Maria Carme Roca has won the third edition of the Santa Eulàlia Novel Prize of Barcelona, organized by Comanegra and Àfora Focus Edicions and endowed with €25,000, with the story of a young girl from a humble family in the Sant Pere neighborhood who eventually finds herself mingling with the city’s elite.
El passatge is a novel shaped by the significance of two parallel passages: Passatge d’en Cirici (now Passatge de les Manufactures) and Passatge de Sert, as well as by the relationship of love and friendship between Regina and the great painter and muralist of the first half of the 20th century, Josep Maria Sert.
The novel unfolds in the lively and expanding Barcelona of the late 19th century. The city walls have already been demolished, and Barcelona is taking on a new landscape with the construction of the Eixample. Filled with textile factories, the city is bustling with workers and activity. Culture is also experiencing a renaissance, with increasing artistic movement and notable figures emerging.
