in Spain and abroad. Held until 1936 an extensive and intensive efforts to promote tourism " being made available to travelers and tourists to facilitate all kinds of information related to their trip: itineraries, means of transportation, guides, interpreters, visits to public and private facilities, accommodation, etc .. " Tourism office acting as distributed propaganda material, pamphlets, monographs, maps of the city and even went to sponsor a movie "Pearl of the Mediterranean ", filmed in 1911 and first reported the sights of Barcelona (this Films made by Cabot film, very interesting, now owned by the Dutch Film Amsterdam, can be seen in blog fotosdebarcelona.com). According to information from Albert Blasco i Peris University School of Maresme in "The Company of Strangers Attraction as a power structure," SAF also promoted the association in the sector and the holding of congresses and conferences such as the National Tourism Conference or two Congresses of Tourism in Catalonia. The importance of this Society was, throughout its years of existence, its dynamic role in the development of tourism in Catalonia, in a time when few believed in Spain in this activity 4 incorporating it into a global perspective modernization of the Catalan economy.
This dynamic role of tourism in Barcelona and Catalonia, in general, is viewed through the reading of the minutes of the meetings of the Board of Directors of the Company for the last quarter of 1914 and in which carefully set out arrangements for appointment of delegates, tourism initiatives, communications, public bodies, activation of questions etc, " despite the current circumstances" (an allusion to the Great War) and of the epidemic which then affects the health status of the capital and in relation to which the SAF urges the Mayor and the daily press that " seek by every means within its power to lift the depressed spirits of the locals that could justify epidemic last 5 , in order to again become the city to regain its normal appearance again facilitating the coming of foreigners by the circumstances referred had left town. "
Yet for me the most interesting and curious of this Bulletin is the large number of advertisements inserted therein. They are of various types: hotels, cafes and restaurants, stores, stores like the famous "Century", auto, photo stores, perfumes, fans, clocks, telephones, banks, insurance companies, factories textiles, building materials, furniture, glassware, hot springs, Machinery, dressings and "healing items, fine wines, the Barcelona Funicular Sarria, shipping companies, fitness centers et. I can not resist to include below some of them on this blog for the enjoyment, comfort and memories of their readers, especially those of our beloved Barcelona.
© Manuel Martínez Bargueño
October 2009
If you have interested in this article and want to ask, comment or contribute something about it can leave a comment or write to my email address manuelblas222 @ gmail. com with the assurance that you will be promptly addressed.
Spread among your friends this blog.
Thanks. Manuelblas
NOTES
1 Florejachs Luis Roca was born in Lleida on February 21, 1830. studied undergraduate medicine at the University of Barcelona, \u200b\u200ba doctorate in Madrid, but more than medicine was devoted to literature being the last member of a family saga. Founded in 1872, along with the priest José María Escolá the Marian Academy which brought major competitions. Reinaxenxa introduced in Lleida in Catalonia. He is considered the first poet Lleida in Catalan. He died on December 2, 1882, at 52 years of age (data from thesis Fernando dela Pifarré San Augustine, entitled "Aspects parish sanitaris de l'Arxiu de Sant Joan de Lleida, secular XIX i XX" . Universitat Barcelona. Faculty of Medicine 1998.
2 were seen during the first quarter of 1915, a total of 2,267 foreigners and tourists of different nationalities.
3 In total there were 6,271 foreigners and tourists received in Hotel establishments in the same period, figures can be considered modest when compared with 7,108,993 tourists in Barcelona and 13,620,347 overnight stays in hotels during 2007 (Statistics of tourism in Barcelona).
4 In 1911, RD of 19 June, as President of the Council of Ministers and Minister Jose Development Canalejas Rafael Gasset, establishing the Royal Commissioner for Tourism, Regional Commissioner appointing the Marquis de la Vega - Inclán.
5 Refers wing typhus epidemic which devastated the city in 1914 because of water consumption and Les Fonts de Montcada result of which 2036 people died.
IMAGES
0 comments:
Post a Comment