Colita, Galia, Paquito and Misia © Oriol Maspons 1993

Isabel Steva, better known as Colita (Barcelona, 1940), owes her name to her father, who told her she was born under a cabbage, as many children of the time were led to believe. A woman to be reckoned with, she has traced the footsteps of her city and the people who have made it what it is: Barcelona, her lover, her friend, the stage set where people of every condition and gender have been the target of her eyes and her gaze. From the outset she moved among such influential figures as Oriol Maspons, Xavier Miserachs, Francesc Català-Roca and Leopoldo Pomés, who became colleagues as well as friends. With them she entered the gypsy world of Somorrostro and Montjuïc, flamenco, Barcelona’s Barrio Chino district, the Ramblas and the architecture of the city of those who wanted to tell of it: Ana María and Terenci Moix, Alexandre Cirici, Josep Maria Carandell, Jaime Gil de Biedma, Juan Marsé…

Ever a good friend, she has constantly widened her circle to include everyone who, over the years, has somehow played a role in this city and in the world. Her instinct, her curiosity and her journalistic spirit have made her portrait gallery immense, with subjects who are, in many cases, unknown. A list that includes Ocaña, Gabriel García Márquez, Frederic Mompou, Joan Miró, Salvador Dalí, Bella Dorita, Orson Welles and Carmen Amaya, to name just some…

Colita was an integral part of movements such as the Gauche Divine, the Barcelona School and the Catalan Nova Cançó. She has contributed to many publications, including Interviu, Fotogramas, Cuadernos para el diálogo and Telexprés. Untiringly, armed with her cameras, she went out into the street, understanding that the Democratic Transition was a unique moment that had to be graphically documented: the lock-in at Montserrat, the death of Franco, political demonstrations… and, as always, she was at the very heart of the struggles of feminism and protests for any rights that were intrinsic in freedom in its maximum expression.

In her more than 40 years of profession, she has had over 40 exhibitions and published more than 30 books. Her work can be seen in such important collections as those of the National Museum of Art of Catalonia and the Reina Sofía Museum in Madrid. Among other awards she has received the Barcelona City Council Medal for Artistic Merit, an Honorary Doctorate from the University of Bellaterra, the Creu de Sant Jordi, the National Photography Award, the Bartolomé Ros Award and, for her overall career, the Gold Medal for Fine Arts.