Tribute to the Rexach sisters of Hispania: Serrat, Pujol, Bundó, Mas and them

Arenys de Mar"Mom, we'd like some shoes," Paquita asked as a child, because they worked all day with veined espadrilles. And so she explained yesterday, at the podium of the Calisay factory, where the entire council made her and her sister Lolita the adopted daughters of Arenys. Their mother, who, along with the sisters' father, had bought a gas station on the road (with the sign "Hispania"), thanks to money lent them by a friend, said: "How could you think of wanting shoes if we still owe money?"

These girls lived by the road. As children, they worked like crazy. "I was used to climbing trees, running freely in the streets, and suddenly, since I was a baliga-balaga, they sent me to a boarding school," Lolita explained. "And how tired we were of crying, until I got used to it..."

At the gas station, the truck drivers would go to have breakfast, take a sandwich and a tangerine, and ask the family for a salad, a jug, and coffee. One day, one asked for food. "And we gave him what we had for ourselves. A bowl of beef with a ball. That was the beginning."

A sacrificed life

Paquita and Lolita have had a very hard, very sacrificial life, and we will never tire of repeating it. Yesterday, Joan Manuel Serrat was at the tribute, laughing and applauding; Xavi Bundó and Pere Mas were there, who came together; the Hispania waiters were there, the ones who've been there forever; the family, who continue to run the legendary restaurant. Jordi Pujol arrived, who certainly understands the legacy of the two housewives. All the political groups, all of them, agreed that what the sisters have done is a legacy and is culture. Whenever I see them, I think of the song by the Dynamic Duo. It's a private joke I always make. I sing: "Lolita, I'd love to cook with you forever. Paquita, you have a way of adding sauces that fascinates me. Lolita, Paquita, Raimón!"

Dizzy, excited, beautiful as always, without the apron that distinguishes them, Paquita and Lolita received a little of the love they deserve. "When is the Sant Jordi Cross coming?" someone asked. Yes, and the Sant Jordi Cross, when? From our director, especially!" And they laughed and said to me: "Aren't you going to stop at the snacks?"