Lluís Puig i Gordi (

Terrassa Terrassa () is a city in central-eastern Catalonia and in the province of Barcelona (Spain). It is one of the two capitals of Vallès Occidental county, being the larger in both area and population. The name ''Terrassa'' derives from Latin ''Te ...

, 18 October 1959) is an

art director Art director is a title for a variety of similar job functions in theater, advertising, marketing, publishing, fashion, live-action and animated film and television, the Internet, and video games. It is the charge of a sole art director to supe ...

dancer Dance is an The arts, art form, consisting of sequences of body movements with aesthetic and often Symbol, symbolic value, either improvised or purposefully selected. Dance can be categorized and described by its choreography, by its repertoir ...

musician A musician is someone who Composer, composes, Conducting, conducts, or Performing arts#Performers, performs music. According to the United States Employment Service, "musician" is a general Terminology, term used to designate a person who fol ...

folklorist Folklore studies (also known as folkloristics, tradition studies or folk life studies in the UK) is the academic discipline devoted to the study of folklore. This term, along with its synonyms, gained currency in the 1950s to distinguish the ac ...

and Spanish politician from

Catalonia Catalonia is an autonomous community of Spain, designated as a ''nationalities and regions of Spain, nationality'' by its Statute of Autonomy of Catalonia of 2006, Statute of Autonomy. Most of its territory (except the Val d'Aran) is situate ...

. He was Minister of Culture of Catalonia, the department in charge of the

libraries A library is a collection of Book, books, and possibly other Document, materials and Media (communication), media, that is accessible for use by its members and members of allied institutions. Libraries provide physical (hard copies) or electron ...

language Language is a structured system of communication that consists of grammar and vocabulary. It is the primary means by which humans convey meaning, both in spoken and signed language, signed forms, and may also be conveyed through writing syste ...

and

heritage preservation Heritage Preservation (active 1973–2014) was an American non-profit organization. Its mission was to preserve the nation's heritage for future generations through innovative leadership, education, and programs. As of June 30, 2015 the organi ...

, historical commemorations... He succeeded Santi Vila on 5 July 2017.

Biography

Born in Terrassa in 1959 he studied music, dance, audiovisual production and

humanities Humanities are academic disciplines that study aspects of human society and culture, including Philosophy, certain fundamental questions asked by humans. During the Renaissance, the term "humanities" referred to the study of classical literature a ...

from the

Open University of Catalonia The Open University of Catalonia (; ) is a private Open supported learning, open university based in Barcelona, Spain. The UOC offers graduate and postgraduate programs in Catalan language, Catalan, Spanish language, Spanish and English languag ...

. Immediately after finishing his studies he devoted himself to the study, promotion and practice of

Catalan traditions Traditions of Catalonia are sets of traditions, values, customs, and festivities that belongs within the culture of Catalan people. While most are of ancient origin, certain traditions are of relatively recent introduction. There are also some t ...

. He has been a sardanist in the group ''Minyons d'en Serrat, Asert''. He was also a dancer and director of several traditional dancing clubs from different cities: Terrassa, Catalunya Dansa,

Igualada Igualada () is a municipality and capital of Anoia county in Penedès, Catalonia, Spain. It is located on the left bank of the Anoia River and at the western end of the Igualada-Martorell-Barcelona Railway. Igualada is the capital and central ...

Barcelona Barcelona ( ; ; ) is a city on the northeastern coast of Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second-most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within c ...

, and Rubí. Additionally, he was part of the

folk group Folk music is a music genre that includes traditional folk music and the contemporary genre that evolved from the former during the 20th-century folk revival. Some types of folk music may be called world music. Traditional folk music has bee ...

''Ministrils del Raval'', and founder of several cultural associations from Terrassa. As a recognition to his efforts the

Government of Catalonia The Generalitat de Catalunya (; ; ), or the Government of Catalonia, is the institutional system by which Catalonia is self-governed as an autonomous community of Spain. It is made up of the Parliament of Catalonia, the President of the Govern ...

granted him the National Dance Award in 1984. From 1998 to 2000 he was the head of resources of the Center for the Promotion of Popular and Traditional Catalan Culture. From 1999 to 2010 he was the director of the

Fira Mediterrania in Manresa Fira Mediterrània of Manresa (Catalonia-Spain) is a performing arts fair rooted in Mediterranean tradition. It has two main areas of focus: popular culture (based on a dialogue between traditional, regional culture and creative innovation) and wo ...

. In 2001 he was a cofounder of the company VESC (Vèrtex Empresarial de Serveis Culturals, SL) dedicated to popularize Catalan songs, music and dance and other traditional Mediterranean cultures. In 2005 he promoted the project Casa de la Música in Terrassa,

Salt In common usage, salt is a mineral composed primarily of sodium chloride (NaCl). When used in food, especially in granulated form, it is more formally called table salt. In the form of a natural crystalline mineral, salt is also known as r ...

Mataró Mataró () is the capital and largest town of the Maresme county in Catalonia, Spain. It is located on the Costa del Maresme, Maresme coast, to the south of Costa Brava, between Cabrera de Mar and Sant Andreu de Llavaneres, north-east of Barcel ...

, l' Hospitalet de Llobregat, and

Manresa Manresa () is the capital of Bages county, located in the central region of Catalonia, Spain. Crossed by the river Cardener, it is an industrial area with textile, metallurgical, and glass industries. The houses of Manresa are arranged aro ...

. This project aimed to encourage the general public to study, create and play all kinds of

live music A concert, often known informally as a gig or show, is a live performance of music in front of an audience. The performance may be carried by a single musician, in which case it is sometimes called a recital, or by a musical ensemble such as an ...

. Starting in 2008, Puig would be the director of the during three editions. During this period he managed to invite popular groups and artists like:

Mishima Mishima may refer to: Places * Mishima, Fukushima, a town in Fukushima Prefecture * Mishima, Kagoshima, a village in Kagoshima Prefecture * Mishima, Niigata, a town in Niigata Prefecture * Mishima, Shizuoka, a city in Shizuoka Prefecture, Japa ...

Santiago Auserón Santiago Auserón, also known as Juan Perro (July 25, 1954 in Zaragoza, Aragon) is a Spanish singer and lyricist. He was songwriter and vocalist of Spanish rock's Radio Futura. Auserón has been recognized with the Aragón Music Prize for Career ...

Roger Mas Roger Mas i Solé (born 1975 in Solsona, Lleida) is a Spanish Catalan-language singer–songwriter. Biography Mas was born in 1975 to a family of musicians. When he was five years old, he began playing instruments under the guidance of his gran ...

, Omar Sosa, La Gossa Sorda, At Versaris, Els Surfing Sirles... During the first mandate of Artur Mas i Gavarro, Puig joined the political party

Convergence and Union Convergence and Union (, CiU; ) was a Catalan nationalist electoral alliance in Catalonia, Spain. It was a federation of two constituent parties, the larger Democratic Convergence of Catalonia (CDC) and its smaller counterpart, the Democratic ...

and assumed the position of general director of Popular Culture in 2011, until he was designated Minister of Culture of Catalonia on 5 July 2017. After the

2017 Catalan independence referendum An independence referendum was held on 1 October 2017 in the Spanish autonomous community of Catalonia, passed by the Parliament of Catalonia as the Law on the Referendum on Self-determination of Catalonia and called by the Generalitat de Catalun ...

, the Spanish authorities brought

criminal charges A criminal charge is a formal accusation made by a governmental authority (usually a public prosecutor or the police) asserting that somebody has committed a crime. A charging document, which contains one or more criminal charges or counts, can t ...

against a number of members of the Catalan government, including Puig. Together with some of the other Catalan politicians who were prosecuted, he fled to

Belgium Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...

at the end of 2017. In August 2020, a court in

Brussels Brussels, officially the Brussels-Capital Region, (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) is a Communities, regions and language areas of Belgium#Regions, region of Belgium comprising #Municipalit ...

, Belgium ruled that a

European Arrest Warrant The European Arrest Warrant (EAW) is an arrest warrant valid throughout all member states of the European Union (EU). Once issued, it requires another member state to arrest and transfer a criminal suspect or sentenced person to the issuing stat ...

, issued against Puig by Spanish authorities, could not be executed.

Bibliography

In addition to his career as cultural promoter, he has also written or cowritten several books about traditional culture, especially dance: * Terregada. Apunts sobre folklore de Terrassa (1991) * Crònica i calendari de dansa tradicional (1994) * Danses de la Terra de la Biblioteca Joan Amades (1998) * Calendari de danses tradicionals catalanes (1998) * Les festes a Catalunya (1999)

References

External links

Youtube video of the Government of Catalonia: Lluís Puig takeover as a new Minister of Culture of Catalonia

{{DEFAULTSORT:Puig, Lluís Living people People from Terrassa Convergence and Union politicians Spanish art directors 1959 births Exiled politicians from Catalonia Culture ministers of Catalonia Members of the 12th Parliament of Catalonia People barred from public office

Biography

Bibliography

See also

References

External links