The Barcelona swimmer Aurora Chamorro i Gual now has a plaque paying homage to her in Passeig de la Memòria in Poblenou, an iconic space where local people remember neighbourhood figures who have stood out in various fields.
Poblenou swimming club was behind the initiative, as this was where Aurora Chamorro i Gual started her career in the world of swimming, a sport she excelled in between 1968 and 1974. A specialist in the 100 metres freestyle and the 100 metres butterfly, Chamorro i Gual was champion of Catalonia on 30 occasions and champion of Spain on 28, beating 14 Catalan records and 10 Spanish ones and taking part in the Munich Olympics in 1972.
The plaque is part of the celebrations to mark the club’s centenary and turns the swimmer into the fifteenth person and fourth woman to occupy a place in Passeig de la Memòria. Promoted by the history archive and the local residents’ association in Poblenou, the space was inaugurated in 1999 and has since seen plaques installed to remember figures from the world of culture, education, politics and social movements.
The people and groups remembered in the avenue are:
- Pere Relats i Arimon, rector
- Joaquima Raspall i Juanicó, teacher
- Maria Espinalt i Font, soprano
- Anna Garcés i Delgado, cultural activist
- Joan Garcia Oliver, anarchist leader
- Ramon Bou i Espinosa, social activist
- Les Dones del Cànem, workers
- Salvador Roca i Roca, journalist
- Agapito Fernández Fernández, sports leader
- Josep M. Huertas Clavería, journalist
- Joan Agustí i Carreras, mayor
- Jaume Batlle i Bigas, deacon
- Xavier Benguerel i Llobet, writer
- Enric Casanovas i Roy, sculptor
- Aurora Chamorro i Gual, swimmer