Josep Santesmases i Ollé (Vila-rodona, 1951), a writer, columnist, and essayist, devotes a considerable part of his work to popularising the history of the municipality of Vila-rodona and the Gaià River in studies that include El segle XIX a Vila-rodona (Institut d’Estudis Vallencs, 1984), El Cooperativisme agrari a Vila-rodona (1893-1939) (Centre d’Estudis del Gaià, 1996), and Estructures i dinàmiques locals a la segona meitat del segle XVIII: El cas de Vila-rodona (Cossetània, 2017).

His versatility is evident in the range of genres of his publications, with poetry collections which include El món des de l’agut (Arola, 2011) and Entre el cel i la terra (Arola, 2013), the short stories Ai fill, que no et regalimi la salsa!(Arola, 2013), the diary Els paisatges trobats (Onada, 2017 – winner of the City of Benicarló Prize for Memoir Writing), and the biographies Més enllà de la teva mort (Cossetània, 2021), and Pau Robert i Rabadà (Fundació Roca i Galès; Cossetània, 2022).

As a columnist, Santesmases writes opinion pieces and articles on historical research in a range of weeklies and online media outlets. Some of his writings have appeared in collections like Quarts i hores I. Societat i política (Arola, 2012) and El temps viscut (Cossetània, 2021).

He has been president of the Institute of Vallès Studies, and of the Coordinator of Catalan Language Study Centres, a founding member of the Centre of Gaià Studies, co-editor of the magazines Plecs d’Història Local and La Resclosa, and also an editor of the publication Frontissa.

He is an honorary member of the Associació d’Escriptors en Llengua Catalana (AELC – Association of Catalan Language Writers).

Web page: Bet Ajenjo for AELC.
Documentation and photographs: Author’s personal files.
Translation: Julie Wark.