On the anniversary of the Second Spanish Republic

A day as today, 89 years ago, the Second Republic was proclaimed. It was after a municipal election on April 12th in which the Republican parties had an overwhelming victory. This led to King Alfonso XIII’s departure from exile at the same time as the proclamation of the Republic.

In Badalona a crowd went to Plaza de la Vila to celebrate it. The crowns of the shields that adorn the Capitals on each side of the facade of the City council, were distroyed – they needed a long stairway to reach them – and portraits of the king were thrown from some official buildings . In the evening, the square was still very crowded, the people sang the Himno de Riego and the Marseillese, the Town Hall facade was lit, and some speeches were given from the balcony.

As a result of those elections, a new city’s government was choosen, with Josep Casas Costa (1874-1950) as mayor, who represented a Left Coalition, which included the Center Catalan Republican, Catalan Action and Socialist Union of Catalonia. Casas, who ran a printing house on the current street of Francesc Layret, had already been mayor of the city during the period 1914-1918.

The magazine El Eco de Badalona offers a magnificent chronicle of how this event was lived in our city:

El Eco de Badalona. 18 d’abril 1931