Francina Pons Elected President of Andorran Heritage Group Velles Cases

Francina Pons has been elected president of Velles Cases, the Andorran cultural association dedicated to heritage preservation, for the next four years. The general assembly confirmed her leadership with no surprises, as expected, installing a largely continuous board featuring just three new members.

The new leadership aims to complete ongoing projects while amplifying members' voices. Membership has grown significantly from 83 four years ago to 229 today, enabling broader reach. Funding comes primarily from member dues—€30 for individuals and €45 for couples—supplemented by a €6,000 annual grant from the Culture Ministry for activities like autumn workshops, outings, and the Stolpersteine project. Parish councils provide occasional logistical support.

Key priorities include finalizing the Fargo building restoration, expected to conclude this summer after eight years of investment. The government will own the structure, with Escaldes-Engordany parish handling custody. The board also plans to install the remaining Stolpersteine plaques next year, commemorating Andorra's seven final Nazi camp deportees: Francesc Mora, Anton Pons, Miquel Adellach, Antoni Puigdellívol, Josep Gelabert, and Pedro Inglés. Last year saw eight plaques laid for earlier victims, including Bonaventura Bonfill and Josep Franch. Efforts now focus on locating descendants, with challenges for figures like Anton Pons, known only from limited records as a Blagnac native born around 1900. Local baccalaureate students aided research on Inglés.

Pons highlighted persistent threats to heritage sites beyond mills, which her book *Moles i molins fariners d'Andorra* helped spotlight. Three mills along the new Massana variant—Quico, Tureta, and Ferrer (a tool-sharpening site)—will be preserved, with the road passing overhead; the parish acquired Quico's, and government took the others. Yet no comprehensive protection plan exists. Vulnerable sites include the Tristet mill in Canillo (government-owned, with intervention planned), Bordes mill in l'Aldosa, Martí mill in Bixessarri, and the privately owned Col·lector in Andorra la Vella's Pui, near protected Closca. The group will alert authorities and owners to issues like the overgrown tree obscuring Sant Andreu chapel's facade in the capital or deteriorating dovecotes such as Mora in Canillo and Cotxa in Encamp's Bons (under restoration).

Pons pledged collaboration with administrations while speaking candidly. "We will work with them but won't hold back our tongues," she said, emphasizing constructive advocacy over confrontation. The board has found ministries and parishes receptive within their limits. She supports a national museum, overdue despite pre-election promises, hoping for a groundbreaking before next year's vote; Culture Minister Bonell has hinted at progress.

On the delayed Heritage Law, Pons expressed hope for approval before the legislature ends to clarify protections, including surroundings like those disputed around Casa de la Vall, now in court. The association seeks to rejuvenate its base, inspired by youth involvement in projects.