The performances of the majorettes

🎙️ Collective documentation

The participants in the collective documentation agree that the role of women at the greyhound racetrack was discreet. Their presence was minimal, especially in betting. They also highlight the occasional appearance of majorettes, whose origin is traced back to groups of French military girls. They were beautiful young women who performed to "delight the gentlemen" at festive events in the city and accompanied the honor guard in some parades (for example, they accompanied the Urban Guard in the Festa Major de la Mercè). Their shows were based on military rhythms, and they organized themselves according to ranks similar to those in armies; for example, there were generals or captains among them. Their aesthetic resembled the military uniforms of the 18th and early 19th centuries of the French Bonapartist army. Their presence at the greyhound racetrack was not at all common; they only came on very specific festive occasions.

The participants bring to the memory table, once again, the dark side of the greyhound racetrack, recalling class differences ("at those times of the big celebrations, the politicians came, not the people from the neighborhood..."), the smells, or the mistreatment of the greyhounds. Two new elements also emerge: unofficial betting, where large sums of money were handled, and drugs as a form of payment. One participant comments that ("there is written press from the twenties, from Barcelona, that shows how cocaine was bet on at the racetracks").

👥Authors of the documentation

Alfred, Carmen, Neus, Pilar, Mercè and Enric.

⚙️ Methodology

Photograph documented collectively by participating neighbors of the group Fem Memòries del Canòdrom

📸 Assignor

Josep Navarro (author) / Josep Navarro (assignor)