The expedition responsible for the conference “Barça i Catalunya: Temps de Foscor”, formed by Salva Torres, Xavier Gamper and Aksana Vayevoda, crossed borders again to visit the territory of Luxembourg. They did so at the invitation of the Penya Barça de Luxemburg (FCB World Federation), which wanted to celebrate its 15th birthday by bringing its members closer to the history of FC Barcelona and its links with Catalan society.
The event took place at the Centre Català de Luxemburg, an organization that spreads knowledge of the Catalan language, culture, and traditions. The room was filled with more than forty people. The conference also served as a presentation of the book of the same name, “Barça i Catalunya: Temps de Foscor” by Salva Torres and Frederic Porta, with a prologue by the 130th president of the Generalitat de Catalunya and European deputy, Carles Puigdemont.
De la Cruz was the star of the event
Among other issues, the conference related the sacrifice and involvement within the Club by those legendary players of the difficult 40s and 50s with the role by players of the late twentieth century; not only footballers, but all those who, in different sections, have worn the shirt for many years. They have continued to be part of FC Barcelona, through the associations of former players, and who have shared the memory of the best moments with penyes. And one of these legends is, without any doubt, the former basketball player Juan Domingo De Cruz, who participated in this event.
De Cruz was introduced with a moving video, and then went on stage where the coordinator of the conferences, Aksana Vayevoda, and the journalist of RAB Radio and presenter of the program “La Taberna del Barça” (broadcasted online Monday from 22 to 23 h), Queralt Arias, were waiting for him. Both of them prepared an interesting battery of historical and topical questions that, with the answers of the guest, provoked the continued attention of the audience.
From his arrival in Catalonia from Argentina, to the current Barça, through the famous “Recopa” final in Grenoble and the duels with the Soviet giant Vladimir Tkachenko, there was nothing left to explain by the “Lagarto” De Cruz. Once again, he demonstrated a great ability to engage the audience in all the anecdotes explained.
More than 100 performances of the conference
The organization by the president of the Centre Català and the PB Luxemburg, Jordi Gairín, was highly praised by the speakers. Only the presence of the Spanish ambassador in Luxembourg, José Maria Rodríguez Coso, a well-known ” culé “, who excused himself at the last moment due to an urgent diplomatic matter, was missed. The second absence, already previously announced, was that of former player Rafael Zuviría.
Leaving aside this obstacle, the cultural meeting satisfied all those present, who did not stop asking Xavier Gamper when the third installment of this cycle “Barça i Catalunya” would arrive, which in Luxembourg achieved a total of 136 representations.
