Goodbye to Colita, the photographer who captured the soul of Barcelona

08/01/2024

Barcelona is mourning for the loss of one of the most important figures in Catalan photography. Isabel Steva, known as Colita, died on December 31 at the age of 83.

In 2012 the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (UAB) invested her with an honorary doctorate at the proposal of the Faculty of Communication Sciences, thus recognizing her exceptional contribution to the world of photography and visual communication.

Colita, recently awarded with the Office of Journalist award, was a key figure in the field of photojournalism and cultural life in Barcelona. His work captured crucial moments in the city's history, reflecting the social and political events of the end of Francoism and transition. From high society to marginal neighborhoods, his camera immortalized the diversity of the city.

The photographer, an advantaged student of the greats such as Oriol Maspons and Xavier Miserachs, learned to have a look of her own. From the gypsy neighborhood of Somorrostro to the shooting of "Los tarantos", Colita captured the life and experiences of the characters that surrounded him. He also portrayed the movement of La Nova Cançó with Guillermina Motta, Ovidi Montllor and Joan Manuel Serrat.

Colita not only limited herself to photography, but left a rich legacy with more than forty exhibitions and fifty published books. It received numerous awards, but its consistency with its convictions manifested when it rejected the National Photography Award in 2014, in disagreement with the cultural policy of Mariano Rajoy's government.

With her death, Barcelona loses not only a great artist, but also a woman committed to her ideas. His work will continue to immortalize the memory of the city he loved so much.