Ara Va De Bo

Ara Va de Bo is a Catalan children's animation group born in the summer of 1971 and founded by former members of the Folk Group, Xesco Boix, Josep Maria Pujol and Jordi Roura i Llauradó, and Núria Ventura and Laura Pérez who came from the world of education The name comes from the refrain of the traditional Catalan song Una dona llarga i prima. Over time, the members of the line-up have changed, more than seventy musicians and actors have appeared in Ara Va de Bo's shows. He is considered the main pioneer of animation in Catalonia and one of the first to dedicate himself exclusively to childcare.

From the beginning, his influences had two sides: on the one hand, the recovery of Catalan popular songs and, on the other, the adaptation of songs from all over the world, especially North American folk (Pete Seeger , Bob Dylan, Joan Baez). Its components performed in schools, leisure centers, neighborhood associations and major festivals in cities and towns throughout the country, replacing conventional shows with participation shows, in which they tried to amuse and make the children have a good time and girls through songs and dances. Apart from that, they also played clowns, taught games and told stories and fables. From 1973, the group started doing theatrical shows with El Timbal and the Cicles de Cavall Fort, at Teatre Romea. That same year, Xesco Boix decided to leave the group and begin his professional dedication as a solo singer-entertainer. With his departure, the group ceased to be a fixed formation - from then on its composition would vary depending on the performances - and gradually other singers and actors joined it, among them Montse Ginesta, Núria Mingall, Roser Angulo and Francisco Hernández. In this way, new shows were made, with masks, dolls and giant puppets, such as El gegant virolat, La cabra amb ulleres and La lluna & el cuc.

Some of its members have also dedicated themselves to researching, compiling and disseminating Catalan popular songs, and have published several songbooks and produced worksheets to teach Catalan based on the songs.