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# Andrés Naya, Nou Barris activist, dies at 80
- URL: https://barna.news/andres-naya-nou-barris-activist-dies-at/
- Published: 2026-10-07T07:53:29.000Z
- Updated: 2026-10-07T07:53:29.000Z
- Description: Community leader and co-founder of La Veu del Carrer magazine shaped Barcelona's grassroots movements for decades.
- Author: Barna.News
- Tags: Community

## Neighbourhood pillar passes away

Andrés Naya, a central figure in Barcelona’s community activism and widely regarded as the unofficial mayor of Nou Barris, has died at the age of 80\. The cause was cancer, according to reporting by EL PAÍS. A wake will be held on Wednesday 7 October at the Sancho de Ávila funeral home in Barcelona, with a funeral service scheduled for Thursday at noon. Naya, born in Huesca, moved to Barcelona in 1972 and settled in La Prosperitat two years later, where he lived for the rest of his life alongside fellow activist Lourdes Ponce, known as 'Pitusa'. He became a defining presence in the district, helping to found local associations, initiate cultural projects and co-direct the influential magazine *La Veu del Carrer*, published by the Federation of Neighborhood Associations of Barcelona (FAVB).

## Legacy of grassroots resistance

For nearly 25 years, Naya was the driving force behind *Carrer*, the FAVB’s publication, which challenged political and economic power in Barcelona. The magazine broke stories on the city’s shantytowns, the aluminosis health crisis, and criticised major projects such as the 1992 Olympics, the 2004 Fòrum and the expansion of luxury hotels. It also launched the satirical section *El Cuarto Fosc*, which documented missteps by politicians, business leaders and journalists.

> He could mobilize the neighborhood in a few hours, without WhatsApp or social media. He possessed that kind of moral authority that comes not from hierarchies but from mutual respect.

Naya never held elected office but influenced policy through grassroots organising. He played a key role in the 1984 official adoption of the name Nou Barris, taken from the local association that united nine districts between Meridiana and Collserola. In 2001, after 18 years in leadership roles within the FAVB, he stepped down, citing increasing political pressure to align with party lines.

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## Final act: preserving memory

In his final years, Naya focused on documenting the history of La Prosperitat with the help of his daughter Clara and journalist Jaume Fabre. The result was two books: *La Prosperitat. Una lluita constant* and *La Prosperitat a cops!! Inventari veïnal molt personal (1970–2020)*, published last week by Hacer (Apip-Acam) and Clariana after the municipal publications service declined to take them on. The book launch on Tuesday at Plaça Ángel Pestaña served as an emotional farewell. The room was packed, with standing attendees and a long queue for the 300 copies, all of which sold out. Naya, already receiving palliative care, attended with the help of stimulants and used a red ink stamp to sign books: 'La Prospe 2026 – It was worth it'. Photographer Kim Manresa, whose archive Naya helped preserve, documented much of this history. As one resident put it: 'I have no doubt that one day his neighbors will make a *cabezudo* for him too'.

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*Primary sources:* [*bcnroc.ajuntament.barcelona.cat*](https://bcnroc.ajuntament.barcelona.cat/jspui/handle/11703/24/browse?order=ASC&rpp=20&type=cobertura&value=Barcelona.+District+8.+Nou+Barris&ref=barna.news)*. Reported by elperiodico.com, elpais.com, El Periódico Barcelona.*

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