It's Sunday and the neighborhood is bustling with people. There's quite a bit of noise, and from early morning, the bars are packed to the brim, with queues stretching all the way to the Meridiana, where people bet on the fastest greyhound. This was a typical Sunday scene in the neighborhood until 2006, when the last race took place at the Meridiana Canódromo.
Since its beginnings as an Ateneu for digital and democratic innovation, the Canódromo has always aimed to be a space for preserving the memory of the Congrés and Indians neighborhoods and of those stands once filled with emotions and gatherings between neighbors and people arriving from all over. Now that the local festivals are approaching and we’ll be gathering more than ever in the streets and squares of the neighborhoods, the Canòdrom presses the time machine button to travel back to the past, filled with music and memories.
Discover the Canòdrom! At the Festa Major dels Indians | 26 september, 18 h
Greyhound racing was introduced by King Alfonso XIII, following the English trend of the time, and years later, with this tradition more or less established, in 1964, still during the Franco dictatorship, the Canòdrom Meridiana was inaugurated, operating for over four decades.
Discover the spaces, the animal rights movement, the neighborhood struggles… As part of the Festa Major dels Indians, on Thursday September 26 at 6:00 PM we will recover the memory of this iconic building with guided tours that are free and require no prior registration.
Morning of Memories! At the Festa Major del Congrés | 9 october, 10 h
Old photographs that evoke personal memories help document how everyday life in the neighborhood used to be. The Morning of Memories will make this possible during the Festa Major del Congrés, on Wednesday October 9 at 10:00 AM, marking the start of this fall’s historical and collective memory project at the Canòdrom. The project aims to foster dialogue between young and elderly residents of the neighborhood to share the past and present of the area through imagery and creativity using digital tools. During this session, we will collectively document photos of the neighborhood for students to research during the first term. If you are particularly interested in the collective memory of the neighborhood and wish to participate alongside the students, you can contact us at comunicacio@canodrom.barcelona, or visit us at C/ de Concepción Arenal, 165.
Open Mics! The Canòdrom joins the Festa Major | 3 october, 19 h
We are opening doors and microphones to celebrate two major festivals, the Congrés and the Indians, sharing the airwaves with initiatives and projects focused on rebuilding historical memory, fighting the climate emergency, and defending digital rights. It will be a space to connect, laugh, learn, and, most of all, enjoy good company. On October 3 at 7:00 PM with the live recording of the episode «Open Mics!» we kick off a new term of listening to one another. Guest voices will include neighbors documenting the history of Congrés and Indians, as well as participants in key projects at the facility, all with the support of the Barcelona Community Radio Network.
Regarding collective memory around the Canòdrom and its surroundings, we find the project Fem memòries and the collaborative photo exhibition Dancing to the Rhythm of Memories. Both initiatives take the Canòdrom’s history and that of the neighborhood as a starting point, reconstructing the memory from shared conversations or photographic memories, offering a glimpse into the most cherished recollections of the area.
