Lluís Puig i Gordi

Lluís Puig i Gordi (Terrassa, 18 October 1959) is an art director, dancer, musician, folklorist and Spanish politician from Catalonia. He served as the Minister of Culture of Catalonia, the department responsible for libraries, language and heritage preservation, and historical commemorations. He succeeded Santi Vila on 5 July 2017.

Biography

Born in Terrassa in 1959, he studied music, dance, audiovisual production, and humanities from the Open University of Catalonia. Immediately after completing his studies he devoted himself to the study, promotion and practice of Catalan traditions.

He has been a sardanist in the group Minyons d'en Serrat, Asert. He was also a dancer and director of several traditional dancing clubs from different cities: Terrassa, Catalunya Dansa, Igualada, Barcelona, and Rubí. Additionally, he was part of the folk group Ministrils del Raval, and founder of several cultural associations from Terrassa. In recognition of his efforts, the Government of Catalonia granted him the National Dance Award in 1984.

From 1998 to 2000 he served as head of resources at the Center for the Promotion of Popular and Traditional Catalan Culture. From 1999 to 2010 he was director of the Fira Mediterrania in Manresa. In 2001 he was a cofounder of the company VESC (Vèrtex Empresarial de Serveis Culturals, SL) dedicated to popularize Catalan songs, music and dance and other traditional Mediterranean cultures. In 2005 he promoted the project Casa de la Música in Terrassa, Salt, Mataró, l'Hospitalet de Llobregat, and Manresa. This project aimed to encourage the general public to study, create and play all kinds of live music.

After the 2017 Catalan independence referendum, Spanish authorities brought criminal charges against several members of the Catalan government, including Puig. Along with other prosecuted Catalan politicians, he fled to Belgium at the end of 2017. In August 2020, a court in Brussels ruled that a European Arrest Warrant issued against Puig by Spanish authorities could not be executed.