In the summer of 2001, American tourist Tom Sponheim, from Seattle, visited the Els Encants market in Barcelona. As he browsed the stalls, he found a box of brown envelopes containing a series of negatives. Since Sponheim was fascinated with old photography, he purchased the envelopes for $3.50. Returning to America, he examined the negatives closely and realized he had found something precious.
The natives captured Barcelona residents on the streets during the 1950s, providing an intriguing insight into daily life during the Franco era. Given the political climate, the photographs were exceptionally provocative.
They depict the real life of real people, sometimes revealing aspects of poverty and despair that were really quite subversive during a dictatorship
Milagros Caturla captured these photographs. She was the seventh of ten children and had trained as a teacher but worked as an administrator.
