The Nens del Vendrell human towers group presented its centenary commemorative book, "Nens del Vendrell: One Hundred Years in One Hundred Performances", at the Tívoli Auditorium in El Vendrell on Monday evening.
Coordinated by Pere Ferrando Romeu and Alfonso González Bondia, and co-edited by Cossetània Edicions and the group itself, the 240-page publication offers a detailed and accessible overview of the group's journey from 1926 to 2025.
The project involved researching 1,758 documented performances, from which 100 historically and socially significant 'castells' (human towers) were chosen. The book begins with a 'zero performance' dedicated to the group's origins, narrating its history through its most authentic expression, the town square.
Each selected performance spans two pages, featuring text, an image, and basic data for easy reading. The volume compiles one hundred chronicles from over fifty contributors, including historians, 'casteller' chroniclers, specialist journalists, and direct witnesses. Some texts revive historical accounts, honouring chroniclers who left a mark on local 'casteller' memory.
The book is further enriched with extensive iconography from public and private archives, along with concluding summary materials. These include a commemorative centenary gloss, statistical tables, a list of group leaders, a chronology of major 'castells' achieved, participation in competitions, a list of visited towns, and an audiovisual memory section for the hundred performances, featuring a QR code linking to videos, reports, documentaries, and television broadcasts. The resulting work is a reference book documenting the group's collective memory and promoting the intangible cultural heritage of human towers.
Celebrating a Century of Human Towers
Maria Cunillera, president of the centenary organising committee, provided a very positive overall assessment of the group's current situation and its journey so far. She stated that the Nens del Vendrell are experiencing positive and upward progression, marked by a significant influx of young people and a solid social base that strengthens the collective project.
Cunillera also highlighted the effective technical work, which has enabled the group to recover 'nine-level' human towers and return to a path of sustained growth after the impact of the pandemic. She emphasised that this evolution is reflected in high participation at rehearsals and the involvement of all members, from the base to the technical teams.
In this context, Cunillera insisted that the centenary should not be seen as an endpoint, but rather as an impulse to continue growing and consolidating the Nens del Vendrell among the best human towers groups in Catalonia today.
