Santpedor has lived this Saturday full day of blaugrana movement on the occasion of the II Meeting of Penyes Barcelonistes of the Federacions of Països Catalans. The event was organized by the Federació de Penyes Barcelonistes del Bages, Berguedà i la Cerdanya, with the collaboration of the Confederació Mundial de Penyes, the Penya Blaugrana de Santpedor and the City Council of Santpedor. In total, about 400 supporters, coming from various parts of Catalonia, Valencia and the Balearic Islands, and representing a hundred different supporters’ clubs, attended the event.
Among those in attendance wereAntoni Guil, president of the Confederació Mundial de Penyes; Antoni Valverde, president of the Federació de Penyes Barcelonistes del Bages, el Berguedà i la Cerdanya and of the PB Santpedor; Agustí Comas, mayor of Santpedor; Ramon Térmens, Penyes Trustee; Víctor Fontex-candidate for the presidency of FC Barcelona; and Antoni Rovira, former director of the Social Area of FC Barcelona and head of Penyes between 2003 and 2007. A large representation of the Penyes Council of the Confederació was also present, as well as journalists Joan Poquí, Laia Tudel, Marc Cornet, Toni Closa and Frederic Porta, and other names related to FC Barcelona, such as Marc Círia and Marc Duch.
Past, present and future of the penyes movement
The first part of the II Trobada de Penyes Barcelonistes de Federacions dels Països Catalans has been held at the Auditori del Convent de Sant Francesc de Santpedor. Under the conduction of Aksana Vayevoda, first the welcome speeches were given by Antoni Guil, Antoni Valverde and Agustí Comas. Then, the projects and tasks of the three work commissions that make up the Confederació Mundial de Penyes were presented: Institutional and Services; Sociocultural; and Economic and Marketing.
Afterwards, the event focused on the evolution of the Barcelona penyes movement, which now has 105 years of history. First, the vice president of the Confederació, Salva Torres, made an introduction to historically contextualize this collective, and then a debate was held on this issue. Moderated by journalist Queralt Arias, the debate included the participation of Joan Poquí, journalist of Mundo Deportivo; Laia Tudel, journalist of Catalunya Radio and TV3; Marc Cornet, representing Seguiment FCB; Antoni Rovira, former director of the Social Area of FC Barcelona and head of Penyes between 2003 and 2007; and Antoni Guil himself All of them highlighted the importance of the supporters’ clubs throughout the history of FC Barcelona and the value they bring to the Club.
L’Avi del Barça, the great protagonist
The second part of the II Trobada de Penyes Barcelonistes de Federacions dels Països Catalans moved to the Sala Polivalent Cal Llovet. There, the event has lived its most emotional part with a great tribute to Joan Casals, the “Avi del Barça”, who passed away two months ago. Some of the protagonists were Jordi Monturiol, author of the book “L’Avi Joan” about the figure of Casals; Joan Giménez, secretary of the Confederació Mundial de Penyes and promoter of the creation of a “capgròs” that recreates the Avi del Barça; and also the Penya Barcelonista de Benissa, of the Federació de València i Marina Alta, which bears the name of Joan Casals. Also, Salva Torres has explained his experiences with Joan Casals.
After the great lunch with all the 400 supporters attending the Trobada, the tribute has concluded with the presence of the family of Joan Casals, who have received the recognition of the Confederació Mundial de Penyes, the Federació de Penyes del Bages, Berguedà i Cerdanya, the Penya Blaugrana de Santpedor and the City Council of Santpedor, among others. Everyone has highlighted the figure of Casals as an example to follow in terms of blaugrana sentiment and loyalty to the colors, but also for his kindness, generosity, respect, and dedication to all the FC Barcelona fans. For all these reasons, his legacy is especially valuable, and he will always be remembered as a symbol of all supporters of FC Barcelona.
At the end of the Trobada, all the federations and clubs attending received a commemorative scarf as a souvenir and took a big family photo and have been summoned to a next Trobada the following year.
