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Leaving the monastery of Poblet in the direction of Espluga de Francolí, in the Barberà basin, we can find this well-made mural of the International Brigades, which we can appreciate in detail in this report in Las Fotos de los Lectores de La Vanguardia.
This work by graphic artist Roc Blackblock is part of the Murs de Bitàcola project, a network of murals dedicated to historical memory.
In addition, this mural is also linked to the historical memory space Les Masies and the International Brigades, in the nucleus of Les Masies in L’Espluga de Francolí. And, at the same time, it is another of the City Council’s initiatives, the Albergue L’Espluga de Francolí Xanascat and the Learning Camp Els Monestirs del Cister, to enhance the historical, heritage, cultural and educational value of the Space of Memory located in the hostel in this town.
This work helps to disclose how, at the beginning of the 2000s, the researcher Nil Thraby managed to clarify the precise place where Capa’s famous photographs were taken.
The scene refers to October 25, 1938, when, in the patio of the current hostel building, the volunteer battalions from all over the world to fight for the Spanish Republic received their first farewell ceremony.
That day, before a large delegation of brigade members, the President of the Council of Ministers, Juan Negrín, gave a speech to thank these combatants in an emotional act immortalized by photojournalists such as Robert Capa and Henry Buckley, among others.
The muralist Roc BlackBlock has been working for years on the Murs de Bitàcola initiative, a transmedia project that carries out mural interventions accompanied by digital support (linked by QR code), so that the mural is the vehicle for disseminating history and memory. local.
