“La Monyos”, in the Teatre del Raval
The musical, which can be seen up until the 1st of March and features live music, was penned by Albert López Vivancos and tells the story of a popular, early-20th-century local character
Inspired by the legend of a popular local character, Dolors Bonella i Alcanzar, who was born in 1851 in the Xino, or “Chinese” district of Barcelona, La Monyos is a musical conceived by Empar López, produced by the Teatre del Raval and written and directed by Albert López Vivancos.
The production tells the story of a real-life character who garnered enormous popularity in early 20th century Barcelona. Following the loss of her daughter in an accident, La Lolita, or La Monyos, as she was also known, also lost her mind and spent the days singing in the streets, dressed and coiffured in an extravagant manner with a bunch of flowers prepared by the La Rambla florists in her hand.
The local turn of phrase, You’re more famous than la Monyos, is derived from this early-20th-century figure who passed her days in profuse greetings to all and sundry, singing songs and reciting poetry on request.
The production, which lasts about an hour and forty minutes, also reveals the darker side of La Monyos, who, having spent the entire day pacing the streets, would lock herself in her house in carrer Cadena, in the El Raval district, tormented by the ghosts of her past.
Teresa de la Torre and Itziar González star in a cast that also includes Oscar Mas and Cristina Murillo, among others. The live music that accompanies the production was written by Pedro Pardo and features a piano, a violin, a double bass and drums and percussion.
La Monyos
When: Until March 1st, Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays at 20:30 pm and Sunday at 18:00 pm
Where: Teatre del Raval
Price: 24€
More information here