The presentation of 'Gat Vell, dites marineres' opens the commemorative acts of the Town Charter

The presentation of the book 'Gat Vell, dites marineres' by the doctor in Philology Francesc Xavier Llorca Ibi opened last night the commemorative acts of the 694 anniversary of the granting of the Town Charter of Benidorm, which will culminate next Saturday, May 11, with the representation of the foundation of the city. The presentation, held in the Assembly Hall of Casa del Fester, was attended, among others, by the mayor of Benidorm, Toni Pérez; the councilor of Culture and Historical Heritage, Ana Pellicer; members of the corporation; and the members of Grup Carta de Poblament, which organize this week of events with the Association of Penyes Verge del Sofratge and the department of Culture and Fiestas.

The professor in Philology Rafael Alemany was commissioned to present this work by Llorca Ibi, winner of 'Bernat Capó' Prize 2018, the highest award at the regional level in the field of the dissemination of popular culture. Alemany explained that this work, published by Edicions del Bullent, is the result of "interviews and surveys" conducted by Llorca Ibi for 20 years to people who have dedicated their lives to work at sea.

Subsequently, the author explored the origin and use of some of the expressions included in the book, some of which have exceeded the scope of seafaring activity and crafts and have been incorporated into the collective imagination as part of popular culture. In addition to the ethnolinguistic analysis of these expressions and sayings arising from the wisdom of the people of the sea, 'Gat vell, dites marineres' gathers a good number of photographs.

On October 9, Llorca Ibi received the cultural distinction 'Ciutat de Benidorm' for its work on "investigation of ethnolinguistic aspects directly related to Benidorm and the Marina Baixa region"; as well as for his "divulgativos works on diverse very interesting subjects of the benidormera reality"; and his "remarkable involvement with the educational and sociocultural fabric of Benidorm".

The commemorative acts of the Town Charter continue tomorrow, Wednesday, with the celebration of the institutional day of Benidorm Day, at 12.00 in the Plenary Hall of the City Council. In the afternoon, at 8.30 pm, Casa del Fester will host the performance of the sainete 'Pudo Suceder', by Vanessa Navarro, member of Carta de Poblament Group; and on Thursday there will be a concert by the group of the Chamber of Unión Musical de Benidorm at 8.30 pm in the Assembly Hall of the City Council.

On Friday, also in the Assembly of Acts of the City Council, students of 6th grade of Ausiàs March public school will represent at 19.30 hours 'The granting of the Town Charter'. On Saturday, at 9:00 p.m. at Plaça de Sant Jaume, it will be the turn of the representation of the granting of the Town Charter by members of the Group of the same name and supporters. The act will be closed with the speech of the maintainer, the researcher of the CSIC and theater director José Vicente García Ramos.