Josep Deu Mata, the alcohol businessman who left his mark on Les Corts

On 8 February 1922, a momentous event took place in the history of Barça: its president and founder, Joan Gamper, signed the contract to purchase a property called Can Guerra, where a few months later the Camp de les Corts, the emblematic home of the Blaugrana club, would be built. The seller of the land was Mercedes Deu Majó, who received 928,500 pesetas for the more than two hectares that would soon become a fundamental place in the history of the club.

The origin of the property can be found in the inheritance that Mercedes Deu had received from her father, Josep Deu Mata, a businessman from Les Corts who had made a fortune in the liquor trade. In 1874, Dios and her father —who was already involved in the alcohol trade— created a spirit distillation company, the firm Josep Deu & Cía., which would soon experience great growth. They managed to export the products to America - Argentina and Uruguay - and the Carabanchel anise brand was internationally successful. It should be noted that at that time Les Corts was an independent municipality because in 1836 it had become independent from Sarrià (at that time it was called Les Corts de Sarrià) and it was not until 1897 when it was integrated into the city of Barcelona.

As a renowned businessman in his time, Deu Mata was deeply involved with Foment del Treball, an entity of which he ended up being a member of merit, and with which he created the Premio Deu award, which was awarded jointly with the San Isidro Agricultural Institute. In fact, upon his death he left a foundation dedicated to teaching that had these two entities as patrons, plus the Chamber of Commerce and the Barcelona Economic Society of Friends of the Country. This Premio Dios was awarded to the best technological innovations of the year within the industry and was fully financed by him.

As for his involvement in civil society, Deu Mata was vice-president of the Association of Friends of the Poor of Les Corts, an organisation founded at the end of the 19th century which provided basic food to less fortunate families. On the board of directors of this association he met some members of the Closas family, another of the important families in Les Corts.

When he died, his fame was such that the Bishopric granted fifty days of indulgence for each act of piety dedicated to his soul. In addition, the family organised a car service from Plaza Cataluña for anyone who wanted to attend the wake at the family residence in Plaza de la Concordia. From 1916, the year of his death, the business was managed by his son, but his premature death meant that the company passed into the hands of his brother, Vicenç Deu Mata, and was later inherited by his nephews, who were in charge of lowering the shutters in 1930.

Legacy in the Les Corts neighborhood

The legacy of this important businessman is very evident in the Les Corts neighbourhood, where today we find Deu i Mata street and the Can Deu civic centre, located since 1986 in the building that was the family residence, built between 1894 and 1897 by the architect Eduard Mercader Sacanella. During the Civil War, the property was the headquarters of the local committees of the PSUC and the FAI. But if any trace has remained in popular culture, it is the phrase "armarse la de Cal Deu", which, according to legend, refers to the noise that surrounded the distillery, the result of the continuous traffic of carts that transported the liquor. An alternative version suggests that, in reality, the noise came from the numerous parties that were held in the inner courtyard of the family residence. There are even more interpretations, because other voices claim that all hell broke loose when the company's workers accidentally broke some of the glass containers they were working with.

Josep Deu's house - as we call the Can Deu civic centre today - is not the only one of the family that survives in the area, because the headquarters of the Pere Tarrés Foundation, on Numancia Street, was also a family home for the Deus, in this case Narcís Deu, brother of our protagonist. A third brother, Vicenç, built the house on the street now known as Joan Gamper, the character with whom we began this story.