Vedettes and militiamen at Paral·lel

The Museu d'Història de Barcelona (MUHBA) is organising a tour around the Poble-sec, the Raval, and the Paral·lel during the Spanish Civil War. This part of the city was one of the most severely affected by the air raids. It is also closely related to the artistic and dissolute life of the theatres and cafés of the Paral·lel. The avenue, which experienced its heyday during the First World War and the 1920s, saw its activity cease after 1936.

The Vedettes i milicians route starts at the Arnau Theatre and ends at the gardens of Sant Pau del Camp. The close relationship Pobre-sec has had with El Raval, as the Avinguda del Paral·lel was the leisure area par excellence for the wealthy and the working classes during the second half of the 19th century will be explained. At the Carrer San Bertran, the first performance venues, many of which were closely related to the circus, will be reviewed. Some of them are the London Bar, the Teatre Circo Barcelonés or the Circo Español Modelo. This last one, which later became the Gran Teatre Espanyol, was especially known for the vaudeville and zarzuela.

In Carrer Tàpies and Les Tres Xemeneies, the industrial past of the area and the history of the workers' movement and political activism will be highlighted. After the military coup d'état by the factionists, the Paral·lel became the scene for the clashes between workers and the military. In response to the uprising, the popular forces burned down the church of Santa Madrona. During the war, the Sindicat Únic d'Espectacles Públics attached to the CNT promoted a revolutionary alliance with the UGT to collectivise theatres and socialise access to leisure and culture.

The tour ends with a visit to war shelter number 307, which thanks to its good state of conservation allows visitors to relive the bombardment of Barcelona and discover the city's passive defence network, made up of more than a thousand underground galleries. If you're interested, you can get tickets now through this link.