The 47

A peaceful act of dissent and a grassroots neighborhood movement in 1978 transformed Barcelona and forever changed the image of its suburbs. Manolo Vital, a bus driver who commandeered the 47 line bus to dismantle a lie the City Council insisted on repeating—that buses could not climb the hills of the Torre Baró district—proved that rebellion could be a catalyst for change, for people to take pride in their roots, for neighborhood struggle, and for the working class that helped create modern Barcelona in the 1970s.