* The author is part of the community of readers of La Vanguardia
This Christmas there will be at least thirty new figures of caganers from the world of music, politics, sports, cinema or social networks, as La Vanguardia's Readers' Photos have seen. Netanyahu, Barbie, Elon Musk and Bizarrap are some of the new additions.
In the tradition of Catalan nativity scenes, the caganer is an endearing, unavoidable and respected figure. Already in the 18th century, there was no manger without a caganer, because it was believed that placing it brought luck, health and tranquility, and fertilized the soil of the manger for the following year.
The Alós-Pla family, from Torroella de Montgrí, remains faithful to this tradition and, since 1992, has handcrafted several popular caganers. Brothers Sergi and Marc Alós lead the second generation of Caganer.com, which was started by their mother, Anna Maria Pla. "There are people who, for example, like political and sports bullshit more or others who are more interested in cinema and fiction," explains Marc.
For more than three decades, each season, they have created new figures that pay tribute to famous characters, real and fictional. His clay representations are not intended to be a mockery, but rather a tribute. And, at the same time, they make this aspect of Catalan culture known throughout the world through the creation of figures of well-known people in different countries.
This year, in the sporting field, they have created the caganer of the French footballer Kylian Mbappé (Paris Saint-Germain); the Basque golfer and world number 3, Jon Rahm, and the driver Max Verstappen, who this year won the Formula 1 championship for the third time. The footballer Leo Messi, who already had a career in Barça and the Argentine national team, now wears the colors of Inter Miami (MLS). Former basketball player Michael Jordan also now has his own caganer.
In terms of politics, there are five new figures divided between the present and the past: Benjamin Netanyahu, Prime Minister of Israel and now on the front line of the war against Hamas; Salvador Illa, first secretary of the Partit dels Socialistes de Catalunya and head of the opposition in the Parliament; and Andrés Manuel López Obrador (AMLO), president of Mexico since 2018; and a vintage caganer, with the 16th president of the United States, Abraham Lincoln, who died in 1865; and also Mark Antony, a Roman soldier and politician from the final era of the Roman Republic who became an important collaborator of Julius Caesar.
Another of the characters that have become popular this year and that is why they have their caganer is the South African businessman Elon Musk, current CEO of companies such as SpaceX (aerospace manufacturing), X (social network, formerly known as Twitter) and Tesla ( electric cars).
Music also appears among the new caganer characters of the season, with the Argentine DJ and producer Gonzalo Julián Conde Bizarrap, and the British singer Amy Winehouse, who died in 2011 at the age of 27.
