El Be Negre
{{Infobox magazine
|title = El Be Negre
|image_file = Be Negre 22041936.jpg
|image_size =
|image_caption = Cover of El Be Negre April 1936 issue
|editor =
|editor_title =
|frequency = Weekly
|circulation =
|category = Satirical magazine
|company =
|publisher =
|founder = Amadeu Hurtado
|firstdate = 1931
|finaldate = 1936
|based= Barcelona
|language = Catalan
|website =
|issn =
}}
El Be Negre, meaning "The Black Sheep" in Catalan, was an illustrated satirical weekly magazine. Published in Barcelona{{cite book|editor1=Elisabeth Cheauré|editor2=Regine Nohejl|title=Humour and Laughter in History: Transcultural Perspectives|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=oUXqBQAAQBAJ&pg=PA79|accessdate=5 May 2015|date=October 2014|publisher=transcript|isbn=978-3-8394-2858-0|page=79}} between 1931 and 1936, its life and destiny were closely linked to those of the ill-fated Second Spanish Republic.
Josep Maria Planes i Martí, director of the magazine, was assassinated by a group of anarchists in the turbulent times that swept over the city of Barcelona at the beginning of the Spanish Civil War.
History and profile
El Be Negre took its name from the Catalan colloquial expression "...i un be negre!" (meaning "and a black sheep!"), an exclamation of rotund denial, skepticism or disbelief.(The commonly used abbreviation of "...i un be negre amb potes rosses!", meaning "and a black sheep with blond legs!") Lluís Solà i Dachs, El Bé Negre (1931 – 1936), Quaderns de cultura, Ed. Bruguera, Barcelona 1967 The magazine originated in the {{Interlanguage link multi|Mirador (magazine)|ca|3=Mirador (revista)|lt=Mirador }} literature, art and politics weekly and was inspired by the French language magazine Le Canard enchaîné, as well as in previous Catalan publications such as {{ill|Papitu|ca}}, La Campana de Gràcia and L'Esquella de la Torratxa. Its humor was more discreet and thought-provoking though, for it was witty, sharp and made liberal use of irony and ridicule.
El Be Negre was first published on 23 June 1931, only two months after the foundation of the Second Spanish Republic. Its founder was Amadeu Hurtado from the La Publicitat newspaper, together with Josep Maria Planes, Rossent Llates and Just Cabot. The director of the magazine was Josep Maria Planes. Other notable members of the team were Josep Maria de Segarra, Valentí Castanys i Borràs, Francesc Fontanals ("Soka"), Avel·lí Artís-Gener "Tisner", Manuel Amat, Ernest Guasp, Josep Maria Xicota, Andreu Avellí Artís, Carles Sinfeu, Enric Fernàndez Gual, Joan Cortès i Vidal, Joaquim Muntanyola, Salvador Mestres, Feliu Elíes ("Apa") and Romà Bonet ("Bon").{{Cite web |url=http://benegre.cat/2012/06/22/el-naixement-del-be-negre-per-enric-marco/ |title=El naixement d'El Be Negre, per Enric Marco |access-date=2013-05-12 |archive-date=2013-11-09 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131109172920/http://benegre.cat/2012/06/22/el-naixement-del-be-negre-per-enric-marco/ |url-status=dead }} The headquarters of the magazines was in Barcelona.{{cite book|editor1=Elisabeth Cheauré|editor2=Regine Nohejl|title=Humour and Laughter in History: Transcultural Perspectives|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=oUXqBQAAQBAJ&pg=PA80|accessdate=29 May 2015|date=October 2014|publisher=transcript|isbn=978-3-8394-2858-0|page=80}}
In the same manner as ¡Cu-Cut! magazine had done two decades previously, El Be Negre steadfastly opposed Lerrouxism in Spain, Radical Republican Party leader Alejandro Lerroux becoming one of the favorite targets of its sharp and humorous criticism. Although its director Josep Maria Planes belonged to Acció Catalana, even that political group was not spared from the magazine's critical view. The magazine was also well known for its steadfast anti-fascist stance and among the foreign leaders criticized by the magazine's humor were Adolf Hitler and Benito Mussolini.[http://argonauta.revues.org/397 L´Esquella de la Torratxa: la campana que enmudeció en 1939]
El Be Negre published its last issue on 15 July 1936, right before the pro-fascist coup that would lead to the Spanish Civil War, after having published a total of 245 issues.[http://www.ciberniz.com/benegre.htm El be negre (1931-1936) - La Ciberniz] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130211051525/http://www.ciberniz.com/benegre.htm |date=2013-02-11 }} The magazine's director Josep Maria Planes would be assassinated following a series of articles on the street violence in Barcelona and its direct relationship with the activity of the Iberian Anarchist Federation (FAI).Lluís Solà i Dachs, Un segle d´humor català, Barcelona, Editorial Bruguera, 1972
See also
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- {{commons category-inline|El Be Negre|El Be Negre}}
- [https://web.archive.org/web/20160304031231/http://www.humoralart.com/be-negre/ Humor a l'art - El Be Negre]
- [https://web.archive.org/web/20141106133236/http://www.francescmestreart.com/wp-content/uploads/dossierdeprensacast.pdf Francesc Mestre: Ilustradores Ilustres]
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Category:1931 establishments in Spain
Category:1936 disestablishments in Spain
Category:Catalan-language magazines
Category:Magazines published in Catalonia
Category:Defunct magazines published in Spain
Category:Satirical magazines published in Spain
Category:Magazines established in 1931
Category:Magazines disestablished in 1936
Category:Magazines published in Barcelona
Category:Second Spanish Republic