20 years without Mariona: the tragedy that changed the safety of castells

MataróThis Tuesday marks twenty years since Mariona Galindo's death; a name that remains alive in the memory of the Capgrossos de Mataró, but also of the entire casteller world. To pronounce it is, even today, an exercise in memory, respect, and affection. At just twelve years old, Mariona was part of a generation of children who experienced castells with the enthusiasm, responsibility, and joy of those who had found a second family in the group. No one could have imagined that the summer of 2006 would end up becoming one of the most painful pages in casteller history. But this tragedy also accelerated profound changes in castells safety: the helmet for children, which was already being developed, went from being a project to becoming a reality. And immediately.

After the fall of the 4d9f during the Diada de les Santes that year, on July 23, which caused her a severe trauma, everything suggested that Mariona could recover. For eleven days, her family, the group, and an entire city clung to hope. But on August 4, against all odds, she lost her life. For many months, silence pervaded the squares and rehearsal rooms in Mataró, hugs replaced words, and the casteller world discovered that it also knew how to cry together. The Capgrossos were experiencing one of the most brilliant moments in their history. They were a benchmark for their way of understanding castells, for their technical rigor, for their prudence, and for a safety culture that was already exemplary at that time. Precisely because of all this, the blow was even more incomprehensible. Fate had struck a group that had never stopped putting prevention at the center.

If anything defined those days, it wasn't just the pain. It was the way of facing it. The Capgrossos found the strength to continue. Mariona's family, amidst unimaginable suffering, asked them not to stop building castells. To move forward and for Mariona to remain present where she had been happiest: among navy blue shirts, pinyes, and crowded squares. Those words became a promise, and since then, every castell raised also carries a part of her memory.

Two decades after its implementation, the helmet has overcome initial reluctance, as data on the reduction of serious injuries has been the main argument for consolidating it as an essential piece. Now, the casteller world faces a new evolution in safety matters. The design of a new helmet is entering its final phase and incorporates improvements in aspects such as fastening and adjustment, as well as a notable novelty: a facial protection in the form of a mask. The forecast is that it can be incorporated next season.

A strong legacy

Mariona's legacy, however, goes much further. It is the Diada Mariona Galindo Lora. It is the passageway that bears her name in Mataró. It is the pillar that year after year rises in front of Santa Maria, in one of the most intimate moments of Les Santes. It is every new casteller who arrives at the group and discovers that there is a star that accompanies the Capgrossos. These Santes have left an image that many will find hard to forget.

The Capgrossos once again unloaded the 4d9f, the first of the season. Just as the enxaneta was doing the 'aleta', the sky opened up and it began to rain heavily. On social media, the group summarized it with a sentence that moved hundreds of people: "Mariona cried with joy with us".

Mariona is part of the identity of the Capgrossos, of Mataró's memory and of the history of the castells. Today marks twenty years since that day that no one wants to remember and that, at the same time, no one wants to forget. Twenty years later, her star remains present, guiding the path of a group that has learned to move forward without ever leaving its memory behind.