Description
I AM MAKING HISTORY
Book Summary
An intimate and collective journey through thirty-seven tales of memory. Arturo Gaya, with the serene and observant gaze of a musician who knows how to listen to life, portrays an entire generation. From the innocence of childhood to the subtle humor of his tailor father, to the clandestine arrival of the musical "Hair" at the Paral·lel or the Vandellòs nuclear accident, the author transforms personal memories into universal stories. With a fresh, direct, and genuine style, he turns everyday life into honest literature, traversing an emotional geography that stretches from Tortosa to Barcelona and from Formentera to Lisbon. Each memory is a question: what does it really mean to make history?
What is it about?
The book is a collection of thirty-seven short stories that intertwine the author's personal memory with historical and social events in his surroundings. Arturo Gaya, a well-known musician from the group Quico el Célio, el Noi i el Mut de Ferreries, unfolds a vital chronicle here that begins with the innocence of a child in a postwar family and progresses to maturity. We find episodes such as the 23-F coup attempt experienced among frightened students in the Sants neighborhood, the first ETA victim in the Ebro region, the birth of the "Lo riu és vida" environmental movement, or the search for the Bob Dylan myth in Formentera. Each story is a piece of a mosaic where the personal becomes collective, and where daily life becomes a witness to an era.
Main themes
- Generational memory and a chronicle of the postwar period in Catalonia
- Everyday life as a source of honest and universal literature
- Music, performance, and counterculture in the Barcelona of the 70s and 80s
- Emotional geographies from the Terres de l'Ebre to Lisbon
- Key historical events (23-F, Vandellòs accident, ETA) experienced firsthand
- The meaning of "making history" from an intimate and collective perspective
Who is it recommended for?
For readers interested in the recent historical memory of Catalonia, especially the Terres de l'Ebre and Barcelona. Also for followers of music and counterculture, as well as anyone looking for intimate and reflective readings on the passage of time, identity, and the sense of belonging. Ideal for those who enjoy short stories with a genuine and accessible literary style.
What this book offers
- A personal and authentic vision of key historical events of the 20th century in Catalonia.
- Stories that connect individual experience with the collective memory of a generation.
- A fresh, direct, and emotional narrative style that makes reading a relatable experience.
- A profound reflection on what it means to "make history" from everyday life.
- An emotional journey through real and symbolic geographies of the Mediterranean.
Technical sheet
- Author: GAYA IGLESIAS, ARTURO
- Publisher: COSSETANIA
- Language: Catalan
- Topic: Autobiography: art and entertainment, memoirs
- Collection: PERFILS
- Publication date: November 2025
- Number of pages: 112
- Weight: 190 g
Editorial assessment
A work that successfully combines the intimacy of personal memory with the ambition of collective testimony. The author, known for his musical career, demonstrates a unique literary voice that is both simple and profound. The book may be of particular interest to those looking for a brief but dense read that connects the recent past with universal questions about identity and the sense of belonging. Its structure of independent stories makes it accessible and easy to read, even though the whole offers a coherent and emotional vision of an era and a territory.