During the construction of the mid-course dams of the Noguera Pallaresa (Sant Antoni, Terradets, Camarasa, and Sant Llorenç), the town of Tremp, which had only 2,000 inhabitants in 1912, saw the number of brothels rise to sixteen. This phenomenon occurred in a context of a large influx of workers, mostly men, who came to the area to work on La Canadiense's dams, increasing the population to almost 3,500 residents by the end of the following decade.
“"If the context is not understood, there is a risk of trivializing prostitution, and in this case, we are talking about a context of poverty in which prostitution was a means of survival or a complement to seek it."
Sexual exploitation left a significant mark on Tremp's popular culture. Font Vella Avenue was known as El carrer de l’alba (Dawn Street), and a nearby street as El carrer de la bombeta (Lightbulb Street), referring to establishments with distinctive lights. Even the price of the service, five pesetas (the equivalent of a daily wage), generated derogatory popular expressions.
The activity was a subject of debate in the Tremp City Council, which included two articles on prostitution in a 1923 ordinance. This regulation allowed up to seven women per establishment, implying a potential workforce of 112 prostitutes. According to health records from the 1913-1936 period, most women were between 23 and 24 years old, and their origins expanded from nearby provinces like Zaragoza, Tarragona, and Castellón to the entire Iberian Peninsula, with records of French and Brazilian women in 1936.
