La Sagrera celebrated a protest festival this Saturday to demand the recovery of the Torre del Fang as a neighborhood facility. The event brought together neighborhood associations around a farmhouse owned by the municipality since 1984 that remains disused.
The protest focused on a paradox that the associations consider entrenched. The building has been listed as a Cultural Asset of Local Interest for more than 12 years, but the rehabilitation remains pending and, so far, only the area closest to the tower has been made accessible.
Five associations demanded the reactivation of pending works
The mobilization was attended by the Associació de Veïns i Veïns de la Sagrera, the Associació Veïnal de Sant Martí de Provençals, the Associació de Veïnes i Veïns del Clot – Camp de l'Arpa, the Associació de Veïns Provençals de la Verneda, and the Associació de Veïnes i Veïns del barri del Torrent de la Guineu-Navas.
The entities denounced the abandonment of the farmhouse and the degradation of the surroundings. Their demand is to reactivate the works schedule to allocate the building for proximity facilities for La Sagrera and the surrounding neighborhoods.
During the day, there was festive activity and neighborhood protest at the same time. The program included a performance by the Gegants del Clot, an exhibition by students from the Octavio Paz school, and a snack open to the public.
The neighborhood movement defended the tower as a piece of the neighborhood's history
Miquel Catasús, a member of the Associació de Veïnes i Veïns del Clot – Camp de l'Arpa, linked the defense of the building to the urban and social memory of the area.
"For us, it is a city that has a history, that has a social life before, now, and we want it to have one in the future. From this point of view, physical elements like this remind us that we come from a history" - Miquel Catasús, member of the Associació de Veïnes i Veïns del Clot – Camp de l'Arpa
The neighborhood demand is not limited to preserving the farmhouse. The associations ask that the property regain public use after years without activity, even though it is part of the protected local heritage.
Alfred Puig, secretary of the Associació de Veïnes i Veïns del barri del Torrent de la Guineu-Navas, proposed for the Torre del Fang that there be an interpretation center of what the old town has been.