Rhythmic gymnastics arrived in Tàrrega through Mestre Güell, who was one of the first to introduce this artistic modality in Catalonia. Shortly after his arrival, he began teaching classes in the courtyard of his home, on Carrer de la Font, becoming a pioneer of this new sports art in the locality.
The inspiration for this initiative arose from his training at the Institut Català de Rítmica Plàstica, founded in 1913 by Joan Llongueras. Llongueras, a musician, poet, and educator, had graduated in Rhythmic from the Institut Jacques-Dalcroze in Geneva in 1911. Mestre Güell attended one of the first courses for teachers, showing great enthusiasm despite being the oldest participant.
“"He was the oldest person attending the course, the most courageous, the most determined, the most punctual, and the most enthusiastic. With his respectable beard that was already starting to gray, he told me: 'I started too old to learn this Rhythmic! What a pity! In these classes, I feel rejuvenated; but then when I return to Tàrrega, who will take away my years?'"
The relationship between Mestre Güell and Llongueras was long-lasting and productive. An anecdote collected by Josep Maria Andreu in Nova Tàrrega recounts how Mr. Joanet del Pastiri found both masters rehearsing rhythmic gymnastics on Carrer de la Font, with one playing the piano and the other performing ballet movements, a scene that disarmed him with its originality.
The novelty and interest in this discipline led to an unprecedented event: the first and only cinematographic recording of Mestre Güell and his students practicing rhythmic gymnastics at his home. This filming took place in 1914, when the Tàrrega City Council commissioned a recording of the events of the Festa Major de Maig. Thanks to the efforts of photographer Lluís Lladó, the rhythmic gymnastics exercises were incorporated into the film, which is preserved as one of the first recordings from the Catalan regions and can currently be viewed on YouTube.
“"The experience was brilliant, but fleeting, and ended in consumption like many of these ventures due to the lack of people to renew the ranks. Güell did not tire, but the others did, and everything remained outlined in memory; a memory that no longer exists except as a sweet distance in the minds of the protagonists and a few dozen spectators."
