Rafael Tarradas Bultó: "Working in a textile colony in 1900 was like working at Apple now."

The siren sounded at 4:30 in the morning. The workers had half an hour to wake up, wash, and have breakfast before arriving at their workstations in the textile factory . The morning shift started at five, and arriving late was considered a misdemeanor. Three misdemeanors could mean expulsion. There were lunch and snack breaks, but only half an hour long. At 6:30 p.m., the siren sounded again, bringing to an end a workday of more than twelve hours. In total, 66 hours a week with only one day off . Men were paid 17 pesetas a week, women 15, and children 12, because the youngest children started working from the age of ten. Such was life in a textile colony, a microcosm that helped turn Catalonia into one of the world's powerhouses in the sector.

Writer Rafael Tarradas Bultó heard stories about these factories and settlements since he was a child. His family owned one in the heart of Vilanova i la Geltrú, surrounded by workers' homes, which has now become one of the city center's most popular neighborhoods. They sold it just before the textile crisis that wiped out the industry in the 1990s. In the 1960s, there were nearly 315,000 unionized workers in the sector. Today, only 6,000 remain. "The truth is that working in these settlements in the late 19th and early 20th centuries was like working at Apple now. It was a difficult, monotonous life, but they had a roof over their heads, with rents that didn't exceed 5 or 10 pesetas a month, shops, schools, a cinema, a theater, and job security that was unthinkable until then. After what they had experienced in the countryside, the workers eagerly asked to settle in places like this," the writer says.

After months of research and interviews with numerous firsthand accounts from former workers, as well as the entrepreneurs who built this industry, the author of 'The Heir' presents his long-awaited new novel , 'The Protected One' (Espasa). Tarradas Bultó creates a vibrant story that takes us to the very heart of these factories from two perspectives: that of the workers and that of the 'masters,' as they were known then. "It's very difficult to see the past through today's eyes. Back then, no one considered themselves a monster for putting children to work. The bourgeoisie organized to seek greater profits and saw that creating these colonies made the workers feel more protected and secure, which increased production," says Tarradas Bultó.

The protagonist of this story is Sara, 'the protégé,' a worker in one of these textile colonies with tetrachromatism , a visual gift that allowed her to see more colors than the rest. She discovers that she is very good at making designs and soon becomes the great protégé of the factory owner, Lourdes Bofarull , who must deal with the paternalism of her family and competitors who do not see her capable of successfully running the factory simply because she is a woman. Plots, sabotage, intrigue, and class struggle will occur when Sara's father dies after an authorized charge during a revolt at the textile factory where he worked. "We must bear in mind that these colonies were very isolated and did not know what was happening outside. Communication channels were very poor, which sometimes favored the employers and sometimes not so much," comments the writer.

In this way, we see the luxury and complacency of Barcelona's upper bourgeoisie in the face of the difficulties of a working class that found it impossible to aspire to anything better than a settlement that promised work, shelter, and food. " These settlements were presided over by the church and the house of the 'master,' who didn't live there, but in Barcelona, ​​but who symbolized the protective paternal figure necessary to calm the workers," says Tarradas Bultó.

Today, only one such colony remains active: Viladomiu Nou, a 15,000-square-meter spinning mill. In the Berga area, a small inland region of Catalonia bordered by the Llobregat River, up to seven colonies were opened with their prospective factories. The Llobregat River, for example, was known as "the hardest-working river in the world." In Catalonia, there were once 77 colonies at the beginning of the 20th century. Most were walled and had factories right next to the houses, which had to endure the noise of heavy machinery that never stopped. "What I wanted to do was a book about people who hide things, who are not what they seem. In an environment like a colony, life becomes almost like Big Brother, and people react in unexpected ways," confesses Tarradas Bultó.

The writer has published five historical novels in five years. So far, he's been a success with over 300,000 readers , and he doesn't plan to slow down. He's already working on his next novel. "Since I was little, what I loved most was history. I was a terrible student, but I got very good grades in history and geography. I don't see it as a big deal to write a novel a year. When I start, I have a very clear beginning and end, but I let myself be surprised by the characters to see how they lead me from one to the next," concludes the author of 'El hijo del Reich' (Espasa).