* The author is part of the community of readers of La Vanguardia
The missing Cinema Siberia, despite its short life, caused problems at its opening and difficulties in keeping track of it today. For those of us who want to tell its story, we located it at 111 Conde del Asalto Street, but, in the year the cinema was inaugurated, in 1934, at the time of the Republic, that street was called Nou de la Rambla.
According to the Barcelona City Council Gazetteer, those who say this are right. Previous names: Conde del Asalto, 1939; Nou de la Rambla, 1931. When naming the Paral·lel with the name Avenida del Marqués del Duero, it was thought to baptize Nou de la Rambla as Conde del Asalto.
The name of the Paral·lel comes from the fact that its layout coincides with that of the Earth’s parallel: ”41º22’34”, north.
Now, according to the advertisements that the cinema itself published on the newspaper billboards, in all the advertisements it appeared with this heading:
SIBERIAN CINEMA – OUTDOORS Sound. Conde del Asalto, 111 (next to Parallel).
With reference to its inauguration, it was one of the cinemas that opened its doors in 1934, but surely there is no other that announced the opening date up to three times on the newspaper billboards.
The first advertisement that appeared in La Vanguardia was on June 20, in the second column of page 4, and it only communicated:
INAUGURATION, Friday, June 22
This advertisement was repeated on Thursday the 21st, however, on Friday the 22nd, for unknown reasons, it no longer appeared on the billboards. But, instead, he appears again in La Vanguardia on Thursday, July 6, announcing the inauguration again. In the ad it only said:
INAUGURATION TODAY, AT 9 NIGHT
A DELICIOUS LITTLE SISTER; Drawings.
THE BLACK SEA TIGER;
INNOCENT SINGLE, by Chevalier.
The Siberia continually changed its programming, offering three films a day. The last day that it appeared on the billboards, already with a more corporate advertisement, was August 31, 1934, programming What an honor for the family, The daring lady and The beast of the sea.
From that day on, Cinema Siberia disappeared from the newspaper billboards forever; its cinematographic journey had lasted two months.
Possibly, their short life as an open-air cinema could have been motivated because they bought the premises in which it was located. In its place they wanted to build the Apolo Amusement Park. His contribution to the history of cinematography lasted only the months of June, July and August 1934.
