Sant Julià de Lòria's Lauredià Centre Reopens After 2022 Fire with Emotional Performances

Sant Julià de Lòria's Centre Cultural Lauredià, closed since a November 2022 fire, reopened last Thursday after nearly four years, drawing emotional responses from local performing arts groups during a special show and subsequent weekend tests.

The reinauguration event, directed by Hansel Cereza, included performances by Esbart Laurèdia, Coral Rocafort, Geganters de Sant Julià, and Andorra Lírica. Groups described returning to their main venue after using makeshift locations like streets, churches, and municipal halls. Esbart Laurèdia artistic director Jaume Torra recalled his dancers as the last to rehearse on the Claror stage before the fire and the first back, viewing it as an era's end and beginning. Coral Rocafort president Maria Lluïsa Moleirinho noted widespread parish enthusiasm and strong audience turnout. Geganters president Jordi Díaz welcomed the improved sound, lighting, and technical setup, underlining local groups' role in enlivening the space. Andorra Lírica's Guillem Forné looked forward to staging full operas, previously constrained by sites like Sant Julià church. Director Juanma Casero, who helped plan the opening, emphasised relaunching the centre for fresh cultural initiatives.

Culture councillor Teresa Areny, who originally opened the centre in 1992 as its director, called the moment personally significant after 34 years. She urged preserving Sant Julià's theatre and performing arts focus, respecting parish specialisms amid limited resources and avoiding overlap with events like Classicand in Andorra la Vella and Ordino. Local groups gain priority for rehearsals, concerts, festivals such as street-arts Festac, and the upcoming second Fils d’Art edition, due for announcement Monday. Areny and Consol Major Cerni Cairat highlighted demand from school events, ballets, symposia, and University of Andorra uses, but selections will consider suitability, technical capacity, and staffing constraints.

A Monday media tour, led by Areny, promotion head Laura Rogé, and technical chief Joan Codina, showcased upgrades in the Claror hall (429 seats, down about 20 for wider, more comfortable seating with tables for conferences) and Rocafort hall (151 seats). Shared improvements feature wall acoustic treatments reducing reverberation from 1.5 to 0.5 seconds, surround speakers for immersive sound, induction loops enabling hearing aid users to receive direct audio, configurable LED lighting, motorised stage bridges, room dividers, and AV connectivity between halls. Rocafort additions include a new technical booth replacing the old projector space, a flat entrance for wheelchair access, adjusted stage mouth for theatre and concerts, and mobile projection screens doubling as backdrops. Claror retains original coral wood parquet and marble walls as historical nods, adds a second lighting line dividing the stage into zones, and equips its booth for audio-video recording with fixed cameras.

Accessibility extends to eight renewed dressing rooms—all inclusive, with live stage monitors and an office-style green room—and three polivalent seminar rooms for meetings, press events, or streaming. Codina described the facilities as fully 21st-century, matching European standards across technology and inclusivity. Rogé reported excellent feedback from weekend trials with DJ sets, Maria del Mar Bonet, Les Anxovetes, and the musical El fil invisible, confirming the "trial by fire" success.

The lobby highlights restored heritage: Sergi Mas's 1970 wood relief "La cuina de Casa de la Vall," depicting a Casa de la Vall kitchen scene and donated by the Cerqueda family in the 1990s, plus Nicolau Bartumeu Bitriu's ironwork counter from his 1990s jewellery shop—"Ferro, art i memòria. L’ànima d’Andorra en l’obra de Nicolau Bartumeu Bitriu"—featuring local motifs like Sant Serni de Nagol and Aixovall bridge, loaned by the Bartumeu family. A 1992 Kelonik Galaxy 95 projector from Rocafort sessions stands nearby.

No regular cinema returns, despite projection capabilities. Productions like Els Pastorets eye a tech-enhanced "reinicia" as a fresh start after outdoor stagings. The October theatre season, shared with Andorra la Vella, introduces children's shows; Andorra Lírica resumes in September. No expansion planned; focus shifts to renovating nearby Plaça de la Germandat later.