Julià Reig Roqueta. Sant Julià de Lòria, 20th-century

Del 20 de octubre al 9 de enero

Few photographs remain of Sant Julià de Lòria at the beginning of the 20th century. Julià Reig Roqueta (Sant Julià de Lòria, 1875-1942) was a pioneer in the field of photography in Andorra, with the bonus that he focussed his attention on a parish that was strangely ignored by most other photographers in the early 20th century.

303 photographs taken by Julià Reig Roqueta between 1900-1940 were found in the 1990s in the attic of Cal Rafeló. In 2011, the Julià Reig Foundation donated a digital copy of the collection to the Andorran National Archive. Ten years later, in 2021, Philippe Mounet retouched the photos and made prints to display to the public in this exhibition of 20th-century Sant Julià de Lòria: Julià Reig Roqueta. Sant Julià de Lòria, segle XX.

Julià Reig Roqueta built the factory that now houses the Fàbrica Reig tobacco museum in 1909. He was a keen amateur photographer and spent more than two decades capturing images of events and people in his parish, and the Cal Rafeló tobacco factory in Sant Julià de Lòria. Through his camera, he immortalised historic moments in the early 20th century, such as the construction of the main road and the electricity installations, or the visit by the Co-Prince, Bishop Benlloch. There are numerous portraits of his family and fellow citizens, including the remarkable photograph of Borges, the shepherd from Bixessarri. All the photographs demonstrate his skill at capturing the features, expression, personality and mood of the person or persons portrayed. Nearly 100 images of an Andorra that has long since disappeared are on display in this temporary exhibition.