As each year, during the city fetival, the cannon will be taken out onto the streets of our neighborhood, shooting out candy and prompting the kids to shout the famous phrase: “Father, we want the cannon!”. And as tradition dictates, it will be carried by a character dressed as a French general, who goes by the name of General Lagarto and who will raise his saber and shout: “Fire!”, giving way to the famous screech of the pipe. This is a tradition unique to the city and one that many generations of Barcelona residents have made their own. But what is the history behind this tradition that is so dear to us?
Among the neighborhood, different theories have always been explained, each more bizarre than the last: that it had been found on a pirate ship sunk in the port, that it had been seized from some Napoleonic troops during the French War, or that it was an abandoned Bourbon cannon from the War of Succession. We only have to look at the cannon to see that none of these theories is true and that its use has always been purely recreational. In other words, our cannon has never been used in war.
And as is often the case, the truth surpasses fiction. The real story was tired of being told by our beloved neighbor Salvador Miquel, a lover of history and culture, who compiled, among other things, stories, characters, traditions, and customs of our neighborhood. He recalled that the creator of this element has a name and surname: Pancràs Farrell and his friend Macario. Farrell, great-grandfather of Pep Parer, photographer and resident of Barceloneta, was the owner of the famous Farrell restaurant, soon known as Can Tipa, the nickname by which he was known, on Paseo Nacional, which he founded in 1886.
Pancras Farrell
El Tipa and El Macario, lovers of revelry and pranks, began to think about what new stunt they could pull to make it really big. They couldn’t think of anything louder than ordering the construction of a pyrotechnic cannon to wake up the neighbors at eight in the morning on September 29, 1915, Sant Miquel, Barceloneta’s local festival. No sooner said than done, once they had obtained the cannon, they hired a character who was fond of alcoholic beverages, and for four reales, they dressed him up as a French general, who would accompany the cannon shouting at the top of his lungs: “Fire!”, while raising a sword. The children were frightened at first, but soon joined in the fun, throwing themselves to the ground and pretending to be dead every time the general fired the cannon. Needless to say, the whole neighborhood woke up to a big commotion, prompting many complaints from residents to the festival committee, which washed its hands of the matter. They all ended up in the police station and the cannon was confiscated from the rectory.
But it didn’t end there, and the following year, in 1916, during the town festival, all the children of Barceloneta, who had really enjoyed the cannon initiative, went to ask for the cannon in front of the rectory, where it was kept, shouting: “Rector, we want the cannon!”
When no one paid any attention to them, they went in procession to complain to the Civil Governor, who, seeing the determination of those children, ordered the parish priest to bring out the cannon, thus starting a tradition that continues to this day.
Finally, we should mention the different residents who have had the honor of carrying such valuable artillery, such as Paco and his son Juan, and previously Chato and Frasquito. But we are not the only ones; in Catalonia there are five pyrotechnic cannons that are also used during the town’s main festivals, such as in Reus and Roses.
Story by: Isabel Rye .
