Barcelona names bus stop after driver who fought for residents' rights

Barcelona has named a bus stop after Manolo Vital, a bus driver from the neighborhood of Torre Baró who hijacked a bus and redirected it to his neighborhood in protest against the lack of connection to the area. 

The homage took place where the streets Castellví and Lliçà meet, where Manolo Vital brought the bus number 47 in 1978. 

A ceremony took place on Saturday in Barcelona where two buses followed the route that Vital took to show authorities that it was possible for public transport to get to the neighborhood. 

During the event, Barcelona mayor Jaume Collboni rode on one of the buses with Joana Vital, Manolo's granddaughter, and Marcel Barrena, director of the recently launched movie about Vital's story.  

The local government will also present a proposal to name a nearby roundabout 'Plaça Manolo Vital’.  

Collboni wanted to highlight how "the neighbors have always influenced the council's agenda since the first democratic councils." 

The Socialist mayor also promised to keep working to improve the Torre Baró area: "it is an aim for all of us that all the neighborhoods of Barcelona continue to be Barcelona." 

The mayor has also announced that the local government is studying the possibility of burying the electricity cables that power street lights, as they are frequently stolen and neighbors have seen long power outages.  

Residents of Torre Baró have emphasized that Manolo Vital was a leader in organization and had a key role in making the area prosper and in achieving basic services like public transportation, electricity, and water.  

Podcast 

The movie 'El 47', directed by Marcel Barrena, is based on the real story of how Manolo Vital hijacked the bus to take it up to Torre Baró, but also of how the people who moved to the new neighborhood of Barcelona had to fight for basic services.  

In our podcast, Filling the Sink, we tell the story of this neighborhood that was started more than 40 years ago, but also of how this part of the Catalan capital is still demanding better conditions.