The Sociocultural Commission of the Confederació Mundial de Penyes, with the collaboration of former players, penyes and various scholars, has launched a new activity related to the history of the Club, in addition to the two parts of “Barça i Catalunya” (the third and final part will be released in 2025) and “Ambaixades, la Història de les Penyes del FC Barcelona”. It is “Llegendaris”, an event that can take various forms depending on the FC Barcelona personalities, or their relatives, who take part in it.
Co-organised by Salva Torres, author of the aforementioned conferences and co-author of the books of the same name, the event aims to give relevance and importance to the former players attending any event organised by the penyes. As he says: “I find it very uncomfortable to see former players invited to penyes events without young people being made aware of their history or that of the Club during their years of membership”. Torres added: “They just make them go to meals and give artificial speeches at the end, when what people want is to know about their rich experiences wearing the Barça shirt and see their pictures”.
First events in the PB Els Tamarells and the PB Valls i Alt Camp
“Llegendaris” can be adapted to any type of event. Thus, in the pilot experience held at the Penya Barcelonista Els Tamarells in Felanitx (Fed. Balears), an interesting review of the decade of the 70s was made with several images, videos and two special guests: the goalkeeper Pere Valentí Mora and the Argentinean player Rafael ‘Torito’ Zuviría. Both showed videos of themselves and were interviewed by Salva Torres and Aksana Vayevoda, delighting the audience for more than an hour and a half.
But the premiere of “Llegendaris” had to be even more powerful. It was last Friday 13th December, at the Teatre Principal in Valls, where Salva Torres combined the 125th anniversary of FC Barcelona with the centenary of the Institut Jaume Huguet-Antiga Escola del Treball and the 45th anniversary of the PB Valls i Alt Camp (Fed. Tarragona Nord). Hosted by Torres himself and three teachers who presented the event, Rosa Manchobas, Lilian Borràs and Agnès Fort, names such as Jose Mari Bakero, Pere Valentí Mora and Rafael Zuviría took part, as well as Xavier Gamper (grandson of the founder of FC Barcelona) and Josep Seguer (son of the legendary player). Also present were Ferran Casas (son of the director of the Jaume Huguet Institute during the Spanish Civil War), the current director Josep Maria Soler and the former directors Salvador Escofet, Xavier Bagès and Jordi Tuset.
Blaugrana emotion
Also present in the event was the voice of the much-missed Manel Vich (Camp Nou’s ‘speaker’ for 60 years) to start the gala, nor a final part dedicated to the centenary figure of Barça’s Avi, embodied for the last 40 years by the remembered Joan Casals. There were also tributes to players such as Eulogio Martínez (who died 40 years ago in a traffic accident) and the recently deceased Johan Neeskens. It was a two and a half hour show that thrilled the nearly 300 people who filled this emblematic venue.
The next performance of “Llegendaris” is likely to happen on the occasion of the Aplec de Penyes Barcelonistes of the Federació Comarques de València i Marina Alta, to be held in the city of Dénia (Marina Alta) on the 1st of February 2025.
