Catalonia

Ramona Coronado, known as Mónica del Raval, has died at the age of 60. With her death, another of the most popular representatives of the most diverse neighbourhood in Barcelona has passed away. She worked as a prostitute for almost 20 years and told about it in the documentary that bore her name, and after leaving the profession she continued to walk around the Raval with her striking make-up and the crown that made her so popular.

Originally from the town of Villamanrique in La Mancha, after a period in Madrid she settled in Barcelona. She remained in the Raval for the rest of her life, and it was common to find her around the Filmoteca de Catalunya. Her popularity was such that she was invited to guide an exhibition of the Santa Monica Arts Center.

Monica del Raval exemplifies the contrasts and changes in the central Barcelona neighbourhood: her workplace for more than 15 years was the columns of the façade of the Liceu, on the Rambla. When the opera house (and meeting place for the elite) closed, prostitutes waited for clients in front of it. A few years ago, the Liceu decided to install some fences to discourage prostitutes and homeless people from spending the night there.

Mónica was very fond of music, including classical music, and had attended the Liceu as a spectator, as she herself explained in one of her last public appearances. It was on Catalunya Ràdio in 2017. A year later she began to suffer from health problems.

On public radio, Mónica spoke about the evolution of La Rambla with another legendary icon of the Barcelona promenade, the owner of the El Pinotxo bar, Joan Bayén, who passed away last year. Far from Bayén’s criticism of tourists, so shared by thousands of Barcelona residents, Mónica told her own experience: “What do you want me to say? Tourists don’t bother me. When I worked in prostitution, they paid the best and had better manners than anyone else.”

Eight years earlier, Mónica del Raval, who was already known for her makeup by anyone who walked through the neighborhood, had risen to popular myth thanks to the eponymous documentary directed by Francesc Betriu. The work, Available on Filminis a portrait in which Monica has absolute prominence and in which she defends that she practiced prostitution freely and responsibly. She also participated in other productions such as ‘Puta y amada’ and ‘Nos pensé importante’, by Marc Ferrer.

The oldest woman in the world has died. Maria Branyas, the Catalan born in San Francisco (United States) in 1907, has died at the age of 117, after becoming the oldest person on the planet in January 2023.

Branyas, who turned 117 last March, was part of the select club of Spanish centenarians, 0.04% of the country’s population. His name began to appear in the media when he overcame Covid-19 in 2020, making him one of the oldest people to achieve this.

But from 2023, this woman, who has lived since the 1990s in a nursing home in Olot, Girona, will become the dean of the planet. Her Twitter account confirmed the news: “Maria Branyas has left us. She died as she wanted: in her sleep, peacefully, and without pain.”

Her social media profile also mentioned one of the old lady’s last messages, from a few days ago: “One day I will leave here. I will never taste coffee again, eat yogurt, or caress Fada… I will also leave behind my memories, my reflections, and I will cease to exist in this body. One day, which I don’t know, but which is very close, this long journey will be over. Death will find me worn out from having lived so much, but I want it to find me smiling, free and satisfied.”