The European Tours of Cobla Barcelona (1936–1937)

Abstract During the Spanish Civil War, the Cobla Barcelona, one of Catalonia’s most significant ensembles, became an instrument of Republican cultural diplomacy and toured Western Europe twice as part of the activities organized by the Propaganda Commission of the Government of Catalonia. They performed over three hundred concerts in France, Belgium, Luxembourg, and Czechoslovakia, including at renowned concert halls like the Salle Pleyel, and the Grand Palais des Champs-Elysées. They also participated in the opening of the Spanish Pavilion at the 1937 Paris International Exposition, where their music accompanied the public debut of Picasso’s Guernica. These tours became an important war propaganda tool, not only in support of the Republican and antifascist struggle, but also in defence of the recognition of Catalonia as a nation within Spain. This chapter examines how artistic performance operated as a tool of political persuasion and as an instrument of Republican propaganda in Western Europe.