* The author is part of the community of readers of La Vanguardia
In Calella it seems that the pigeons want to learn to dance sardanas, at least, judging by these images in The Photos of the Readers of La Vanguardia in which we can see how they perch on the members of the sardana group that are part of the monument to the sardana on Passeig de Manuel Puigvert.
This public work is a sculpture formed by an octagonal pillar and on which there are six sardana dancers represented in a naturalistic way. As seen in the images, it seems as if each pigeon wanted to associate itself with each Sardana player.
On four of the faces of the pillar there is the symbol of Catalonia, the four bars, and on the other four there are: on two of the sides instruments of the copla, on the other the shield of Calella and the inscription, and on the last , the shield of the town’s Sardana entity and a fragment of a poem by Joan Maragall, La Sardana.
The monument was inaugurated on June 16, 1983 at the Festival of Sant Quirze and Santa Julita. The sculptural group, formed by an artificial stone pedestal on which three couples of sardanists dance around a cauldron with a sculpted flame, was made by Albert Rosa i Ribas, and the figures are the work of Manel Traité i Figueres (both sculptors born in the municipality of Olot). Two other collaborators participated in the general realization.
Subsequently, the monument has been used to commemorate other various events through the addition of commemorative plaques, such as the proclamation of Calella as Ciudad Pubilla de la Sardana 1996, the 50th anniversary of the Sardanista Calella Group (2000) and the centenary of the teacher Josep M Tarridas i Barri (2003).
