La Retirada 80 Years On
2019 marks the 80th anniversary of the exodus of the Spanish Republicans fleeing persecution from the Franco regime.
To commemorate this historic date, and the role the town played, Argelès-sur-Mer is organising a range of events based on the theme “Memory and Image”.
The theme invites visitors to question what remains in the collective memory and also what has been lost to the process of disintegration of memory.
Exhibitions, installations, artistic performances, book fair, concerts, walks, commemorations and tributes… A range of events will take place in the village and at the beach.
31st January – 13th March
Exhibition Diane Trouillet
Granddaughter of a Spanish resistance fighter, Diane Trouillet’s family was held in the camps in 1939 before being exiled. According to testimonies, her great-grandfather was interned in Argelès.
Her paintings and drawings explore the theme of internment and memory, choosing to work on images from the Spanish migrant archives.
She uses the chemical technique of chromatography because : “the image is transformed and erased a little, a kind of vestige of a collective memory that we wanted to forget, rewrite or reappropriate”.
04 68 81 50 60 2pm-6pm Wedensdays & Saturdays 10am – 12pm / 2pm – 6pm Free entry |
5th February – 2nd March
Exhibition “Teresa Rebull, une femme de cœur et de combat”
The exhibition “Teresa Rebull, a woman of heart and fight”, is a retrospective exhibition on Teresa Rebull, a committed artist and an emblematic figure of Retirada.
As part of the celebrations to mark the 80th anniversary of La Retirada, the Association of the Sons and Daughters of Spanish Republicans and Children of the Exodus (FFREEE) is presenting an exhibition produced in 1999 by “Les Amis de l’union ouvrière du café de France de Céret”.
This unique and precious testimony to the events of the time, documented by journalists, provides a moving insight into displacement.
04 68 81 42 73 10am-6pm Free entry |
18th – 24th February
Exhibition “Un camp, des photos sur la plage”
50 photos of the Argelès-sur-Mer camp will be set up for a temporary exhibition at the former site of the camp, by the monolith on the northern beach.
Next to them, photos of the main passages used by the Republicans will be symbolically displayed by other municipalities in the P-O. on 23 February.
19th February – 31st May
Exhibition “1939, le camp en 365 images”
This symbolic anniversary will be marked by a new temporary exhibition at the Memorial of the Camp d’Argelès-sur-Mer: “1939, the camp in 365 images”. The exhibition will present 365 images of Camp d’Argelès-sur-Mer: photos, drawings, various documents, often unpublished.
The inauguration will take place at the Cinéma Jaurès on Friday, 22nd February, along with the launch of the new website for the Memorial. The evening will include a presentation by historian, Grégory Tuban and a 9 minute screening of unpublished images from the site’s archives.
04 68 95 85 03 10am – 12pm / 2pm – 6pm 2€ (Free for residents of Argelès & under 18s) |
21st February
Book and Confernece Salon
Based on the Spanish War, la Retirada and exile, the book salon will bring together authors, publishers and booksellers specialising in this turbulent period of recent history. From 2.30 pm to 3.30 pm, take part in a conference by Nicolas Lebourg, historian and specialist of the extreme right: “From the 1930s to today the extreme right in France and Europe”.
23rd February
Street art & performance “La Retirada dans la rue”
All day long, artistic performances will take place in the village squares. Frescos on temporary surfaces will be created by painters and graffiti artists on the theme of exile and internment.
23rd February
Commemorative walks, homages and concerts
Several walks will be organized across the Pyrénées-Orientales from 9am to 10am. They will all come together at 11am in front of the Mairie of Argelès-sur-Mer for a walk to the monolith (boulevard de la Mer), stopping to lay wreaths at the Spanish cemetery.
At the beach, a tribute will be paid to Spanish Republicans with traditional Catalan barques and music from the Barbeaux. Photos of all the passages used by the Republicans will be installed, in addition to the exhibition already in place.
The concert, “Songs of homage to the grandsons of Spanish Republicans”, at the Salle Carrère at 8.30pm will be performed by Olivi Ruiz and her surprise guests.
