Ancestral Snapshots

Reflecting on events that took place more than 150 years ago, artist Carme Solé Vendrell shares bittersweet anecdotes about her family’s history.

ENGLISH

I remember clearly that, in the past, people didn’t marry for love. I remember that my great-grandfather apparently had a lover. And my great-grandmother, when it was raining, would fetch him an umbrella so he didn’t get wet. That is something from back then that wouldn’t happen today. People lived more naturally.

Other examples of things I remember about the family. My grandfather, for example, on my mother’s side, came with a cart from a village, because they were from Valls, from Vallmoll. So they came, with [their belongings] on a cart. They were immigrants from within Catalonia itself. Because you just couldn’t live there [anymore].

He came here and settled in the neighborhood of Horta with his goats. He died of a heart attack after a train collided with some of his goats. He thought his partner had been hit by the train, too. He died at age 32.

CATALAN

Per exemple, recordo clar la gent abans no es casava per amor. Recordo que el meu besavi tenia una amant, es veu. I la meva besàvia, si plovia el anava a buscar amb un paraigüa perque no es mulles. O sigui, que era una cosa que tampoc era tant com pugui ser després, no? Que la gent vivien d’una manera més natural.

Per exemple, coses que recordi de la família. El meu avi, per exemple, matern, va venir del poble amb un carro perquè eren de Valls. De Vallmoll vivíen, no? I van venir amb un carro, o sigui, van ser immigrants dintre de la mateixa Catalunya. Perquè allà no es podia viure ja. Va venir aquí i es va instal·lar al barri d’Horta. I tenía cabres.

Va morir d’un atac de cor perquè un tren li va xafar unes cabres i ell pensava que l’altre company seu l’havia atropellat el tren i es va morir als 32 anys.