A quasi-dramatic performance, playful and relaxed by Josep Pedrals
With his usual ease and charm, Josep Pedrals offers a well-documented yet playful take on the figure of Francesc Vicent Garcia, the Rector of Vallfogona. He brings to life the rector’s biography and miracles, recites his verses, and situates the myth within both literary and folkloric tradition. A lively and engaging way to approach one of the most important — real and legendary — figures of the Catalan Baroque.
Josep Pedrals works on multiple fronts: he writes research-based books on the subject — novelistic essays about poetry and life — and performs poetry professionally (he has performed across Europe, America, and Asia). He also teaches poetry through lectures and classes at universities, high schools, and primary schools, and promotes poetry across various media platforms (currently through El País), he has organized poetry events of all kinds and frequencies — for 13 years he led the historic poetry cycle at Bar Horiginal, and he is currently the director of the Barcelona Poesia festival. He also writes lyrics for musical compositions, expanding the theatrical dimension of verse — and much more.
Josep Pedrals’ connection to the work of Francesc Vicent Garcia goes back a long way. He is one of Garcia’s most passionate advocates on stage, having recited his poetry around the world for many years. The show Escapat de l’oradura, dedicated to Catalan Baroque poetry, was largely based on Garcia’s vast poetic output. Pedrals has championed him — hands-on — as one of the great masters of Catalan poetry, to the point that some critics have referred to Josep Pedrals as a kind of “putative son of the Rector of Vallfogona.” In fact, in 2023, he served as the curator of the Any del Rector de Vallfogona (Year of the Rector of Vallfogona).
Activity organized as part of the exhibition: “El Rector de Vallfogona: auge, declivi i retorn d’un mite nacional”
