Joan

Joan Amades Gelats

Barcelona , 23 de juliol de 1890
Barcelona , 17 de gener de 1959

Musicologist

Ethnologist and folklorist

Self-taught, he soon became interested in the world of popular culture in the Raval district of Barcelona where he grew up. He was an Esperantist and hiker, and from 1915 he began to record and write the first examples of popular culture he encountered during his hikes. His connection to the Arxiu d’Etnografia i Folklore de Catalunya and his knowledge of Obra del Cançoner Popular de Catalunya led him to abandon his profession as a bookseller to work more intensively on popular culture. He soon published his first works in the collection Biblioteca de Tradicions Populars. This also progressively led him to work in organizations such as the Museu d’Industries i Arts Populars of Barcelona and the Historical Archive of the same city. He was a collaborator on the Radio and a lecturer. He is the author of El Costumari català (1952), a reference work in folklore studies of Catalan-speaking countries and the most important one among his output.