Anton Busquets i Punset
Anton Busquets i Punset was born in Sant Hilari Sacalm on 20th October 1876. Named in some cases Antoni Busquets, he was a Catalan poet and writer. He was a polygraph in the strictest sense of the word, as he was a narrator, a poet, a journalist, a pedagogue and a cultural activist. He worked as a teacher in Barcelona and Calders.
He lived in a house located on Carrer Vic, which was called Can Pepito. From an early age he always showed interest and went with charcoal burners, woodcutters and rodellaires (highlanders who make rings or hoops for barrels) to listen to proverbs, legends and folk songs. He later recited it to the people in the village.
As a child, he began to write a few verses during his studies. One of the first works he printed was a verse dedicated to his home town: “No hi ha cap poble tan alegret com Sant Hilari i Joanet” (“There is no town as cheerful as Sant Hilari and Joanet”).
He was known as Tonet de Can Pepito and he was different from the rest of young people because of his interest in humanities. Once he finished high school, he continued his ecclesiastical studies of a religious nature in Vic. There, he met many famous people such as Jacint Verdaguer, with whom he had a very intense friendship.
He later went to La Seu d’Urgell, where he took an abbreviated theology course. He finally left the priestly life and went to Barcelona, where he was the Atlàntida’s main editor (a magazine founded by Mossèn Cinto Verdaguer). Moreover, he collaborated with other magazines and made allusions to Sant Hilari from La Veu de la Guilleria.
He later went to Mossèn Cinto Verdaguer’s Escola Catalana, where he taught weekly.
He had friends in Sabadell, Vic, Olot and Girona, among others. During the Renaixença (the Catalan Rennaissance), he collaborated with several authors. At the same time, he was editor in the magazine Joventut, where there were different tendencies. He collaborated with multiple styles, from poetry to reviews.
He published several works, some of them dedicated to Les Guilleries, and some were published in Il·lustració Catalana or awarded in several Floral Games.
He lived in several towns: in Roses, where he lost his mother, in Amer, in Sant Mateu de Bages, in Manresa, in Cardona and in Solsona. During this time, he fell in love with Josefa Pascual, with whom he had two daughters: Maria Teresa and Rosario.
He finally died in Calders on 19th August 1934.
In Sant Hilari, there is a Literary Route, which passes through different parts of the town, where the most outstanding literary works are collected, including those by Anton Busquets and Punset. Further information.
