Description
L'ARGENTERA--WHEN WE WORE ESPADRILLES
Book Summary
An intimate and evocative portrait of rural life in L'Argentera (Baix Camp) during the second half of the 20th century. Through the author's personal experiences, the reader will discover a world that has all but disappeared: the houses, the trades, the festivities, the school, and the village's unique dialect. With rich and humorous language, this memoir offers an authentic window into farm life in post-war Catalonia, back when espadrilles were the standard footwear.
What is it about?
Josep Mèlich constructs an autobiographical narrative that goes beyond a simple personal chronicle. The book describes in detail the L'Argentera of the mid-20th century: the families who lived there and their backgrounds, the houses and their structures, traditional trades and the tools used, festive celebrations, the municipal area, the local school, the figure of the summer visitors, and the expressions unique to the local speech. The work functions as an ethnographic document that captures a lifestyle that modernity has gradually erased, offering a nostalgic yet precise view of Catalan rural daily life in the late 1940s.
Main themes
- Autobiographical memory and childhood in rural Catalonia
- Farm life and traditional trades in Baix Camp
- Local ethnography: customs, festivities, and popular speech
- The transformation of the rural world during the 20th century
- Nostalgia and the recovery of intangible heritage
Who is it recommended for?
This book is especially recommended for readers interested in historical memory and Catalan rural life, as well as those looking for autobiographical accounts that document the social transformations of the 20th century. It is also ideal for people with ties to Baix Camp or L'Argentera, and for anyone who wants to discover, through an authentic and accessible voice, what farm life was like in a bygone era.
What this book offers
- A direct and detailed account of rural life in Catalonia during the post-war period
- An ethnographic view of the traditions, trades, and speech of a village in Baix Camp
- An engaging and humorous read that combines personal and collective memory
- The opportunity to learn about a cultural and human heritage that has almost vanished
Technical data
- Author: MELICH GARCIA, JOSEP
- Publisher: Cossetània Edicions
- Language: cat
- Subject: MEMOIRS, REGIONAL AND NATIONAL HISTORY
- Collection: EL TINTER
- Binding: Paperback
- Publication date: July 2003
- Number of pages: 392
- Weight: 969 g
Editorial review
A work of local memory that transcends its geographical scope to become a human document of great value. The combination of personal experience and ethnographic description, written in a rich and humorous style, makes this book an attractive read both for scholars of rural history and for readers seeking an authentic and nostalgic look at the recent past. Its descriptive depth and attention to detail make it a useful tool for the recovery of collective memory.