Alfred Llahí Publishes Mother's Memoir of 1940s-1960s Life in Les Escaldes, Andorra

Alfred Llahí has published *La meva Andorra. Memòries d’una nena d’Escaldes*, a 256-page self-edited volume with 90 photographs that draws on his mother Maria Teresa Segalàs's childhood recollections to evoke life in Les Escaldes from the 1940s through the early 1960s.

The book, which includes a foreword by Andorran head of government Xavier Espot, portrays a close-knit parish defined by dirt roads, plaza games, schools, major fiestas, and religious celebrations including Corpus Christi, Holy Week, Carnival, Christmas, and Epiphany. Segalàs, born in 1943, recounts her schooling, first job, the Tour de France's passage, Radio Andorra's debut, and cultural moments like the Esbart Santa Anna dance group, early FC Barcelona visits, photographer Josep Alsina's images, sculptor Josep Viladomat's work, Meritxell day, and Engordany's living nativity. It also nods to post-war Andorra's role as a haven for refugees and artists amid the Spanish Civil War and World War II, featuring figures such as Andreu Claret, known as "l’home de les neus," and a reference to a visit by Carmen Polo, wife of Francisco Franco.

Llahí, whose mother once took YouTuber TheGrefg to court, held a low-key media presentation alone at Espai Caldes on Thursday. Her continued vitality kept her away. The official launch is scheduled for Monday, April 13, at 7:30 p.m. at Les Escaldes-Engordany's municipal library, with attendance from Cònsol Major Rosa Gili and other cultural and political figures.

Llahí frames the work as a collective tribute to a generation that shaped modern Andorra through everyday lives rather than grand events. "The history of a country is told not only through major happenings, but through small stories, daily experiences, and real people," he said at the event. "This book is also an act of gratitude to the generation that built the country we know today." He described an era of profound community and solidarity, contrasting its "luminous" quality with present-day challenges, and stressed preserving fragile memories to prevent their loss.

A chapter likely to draw attention covers then-Prince Juan Carlos de Borbó—now Spain's emeritus king—spending summers at Hostal Valira with local girls including Caterina Guerrero, Marta Ribas, and Josette Pi, once sharing an outbreak of whooping cough. Llahí, via his mother's accounts, floats lighthearted local rumors questioning the prince's official birthplace of Rome or Estoril, pointing to a postcard-style photo of his mother, Maria de las Mercedes, holding a newborn outside the hotel's arched entrance. Local lore sometimes ties such tales to figures like Dolors Albós or Avelina Besolí. Llahí noted that even Espot, a Les Escaldes native, was unaware of these stories.

Organized into 26 chapters, the book transforms family anecdotes into shared heritage. Llahí suggested potential future volumes on his mother's later housing advocacy.