The L'Ordre del Caragol, considered the mother group of the Aplec del Caragol de Lleida, currently brings together about 105 members and around 280 colistas. The peña thus maintains a central weight in a celebration that was born on a small scale and that, with the passing of the years, became one of the most recognizable gatherings in the city.
The contrast is in the origin. What began with informal meetings of seven or eight people to eat by the river ended up overflowing that initial format, going from 11 groups in the first edition to more than 40 in a few years, without losing the link with Lleida's popular tradition of snail Sundays.
The festival was born from meetings by the river and grew from 11 to more than 40 groups
Josep Maria Valls, foreman of the colla, places the founding of L'Ordre del Caragol in the late 70s. According to him, a small group promoted gatherings to eat by the river and resume a custom that already existed in Lleida after the war.
"It was founded in the late 70s thanks to a group of seven or eight people, among them Manolo Calpe, who had the idea of organizing meetings to eat by the river, resuming a tradition that was done on Sundays in Lleida after the war" - Josep Maria Valls, foreman of the colla, L'Ordre del Caragol
Before that step, the germ of the tradition had taken shape in morning meetings of merchants and neighbors at Bar Frigo on Major Street. From there emerged a social custom that later moved to the festive space and gained collective dimension.
The first edition of the initiative was held in 1980. In a few years, participation went from 11 groups to more than 40, a rapid expansion that consolidated the Aplec in Lleida and strengthened the role of L'Ordre del Caragol as an internal reference for the festival.
The Calpe family keeps four generations active in the celebration
Among the surnames linked to the origin of the group is that of Manolo Calpe, one of the promoters of those first meetings. His grandson Albert Calpe maintains that his family is the only one of the peña that has kept four generations actively participating in the celebration.
Albert Calpe has for decades assumed the direction of the kitchen and logistics of the peña, two basic functions in an event that mobilizes hundreds of members between socios and colistas. His continuity links the current organization with the first years of the group.
"The Colla is a living memory of those who have preceded us" - Albert Calpe, grandson of Manolo Calpe, L'Ordre del Caragol
That family and organizational bond remains visible in an entity that today has about 105 members and around 280 "colistas", while Albert Calpe's family maintains four active generations within the celebration.