This year marks the 120th anniversary of the opening of the notorious La Model prison, located in the Eixample district of Barcelona.
The facility closed in 2017 and has since become a site for Catalan historic memory, open to the public. Behind its high beige walls lies the history of a prison that sought to be exemplary, but during the Franco dictatorship held thousands of political prisoners, many of whom were tortured or executed.
Cillian Shields joins Lea Beliaeva Bander to talk about the agonizing history of La Model and its impending transformation into a place of life.
We speak with Isabel Centeno, historian and tour guide at La Model, and we hear from Gemma and Carme Puig Antich, the sisters of Salvador Puig Antich, the last political prisoner to be executed at La Model, and their lawyers, Maria Servini and Magda Oranich.
The Catalan phrase of the week is “pagar justos per pecadors”, in English to pay for the sins of others.
Early endings and future beginnings - 2024 Catalan election preview
Books, roses and legends - Celebrating Sant Jordi in Catalonia
Shifting sands - Beneath Catalonia’s coastal changes
Off the runway: exploring sustainability and inclusivity at 080 Barcelona Fashion
Climbing Catalonia: Scaling new heights with indoor and outdoor bouldering
Mobile-free zones: How a parent initiative led to the restriction of phones in Catalan schools
And the Oscar goes to... Catalonia's Hollywood adventure
10 women who changed Catalonia
Inside Mobile World Congress 2024 – AI, quantum tech, aviation innovation and Catalan startups
Catalan farmers' protests: Why are they demonstrating?
Catalan Wikipedia – community, knowledge, language and culture
Record year – Barcelona's booming vinyl scene
Girona FC – the tiny Catalan football club making it big
Spotlight on education – Poor PISA results raise questions for Catalan schools
Censored, prohibited, vandalized - inside Barcelona’s Museum of Forbidden Art
How Catalonia’s Roma community keeps the Romani language alive
A look back at 2023 - elections, drought and celebrity break-ups
The Father of Catalan Modernism - How Lluís Domènech i Montaner started a movement
Antoni Tàpies’ centenary - Avant garde art that makes you think
Create your
podcast in
minutes
It is Free
Voices of Misery Podcast
House of Whimsical Terror
Just Dumb Enough Podcast
Stuff You Should Know
Timcast IRL