A mosaic of cultures, many different traditions coexist in l’Hospitalet de Llobregat. If we listen in one of its metro stops, it is very possible that we will hear several languages. Rarely is so much diversity concentrated in 12.4 km2. One is the Catalan one. For 150 years, an organization in what is now Catalonia’s second city has been promoting this tradition. It is the Casino del Centre, located in the center of the town, next to the Just Oliveras promenade. This year the Casino was awarded a Sant Jordi Cross for its work. It is the oldest active association in the city.
L’Hospitalet is very different now compared to when the Casino was born under the name Centro Económico, Agrícola e Industrial de la Villa de Hospitalet de Llobregat. Now it has more than 265,000 inhabitants and a century and a half ago “it must have had 2,000 and few”, remembers Josep Miquel Goyta, current president of the association.
The Casino was founded by twenty men who raised 41,000 pesetas and erected the building, now protected for its heritage value. “They had purchasing power, but not exaggerated either. The big owners were in Barcelona”, recalls Goyta. “They were looking for a place where they could have a good time”, says Pilar Firmas, secretary of the board.
With the fun and meeting activities also came the theater groups, the orpheon, the hiking center… “it became an important point of reference”, considers Goyta. “They also did business”, adds Firmas. It was not the only entity of these characteristics at that time in Hospitalet. They differed by political tendency.
During the Civil War, the Center Casino was confiscated by the CNT and the UGT. But beyond painting some walls “they didn’t break anything”, remembers the secretary of the board. With the Franco regime, the property ended up in the hands of the Falange, but it was only there for “a few months”. “At the end of 1939, thanks to some contacts with the civilian governor, it was able to reopen. Of course, under the name Casino Nacional”, the president narrates.
Despite having the name imposed by the authorities of the dictatorship, the Casino enjoyed a certain latitude to carry out their activities. “In the 1940s, plays were already being organized in Catalan,” explains Goyta. “Permission had to be requested for everything”, Firmas clarifies. With that blessing, they organized fiesta balls, brought orchestras to l’Hospitalet and carried out cultural and sports activities.
However, Casino de l’Hospitalet’s most complex moment came decades later, between the sixties and the seventies. “It was the era of the popularization of television in homes and cars”, describes Firmas. At that time, says Goyta, “the need to come to the center to have fun was lost”. The result was “very hard” years for the Casino del Centre: “At times you couldn’t even pay for the electricity”, the president continued. It was imperative to look for non-regular income. One of the main ones was acquiring, years later, a license to play bingo. “If not, we will not be saved”, acknowledges Firmas.
With its highest moments and also its narrows, the Casino de l’Hospitalet has acted during all these years as a kind of guardian of Catalan culture in a city that grew up welcoming other traditions. Its history is collected in an exhibition, which can be seen at its headquarters until October 22.
Currently, they have approximately 350 members. Esbart, theatre, board games, Catalan classes, yoga, tai chi, skating, concerts and excursions, among other activities, are part of its programming, which has been strengthened throughout this century.
Right now, their big challenge is the same as that of so many other neighborhood and cultural associations in many cities: to be more attractive to young people. Initiatives like, for example, skating help them get closer to this audience.
