A Tribute to the Memory and Identity of Sant Joan Through Urban Art
In the video, Slim Safont's mural in the Sant Joan neighbourhood of Vilanova i la Geltrú, born of the 21 de Enero estate (1957) whose blocks housed the migration of the 1950s and 60s. Residents who grew up there speak —the Sant Joan festival, the correfoc, the residents' association— along with Inoa, aged 13, who appears in the mural holding the portrait of one of those first families.
The video in text (abridged) (translated from Catalan)9 min 42 s
The reportIn 1957 the 21 de Enero estate was opened, public housing that took in the migration of the 1950s and 60s to Vilanova i la Geltrú. The blocks housed families newly arrived from other parts of Spain looking for a better future in the town: those blocks were the origin of the Sant Joan neighbourhood.
Vilanova i la Geltrú town council commissioned an artistic mural in the neighbourhood in order to pay tribute to its residents, its origins and its history. Slim Safont was the artist chosen: his painterly, figurative work stands out, with projects tied to social themes.
Slim SafontI'm Slim Safont, a muralist and painter, born in Berga. For about seven or eight years I have been making murals around the world. My first reference points were urban artists or muralists, and it is only in the last few years that I have started drawing on other references, above all classical or modernist painting. It is between that street side and that more academic side that my style comes from: I would call it realist, figurative painting, with the intention of being somewhat impressionist too.
I'm happy to be able to work close to home and to have such a lovely wall. I would really like to hear your stories, to know your views and to take them into account in developing the project.
The reportThe project drew on residents' participation at a community session to which people who had lived in the blocks, and other local residents, were invited. It was an open space for dialogue where ideas, experiences and emotions were shared, and at which the artist was also present, which allowed him to take ideas for what he would later set down in the mural.
Local residentsWe met people we hadn't seen for a long time: it became a reunion. I was moved to hear the memories each of us had of how we had lived it.
People remembered what Sant Joan was: the Sant Joan festival, the correfoc fire run, the bonfire, everything that used to happen in the neighbourhood.
These blocks are my childhood, where I could play without a care, out in the street, I ran about. A tremendous freedom; I mean, there was no danger.
And it grew and grew, and then everyone was friends. In summer the women would sit in their doorways, beside the fountain: that was the summer's daily news bulletin.
At the Sant Joan festival there were dances and we ate coca. The neighbourhood's fireworks, for me, were the ones in the square —which wasn't yet a square at all, because it was a mud patch. The Sant Joan bonfire, and being able to say: tonight I have no curfew, I can stay out as long as I like.
My father would take a season ticket from the football ground where he worked and cut it into three: a piece each. Nobody is better than anyone else: that is what we learnt in these blocks.
Local residentsIt was a neighbourhood of a great deal of migration, of many people who came from the south, from Extremadura, from Andalusia. A working-class part, a part that wanted to fight for its rights, that built a way of being, a character.
One of the things I remember most warmly is that we created the Sant Joan residents' association, which was a very, very combative association. That workers' struggle spread to the town: many people came from outside, along with people from here, and it was the lung of change. I also remember that we set up the Sant Joan youth club.
Slim SafontThe main subjects are always young people: I work somewhat on the gaze between new generations and their relationship with past ones. We found this girl who is part of the youth club and the civic centre, who is a delight, and she agreed straight away and did wonderfully throughout the photo session.
InoaMy name is Inoa, I'm 13 and I have lived here for seven or eight years. My mother has been here since she was born and my father since he was 17: he came here for work.
At the meeting with the artist he showed me an idea to guide me, and then we tried several places and got a photograph he liked.
I know it was here for many years and, as I grow up, people will go on living there: it will be like a past we remember.
Local residentsI think it is a good initiative, because it matters to have that sense of belonging to the neighbourhood, of remembering its history, of remembering what this neighbourhood was in its day and what it is now. And above all that important cohesion the people here need to have. We are expecting a very large, very striking mural, one that people recognise and that becomes one more element of the town.
It is a very fine wall, and besides it is at the entrance to the neighbourhood but facing the rest of the town: a figure fits very well there and it has great visibility.
The reportIn her hands she holds the portrait of one of those first families who arrived in Vilanova during the migration waves of the 1950s and 60s, conveying the hope of new beginnings. The contrast between the old image and the girl holding it creates a dialogue between past and present: between a generation that left its home behind to start again and a generation that inherits its story and carries it with pride.
Local residentsIf all of this can be set down —all these feelings, this pride, this eagerness to talk about this neighbourhood— in a mural, well, how lovely. It is the history, and how that history has reached the present.
It is a meeting point: people will come to see it, and many will discover or rediscover a part of the town that is always there, and will look at it with different eyes. I feel proud to be from these blocks. I am from Vilanova and I am from Sant Joan.
Video by Vilanova i la Geltrú. Abridged version: direct quotes are kept; repetitions, overlapping speech and passages unrelated to the project are left out.
Vilanova i la Geltrú
30.11.24
A mural that gives voice to the memory and community spirit of Sant Joan.
The neighborhood of Sant Joan, in Vilanova i la Geltrú, breathes history, identity, and resilience. Now, thanks to the artistic intervention From the First Arrivals to Today, its spirit is immortalized in a vibrant and meaningful mural. Inaugurated on December 4, 2024, the project was produced by Rebobinart, painted by artist Slim Safont, and developed through a participatory process led by the community engagement team of El Globus Vermell. This intervention is part of the MurMurs initiative, which revitalizes towns and cities across Catalonia through urban art.
The project’s goal is clear: to transform public spaces into a mirror of its people, turning art into a tool for memory, identity, and cohesion. With a strong commitment to preserving this work in the long term, the mural becomes a vehicle to amplify the voice of the neighborhood, connecting the past, present, and future.
A Story Rooted in 1957
The Sant Joan neighborhood was born with the “21 de Enero” blocks, public housing built in 1957 to host young families from across Spain seeking a better future. This environment fostered a strong community spirit that, thanks to the Sant Joan Neighborhood Association, became the first active neighborhood association in Vilanova i la Geltrú.
Over the years, this solidarity has been enriched by new waves of migration, making Sant Joan a vibrant example of coexistence and cultural diversity.
A Co-Creation Process with the Community
The creative process for the mural stood out for the active participation of the neighborhood’s residents, led by El Globus Vermell. Participatory sessions collected visions of Sant Joan’s past, present, and future, highlighting words like pride, diversity, and hospitality, which inspired the artist in designing the artwork.
During these gatherings, residents shared memories, photographs, emotions, and values that define the collective identity of the neighborhood. This unique collaboration has strengthened the sense of belonging and shared memory.
A Mural Connecting Past and Present
The design of From the First Arrivals to Today portrays a young current resident of Sant Joan holding a photograph of a woman with a baby in her arms, entering the blocks during the 1950s-60s. This moment symbolizes the beginning of a hopeful new life for many families.
This visual composition links the first generations who founded the neighborhood with today’s generations, reclaiming memory, family, and community. Slim Safont, renowned for his figurative and realistic style, has captured the spirit of Sant Joan, creating a piece that bridges past and future through a universal artistic language.
Redefining Public Space with Urban Art
This artistic intervention not only beautifies the Sant Joan neighborhood but also inaugurates a new way of envisioning urban art: putting citizens at the center. When a city invests in murals that capture the essence of its neighborhoods, public space becomes a living stage for shared stories. MurMurs embodies this vision, connecting people and roots to make every neighborhood truly their own.
Visit Sant Joan and be inspired by this visual tribute that connects generations and reaffirms the power of art as a transformative tool.
