#serrallonga

Bellesguard tower in Barcelona, Catalonia. Designed by the famous Catalan architect Antoni Gaudí and built between the years 1900 and 1909.

This was the site of a Medieval tower built for Martin the Humane, king of Catalonia-Aragon between 1396 and 1410. At the time, this was not part of the city, but a tower built in the rural countryside with a beautiful view, that's why the king named it so ("bell esguard" in Catalan means "beautiful view"). In this tower, king Martin got married to Margarida de Prades, a wedding officiated by the Anti-Pope Benedict XIII and in which one of the guests was Vicent Ferrer, who would later become a saint.

In the next centuries, the tower was gifted and sold many times, changing hands from family to family. According to the legends, the place is tied to Catalonia's most famous bandit, Serrallonga, remembered by the legends and songs (he's kind of our equivalent of Robin Hood). When Serrallonga was captured and hanged in 1634, part of his corpse was exhibited in the tower. But soon after, during the Catalan Revolt (also called Reapers' War, 1640-1652), it was left in ruins. It was soon rebuilt by a poet and member of the Academy of the Distrusting (an association that promoted the study of Catalan history, language, and poetry; and which was forced to close in 1714 with the Spanish occupation of Catalonia), but the tower was again demolished during the War of the Spanish Succession (the war in which Spain occupies Catalonia). Only some ruins were left.

Many years later, in the year 1900, the plot of land was bought by a widow called Maria Sagués i Molins, who wanted Gaudí to rebuild the tower. Since Maria didn't know how to read and write, Gaudí signed the buying contract on her behalf. He designed the new tower reusing the elements that had remained from the old tower, which is mostly the outer walls. Knowing the tower's history, Gaudí designed it as a homage to Catalonia's history, and it's full of references to it.

Serrallonga is a famous Catalan bandit from the 1600s who stole from the rich nobles and the king’s tax collectors and gave the money to the poor. He was persecuted by the monarchy (obviously) but survived for a long time because he was so loved that people voluntarily hid him in their homes. In the end, he was captured and got tortured and killed, but he is still remembered and admired nowadays.

To sum up you could say he’s like the Catalan version of Robin Hood.

The most famous song about him is this:

The lyrics translate to this:

“From the heart of the Guilleries [mountain range where Serrallonga was from], a great crash will sound which will bring echoes of war to the walls of Tavertet. From Sau to La Cellera, from el Far to the Matagalls, Serrallonga’s blunderbuss will return to the hiding places. Come back, come back, Serrallonga, for they will burn down the holm oak, they will pull out our stones, they will steal our land.”

(Note: Catalan people have a very strong sense of identification with the land, you can see that for example in the fact that the cry for independence is visca la terra, which means “long live the land”, or how so many organizations that fought for the rights of Catalan people had the concept “of the land” in their name, like the Movement in Defense of the Land (MDT). That’s why the cry that “they will burn down the holm oak tree, pull out the stone, and steal the land” is especially terrifying, even more knowing what it is referring to getting invaded and all of that that actually happened).

The band Ebri Knight recently made a song inspired by that too which is pretty cool too in my opinion (you can activate English subtitles in this one):

As you see, this one doesn’t say Serrallonga’s name, so to someone who doesn’t have the context and only reads a translation that could get lost. But everyone here will get the reference, especially because they cite some verses from the song above.

Another song I can think of rn is the one called “Serrallonga” by the trap singer Lildami ft. Oques Grasses:

So yes, as you said he is often brought up and referenced in songs!

His story is also told through traditional dances in some areas of Catalonia:

(Don’t worry the blunderbusses they carry only shoot fireworks)

In Catalonia we have a kind of traditional dances we do on the streets during the local festivities called “spoken dances”, where the characters explain a story through dance and reciting verses. Serrallonga’s dance (ball d’en Serrallonga) is one of these. Groups of people dress up as Serrallonga, his lover Joana de Torrelles, their son, and the rest of the bandits from his gang.

Needless to say, this dance was forbidden during Franco’s fascist dictatorship of Spain. And in 2015 the Spanish government barred it in Vilafranca del Penedès, but it was so ridiculous that they had to allow it again the following year. And

A man from Vilafranca del Penedès (Catalonia) dressed for the traditional dance of Serrallonga. This dance represents the story of Joan de Serrallonga, a Catalan bandit from the 17th century who stole from the rich and the king’s tax-collectors and gave it to the poor. The dance is one of the “spoken dances”, very typical in Catalan festes majors, which means that the characters dance but also speak in verse.

You can learn more about Serrallonga in this previous post about his life.

The Catalan folk band Esquirols wrote a very well-known song about Catalonia’s most famous bandit, inspiration of legends and Romantic hero: Joan de Serrallonga.

He was born on the 21st of April, 1594, in Viladrau. He became a bandit and formed a squad that assaulted the rich nobles, tax collectors, and comissars of the Hispanic monarchy. Legends say he gave all he got to the poor people. In 1634, he was captured by the king’s soldiers and taken to Barcelona, where he was tortured and hanged.

The song says the following:

Del cor de les Guilleries From the heart of the Guilleries [mountain range]

sortirà un gran espetec a great crash will sound

que en farà ressons de guerra which will bring echoes of war

a les parets de Tavertet. to the walls of Tavertet.

Des de Sau a La Cellera, From Sau to La Cellera

des del Far al Matagalls, from el Far to the Matagalls,

el trabuc d'en Serrallonga Serrallonga’s blunderbuss

tornarà als amagatalls. will go back to the hiding places.

Torna, torna, Serrallonga, Come back, come back, Serrallonga,

que l'alzina ens cremaran, for they will burn us the holm oak,

que ens arrencaran les pedres, they will pull out our stones,

que la terra ens robaran. they will steal our land.

Serrallonga has inspired many legends and other works of art, including novels such as Don Joan de Serrallonga by Víctor Balaguer, which also has a zarzuela (operetta) based on it.

In some towns, a theatralised traditional folkloric dance called Ball d’en Serrallonga (Serrallonga’s Dance) is danced for the town’s festivities. With a combination of dancing (1, 2) and reciting poetry, it recreates the story of Serrallonga, his lover Joana, and his squad of bandits and how they stole the rich to give to the poor, and his tragic end.

More about Serrallonga’s life under the cut.