Coinciding with Saturday’s game against Deportivo, the Club will pay homage to the writers of the ‘Cant del Barça,’ -Josep Maria Espinàs and Jaume Picas, who wrote the words, and composer Manuel Valls
On Saturday March 9th, when Barça host Deportivo, the Club will also pay homage the writers of the official club anthem, ‘Cant del Barça’, which was written by Josep Maria Espinàs, Jaume Picas and Manuel Valls. Espinàs will receive the Club’s official recognition in front of the Camp Nou fans on behalf of the writers and their families before kick off on Saturday.
The ‘Cant del Barça’, which was written in Catalan, was first heard on November 27th 1974 at the Camp Nou during celebrations to mark the Club’s 75th anniversary, presided over by Agustí Montal. The song was sung by 3,500 choir members, led by Oriol Martorell and was an immediate success. The song is now one of the most popular in the country and has acquired a global presence, sung as it is by Barça fans all over the world.
“Each line contains an idea”, key to song’s success
Josep Maria Espinàs believes the secret of the song’s success is: “it’s really very easy – each line contains an idea, ‘Tot el camp és un clam’, ‘som la gent blaugrana’, ‘tant se val d’on venim’… each sentence carries a strong idea and that helps to understand it. You can only have thousands of people singing an anthem like that together if it’s written with pauses between each line and ever line says something”.
The ‘Cant del Barça’ reflects many of the Club’s distinctive values, such as unity, integration and universality and it is the focal point for the fans’ support, when the players run out onto the Camp Nou pitch before a game. In big matches the stadium loudspeakers will be turned off during the song to accentuate the emotional effect of the fans unaccompanied singing.