Amadeu Bagués presides the second meeting

On March 26, 1969, Amadeu Bagués replaced Higini Feliu as President of the Association. At that time, Joaquim Maria de Nadal -who had been the official Chronicler of the city since 1952- had written that Barcelona "was going through a sad moment."

Renovation works were being carried out on La Rambla. Artisans from the Massana School were working on panels to decorate the entrance of Liceu metro station, and Joan Miró had offered to place one of his works on the pavement of Pla de l'Os (a work that, however, was not inaugurated until Christmas 1976).

The painter was born in Passatge del Crèdit, right next to Carrer de Ferran, just four steps away from La Rambla. Now, already famous for his murals in Harvard and Cincinnati, in the United States, he was celebrating his 75th birthday full of vitality. He was preparing a mural for the Barcelona-El Prat airport and it was planned for him to do another one in Osaka, Japan, for an exhibition at that city of the Rising Sun.

Miró had already donated a significant part of his work to the museums of Barcelona, and his desire to leave his mark in the middle of La Rambla led Diari de Barcelona, in January 1969, to suggest that the Barcelona artist be appointed Honorary Ramblister, a distinction granted by the Association.

In the autumn of 1969, the entity presided over by Amadeu Bagués already had more than 350 members. Among its proposals, addressed to the City Council, were the plans to renovate the facades of the Palau de la Virreina and the Marqués de Comillas (currently known as Palau Moja), of the church of Belén, and of the Liceu, as well as proposing a minibus that would go around La Rambla.

The entity organized the annual festivities of La Rambla in honor of the patron saint, Our Lady of the Rosary. After the religious events, the Honor Ramblister distinction was awarded to the person or persons proposed by the board of directors.

The award given to Dr. Agustí Pedro Pons was highly praised by civil society. A great master of contemporary Catalan medicine, he was a doctor by vocation, not only famous for curing rheumatic patients but also a popular man. Mr. Joan Deulofeu explains that there was not a day when Dr. Pedro Pons did not take a walk on La Rambla before going to bed. If work prevented him from doing it on foot, then he would send the driver of his elegant black car to at least drive by La Rambla before taking him home.