La Colla El Xiulet maintains in Lleida a tradition that began in 1981 next to the Xoperal of the Segre river and that today brings together 105 members. The group was born from a group of hockey fans and their families, who ended up transferring that sporting bond to the city's festive calendar.
The growth of the group coexists with a rare characteristic in organizations with a long history. Between 20% and 25% of their families now participate with three active generations, a continuity that links the founders with grandchildren and great-grandchildren within the same group.
The group was born next to the Segre and took its name from the referees' whistles
In its beginnings, El Xiulet brought together between 20 and 30 people. The name of the group refers to the referees' whistles, a direct reference to the sporting origins of those who promoted it more than four decades ago in the environment of the Segre river.
The organization was formed from a core of hockey fans who attended with their families. Over the years, that initial group has multiplied its size to exceed one hundred members without losing the family connection that marked its start.
Josep Fuentes places the family succession with his son Joan and his granddaughters
Josep Fuentes, founder and first president, explains that continuity has also occurred within his own family. First he assumed the presidency, and then Montserrat Ninot, his wife, did so, before the position passed to their son.
"I was president from the beginning, and my wife, Montserrat Ninot, also led the group. Now our son Joan occupies this place, and our granddaughters, Arlet, 14 years old, and Aina, 11 years old, already come every year with contagious enthusiasm" - Josep Fuentes, founder and first president of La Colla El Xiulet
Fuentes thus identifies one of the keys to the group's evolution, which has grown in numbers and also in generational continuity. The simultaneous presence of grandparents, parents, and children is repeated in approximately one out of every four families in the group.
In addition to the succession in the presidency, this transmission is reflected in the participation of the younger generations. Josep Fuentes summarizes this image in a specific scene by recalling that Arlet is 14 years old and Aina is 11, and that both come to the Colla every year.
The founder expressed it with another idea linked to this family continuity by stating that "the most beautiful thing about the group is seeing how the girls wait for the Colla with so much emotion, just like we did decades ago."