L'Aleta dels Bordegassos









The first issue of l'Aleta appeared the day of Sant Jordi of 1980, in the middle of the excitement brought by the four of eight crowned six months before. An internal bulletin would give an image of seriousness to the colla. Unfortunately, that first Aleta, intended to be issued 'at least once per month', according to what its last page was saying, didn't have the expected continuity. That first year saw five issues, and during 1981 l'Aleta didn't see the light. It's the only year without any Aleta. First Aletas used to be very simple, almost hand-made: no more than twelve pages and it was photocopied, not printed. The format was also changing continuously: sometimes larger, sometimes smaller... The header was often a hand drawing and often (probably because the originals were lost) was re-drawn, which was bringing design changes between issues.

L'Aleta as internal bulletin


Els continguts es dividien en dos grans blocs: informació sobre la colla i una gran dosi d'humor, d'aquest humor vilanoví que sovint es malentén. En alguns números, l'humor es convertia en sarcasme, dirigit sobretot a les altres dues colles vilanovines, la Colla de Mar i la Colla Jove. La rivalitat entre les tres colles es feia palesa a la plaça, als autobusos (en Josep Almirall, 'anecdotòleg' oficial de la colla, recorda que l'any 86, quan Colla de Mar i Bordegassos anaven cap al concurs de Tarragona, en avançar-se els dos autocars, es podien veure clarament dues fileres de culs, una per colla) i, en el cas dels Bordegassos, a l'Aleta. Eren temps de castells no gaire grossos, però la colla mantenia el seu tarannà esbojarrat i poc ortodox, castellerament parlant. També val a dir que en aquells anys l'Aleta es concebia com un butlletí intern, i es deixaven els temes més seriosos, com el resum de les actuacions de l'any, pel programa que cada any s'editava per Sant Jordi, en motiu de l'aniversari. Mica en mica, però, l'Aleta va anar perdent aquest punt de sarcasme i es convertí en un butlletí informatiu.

From photocopy to magazine


Starting in 1990, and especially in 1992, l'Aleta became more serious. It's still photocopied, but its aspect is more elaborate, becoming closer to a 'real' magazine. In the year 1994, the last Sant Jordi program was published, and only one Aleta was issued, during the Major Festival. The following year, l'Aleta suffered a big change. From that moment, it became a magazine, was printed in a print shop and got its definitive name: L'Aleta dels Bordegassos (besides being more serious, the Xiquets de Reus happened to have the name 'Aleta' for their magazine). Now l'Aleta looked like a real magazine, with good-quality paper, and with historical articles besides the usual yearly summaries. Xavier Güell was the author of such articles, and finally he published them all together as a book. In some of these articles, new data and facts were even revealed for the first time. It also started looking outside the colla itself. Humour was also present at this time, and a few issues included the humour supplement 'La Puta d'Oros informa...', with lots of surrealistic and acid humour (there's nothing we can do about that; we are from Vilanova...). Currently, l'Aleta dels Bordegassos has become a magazine which appears once a year, by the end of the season, with the double mission of promoting the colla and leaving written record of the season.

The design of our magazine has also been changing in time. First issues of this new age featured an upper-case 'A' (from 'Aleta') in a different colour each issue, and, more recently, a yellow strip at the left side with the magazine name printed vertically on it. It's also worth noting that, even with an entirely new design and philosophy, the numbering was followed since the first issue because, even if just four photocopied pages, it was 'our' magazine. Nowadays the magazine surpassed number 70, and it's released around Dia de la Colla (November) to bring the season to an end. There are many people who deserve credit and gratefulness for l'Aleta's existence, from inside and outside our colla. But, above all, l'Aleta has to thank its existence to that bunch of hippies who, in Sant Jordi 1972, decided to create a 'colla castellera' with a strong-sounding name and a very flashy shirt: the Bordegassos de Vilanova.

Upcoming Performances

Inici de Temporada
Sunday 7 April
12:00h
With Minyons de l'Arboç i Castellers de Santpedor


20-04-2024
Madrid
Tarda


28-04-2024
Sant Jordi
12:00h


12-05-2024
Sant Cugat
Migdia


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