Catalan music, and by extension the country, will be permanently indebted to a group of committed citizens who, in the midst of Franco's darkness, laid the foundations that allowed the birth and consolidation of a modern music scene in our language. We are referring to people whose work was decisive so that later generations of artists could cultivate long professional careers. This is the case of Remei Margarit, co-founder of Els Setze Jutges, who died on Thursday at the age of 87. Born in Sitges, "she was probably the first singer-songwriter of the Catalan Countries", as the singer Maria del Mar Bonet expressed on the Facebook social network after hearing the news.
Partner at the time of Lluís Serrahima (author of the influential 1959 article Ens calen cançons d'ara), Remei Margarit was part of the nucleus of chanson lovers with Miquel Porter and Josep Maria Espinàs that would crystallize with the foundation of The Sixteen Judges. She was the one with the most musical knowledge in this cell, since, born into a music-loving family, she had gone through the Liceu Conservatory.
What, although they did not present themselves as such, is considered to be the first concert of Els Setze Jutges, which took place in December 1961 at Barcelona's Center d'Influència Catòlica Femenina (CICF). A session in which Margarit, constipated and pregnant, could not participate in the end. His debut in public was at Premià de Mar in 1962, the date when new members began to join the group. The following year, his first EP was distributed, Remei Margarit sings his songs, with three own tracks (Classe mitja, La tia i el gos, La week) and an adaptation by Joan Oliver (L'Oriol). In 1964, her second and last work appeared, also an EP, with four pieces written by her (The cellist, The passage of time, Elegia, Cançoneta). His account also includes the composition of Jo i el meu gat, a track recorded by Miquel Porter on his first EP.
In conversation with La Vanguardia, singer-songwriter Joan Manuel Serrat recalled on Friday that at his first public performance (May 1965, Esplugues de Llobregat) he shared the stage with Remei Margarit and Joan Ramon Bonet. "I had just entered Els Zeze Jutges, and until that moment I had only sung on the radio. During the years that we had a relationship with Remei as colleagues and friends, the treatment was always very fraternal. Despite the sadness I feel at the moment, I am also happy to have been able to visit her a couple of days ago, and to have spent a few minutes there."
Psychologist, teacher and writer, Remei Margarit also worked as a Culture technician for Barcelona City Council. He published poetry (De la soledat i el desig, 1988), narrative (among other works, the 1992 novel Dear John, Ciutat de Badalona prize) and essay. He developed an important career as a columnist, in which he wrote among other media in La Vanguardia, where he published his last article, From the balcony, on December 27.
Lluís Foix, former director of this house, remembers her as "a cultured, sensitive, committed, wise person. In one of the last communications he told me about the frivolity of the irresponsible in this country where we live. He told me that 'a few people I would say are quite unworthy want to set up two sides, and those of us who are busy with our daily work, already bored with so much stupidity, let's do what we have to do to make things work. It seems to me that civil society has always been redirecting adversities away from the powerful'".
"Remei - continues Foix - was a humanist feminist. He spoke with the compassion of those who understand the reasons of others. He said that 'we are living in very strange times, as if, as Hannah Arendt said, evil is trivialized. Trade, which is important, and seems urgent, swallows everything and blurs the rest, which is the important thing, democratic values and the application and defense everywhere. There are always scammers who want to monopolize everything, but you have to stop them before they do so much damage.''
In 2007, the Parliament of Catalonia awarded the institution's Medal of Honor to the members of Els Setze Jutges, in an event in which Remei Margarit could not attend and one of his daughters delegated.
