We are the Flor de Maig. Urban geography of memory in Poblenou, Barcelona

Abstract

During the last two decades, the studies about memory, or the memories, have reached a great relevance in the academy. Disciplines like geography or anthropology offer an excellent starting point to study social phenomena linked to urban memory. The squatting of the former headquarters of a nineteenth century consumer cooperative, the Flor de Maig, presents a unique occasion to understand the relationships between memory and the control of the space. The building, with a long entailment with the neighborhood of Poblenou, Barcelona, turns into a symbol of local struggle front of certain way of understanding the city. Nevertheless, the recuperation of the popular memory of the neighbors could also limit the possible activities to be performed inside their walls, showing the potential and controversial character of the space.