The rise of the electrical industry and the visit of the engineer Pearson to the Lleida Pyrenees drew an optimistic panorama for the use of white coal destined for a large consumer: Barcelona.
Having verified the benefits derived from the Universal Exhibition of 1888, Francesc Cambó, Josep Puig i Cadafalch and Joan Pich i Pon agreed in assessing the interest that would be involved in organizing a large exhibition of Electrical Industries in 1917.
Puig, an architect and also a Barcelona councilor, took over for the time being the urban draft. The proximity of Montjuïc was chosen to incorporate the hated military mountain into Barcelona life, not only as a gigantic green lung.
First the Great War broke out, which was an insurmountable obstacle. After the armistice, the coup d'état of General Primo de Rivera was imposed, a dictatorship that not only definitively prevented that projected electricity contest, but also left the notorious Catalanist Puig out.
Everything carried out up to then was reoriented towards the International Exhibition of 1929, placed at the service of the known objectives and interests of the dictator.
It was a success, but what was most successful was the playful show: the Poble Espanyol and above all the Font Màgica. In this context, it is interesting to highlight the prominence obtained by the powerful games of light. The New York company Westinghouse and the material provided by the Dutch company Philips turned that epic entrance to Montjuïc into a colossal stage in which a tremendous luminous, mobile, changing and unexpected scenery captivated all visitors.
The foreign press unanimously surrendered to that disturbing and never-before-seen waste of modernity.
Well then, the right idea was had of placing a different sample at the heart of urban vitalism, which thus acted as a stimulating claim so as not to resist the temptation of going to visit the Montjuïc Exhibition.
The place chosen was Plaza Catalunya. A very tall obelisk was erected in the heart of the city, the power of the spotlights scattered around the area was multiplied and there was even the wisdom of highlighting some noble buildings, such as the Hotel Colón, with luminous frames. Light flooded everything.
