Barcelona City Hall named a bus stop in Torre Baró after Manolo Vital, historic leader of the neighborhood and driver of line 47, famous for hijacking a bus in 1978 to drive it for the first time in this neighborhood. This space of memory was presented during a tribute that took place at the confluence of Castellví and Lliçà streets, where Vital climbed the 47 46 years ago.
Municipal authorities took the opportunity to announce that next December the government will submit to the gazetteer a proposal to name Plaza Manolo Vital on the roundabout at this stage.
The neighborhood activist’s granddaughter, Joana Vital, attended the event; neighbors of Torre Baró, and Marcel Barrena and Clara Segura, respectively director and main actress of the film ‘El 47’, who found the figure of Vital.
During the event, Barcelona Mayor Jaume Collboni recalled that residents have been setting the city council’s agenda since the first democratic councils. “We have a neighborhood plan to invest more resources in the areas that need them most, like Torre Baró. We will continue to work because it is everyone’s goal that Barcelona is Barcelona,” he stressed.
The roundabout that will bear the name of Manolo Vital and where the stop that pays homage to him is located was precisely the point where the bus driver entered Torre Baró with the number 47 on May 7, 1978 and where he was waiting for many neighbors and neighbors to support the action, some giving way to the vehicle and others getting on board. With the feat of driving the articulated vehicle through steep, unpaved streets, Vital wanted to demonstrate to the authorities of the time that public transport could also reach Torre Baró. A few months later, the long-awaited connection became reality.
With the decision to name a square after Manolo Vital, Barcelona City Hall is responding to the historic request of neighborhood residents to dedicate a space to the memory of the neighborhood leader.
