Round Table: «El Negre de Banyoles. Rethinking the Legacy of Black Fetishisation»

With Miguel Ángel Rosales, Saiba Bayo and Miquel Cuenca

For more than a century, the preserved body of an African man was displayed as a collector’s item in a glass case at the Museu Darder. Even today, the story of the Banyoles Negro continues to fuel debates about the racial legacy that has shaped the darker aspects of the collective consciousness of European societies since at least the 14th century.

This round table, held in connection with Miguel Ángel Rosales’s project Diuen que soc. Anatomia d’una fabulació, will explore the ways in which the legacy of Black fetishisation still calls to be reviewed, reconsidered and retold today.

Miguel Ángel Rosales is a documentary filmmaker and screenwriter. He holds a degree in Anthropology and has directed several short and mid-length films. Gurumbé. Canciones de tu memoria negra is his first feature-length film. An initial instalment of his research into the Banyoles Negro was presented as part of the exhibition Arxius Negres, held within the framework of Manifesta 2024 Barcelona Metropolitana, the 15th edition of the European Nomadic Biennial.

Saiba Bayo is a political scientist born in Senegal and educated at the Faculty of Political Science and Sociology of the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona. He holds a PhD in Political Science from Universitat Pompeu Fabra. His research focuses on gender studies, with a particular emphasis on masculinity from a feminist perspective, as well as cultural studies, art and African studies more broadly.

Miquel Cuenca is Councillor for Culture, Cultural Heritage and Festivals at Banyoles City Council. He trained in Philosophy and Cultural Management and has served as director of the Ateneu – Centre Municipal d’Estudis Musicals de Banyoles, president of Joventuts Musicals de Banyoles, secretary general of the Federació de Joventuts Musicals de Catalunya and president of the Confederació de Joventuts Musicals d’Espanya. He has also worked as a music critic and contributed to media outlets including La Vanguardia and El Punt/Avui.