The novelty is that the stories are told in comic format.
The format collects the personal stories of the prisoners and expresses them through human-shaped drawings. Through them are told so many stories that have taken place in those dark and high walls for more than a hundred years.
Històries de la Model: a tour of the penitentiary center
The comic is written and drawn by Jordi de Miguel and Susanna Martín.
And through its content, it manages to capture the experiences of ex-prisoners and family members, which allows them to make an exhaustive journey through the evolution of the Model.
This penitentiary was inaugurated in 1904 as a paradigm of modernity. However, he soon became an icon of political and social repression.
The stories narrate the tortures, authoritarianism and riots that have taken place in the prison throughout the 20th century.
But what is fundamental is that the authors rescue in the comic book the solidarity between the prisoners and the social and political struggles that have been lived within its walls.
The journalist Jordi de Miguel and the historian César Lorenzo, go through the galleries of the Modelo prison and recover its history through the voice of four men and women who lived through different stages.
They are the lawyer Augusto Gil Matamala, the former political prisoners Anna Sallés and Josep Ferrándiz, and Jordi, former member of the Coordinadora de Presos en Lucha, COPEL.
The inspiration of the comic
Both the texts and the drawings are inspired by the style of the famous American journalist and comic book author Joe Sacco.
The comic book also includes a brief historical summary in the form of an epilogue and QR codes that can be used to provide further information on the future of the Model.
Històries de La Model is part of the collection “Barcelona, Memoria en Viñetas”. It is an initiative of the City Council where the language of comics and the resources of the graphic novel will be the means to tell historical events that occurred in the twentieth century.
These events have been very significant for the city and thus, through the vignettes, it has been possible to recover the memory of Barcelona and its people.
The comic was presented by its authors at the end of February together with some of the main characters of the work (August Gil Matamala, Anna Sallés and Maribel Ferrándiz).
The publication is an exhaustive journey through the evolution of the center and the harsh experiences of those who suffered them. But in spite of everything, it was a scene of great solidarity.
