The Chinese immigrants work twice as much as other workers and in silence. The first arrivals settled and started with the classic restaurants but their activity has spread to most service areas and they have recently stood out in the building industry. They seem to have endless capability to work and they never complain.

 

Between 1940 and 1960 Barcelona and its surroundings received 1.4 million of new citizens. Shanty towns grew and spread everywhere

 

Between 1960 and 1975 , 1.2 million people arrived in the Barcelona area, a massive arrival that Catalan society welcomed as well as it could. The birth rate increased thanks to the newly arrived and the population grew 71%. Half these people came from Cordoba, Granada, Seville and Jaen. Poverty brought them to Catalonia searching for a better life.

The first licence plates were placed on cars in 1907

The first tourist information office in Barcelona was called Association for attracting tourists.

During the Universal Exhibition in 1888 400.000 tourists visited Barcelona.

Do you know that The concert for violin of Allan Berg was performed for the first time in Barcelona in April 1936?

We know that thousands of people got to know classical music with the Municipal Band.

During the Spanish Civil War there was an interesting music life.

Striptease was permitted in 1953

In 1992 Barcelona hold the Olympic Games and the city started changing a lot. Many records were beaten then

 

The first long flight in Spain was from Barcelona to New York made by concorde from British Airways.

In 1918 the Flu caused 1554 deaths

Futbol Club Barcelona hired DiStéfano but Franco's government said that he had to play a year for Real Madrid because Barça was always winning. Di Stéfano was kept in Madrid and he became a R.Madrid player.

FCB has a big political identity and we know it is the team that has the most fans in the world.

In 1929 the government installed the first traffic lights in Barcelona. The first taxi licence was given in 1910.

The last place where to buy fresh milk closed in 1984. The city was left without cow milk.

Most of the great discoveries of Ramon y Cajal were made in Barcelona

Albert Eisten visited Barcelona on 28th February,1923

The Spanish civil war brough 30 years of darkness for medicine improvements

Narcís Monturiol builds the first submarine carrying people in 1890.

At Santiago Valenti's house – a feminist politician – a visit to Catalunya of the Castilian intellectuals is organized and it was called the visit of the Four Ramons:Ramón Menéndez Pidal, Ramón Gómez de la Serna , Ramón Pérez de Ayala i Juan Ramón Jiménez.

In 1999 Barça's team of hockey, football, basketball and handball , won the four leagues of Spain. Catalan people got out of their mind!

 

 

 

The last person sentenced to death of the Spanish dictatorship Franco was a young boy from Barcelona who was called Salvador Puig Antich. There's a film done recently about this sad story.

 

In 1930 Barcelona reached one million of population because of the immigration that came for the International Exposition in 1929.

Ernest Lluch was murdered the same day he made a speech about the dialogue.

In the 20's people drunk a lot of syrup made of lemon, blueberry and soda.

Did you know that in 1844 Barcelona created the first private bank? (Banc de Barcelona by Manuel Girona).

Did you know that “Compañía General de tabacos de Filipinas”'s office is now a hotel? (Dunno)

Copito de Nieve came to Barcelona in 1966. He was a symbol of the city because he was the only white gorilla in the world.

Salvador Dalí designed Chupa Chups for Enrique Bernat, founder of the company. The real name was “Chups”, but the consumers began to call it Chupa Chups and this was the final trade name.

The enterprise Guarro Casas, gad its 300 years anniversary in the paper industry, being the most ancient business in Catalonia. Guarro distributes paper for passports covers in most than 50 countries

Barcelona was remembered as “Rosa de foc” by the exiled in 1909

In the 60's the trains were called “sheep trains” because they were carrying many thousands of immigrants coming to Barcelona to work.

Miró designed a work of art to welcome all the visitors to Barcelona, and that's why you find his work at different places:

Coming by sea: the pavement of “ La Boqueria ” (1976).

Coming by land: Woman and bird, (1983).

Coming by air: Mural at the airport (1970).