Capture a moment forever. That was the work of the well-known Ángeles Bas, the first photographer from Xàbia. Her professional career is unique. She captured unrepeatable moments of her with her cameras. Focused on portrait photography, Ángeles experienced the ins and outs of the true photographic world.
We could say that she was a pioneer woman. Her parents' concerns about her daughters having studies led Ángeles, barely 20 years old, and her older sister Silveria to move to Alicante to study photography. It was at the beginning of the 50s. The reason for undertaking these studies was - according to an article by Juan Bautista Codina Bas - because her parents wanted to set up a printing press but they advised her that a photography studio would be better, because in Xàbia there were no none. So, once they finished their studies, the sisters opened the doors of their first photography studio located on Calle Mayor 33. There they also had a laboratory.
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Professional photographer license from Spain
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Back of the national professional photographer card
Both sisters, Silveria and Ángeles, work together. They are dedicated to taking portraits, weddings, baptisms and communions. But around 1957, Silveria got married and Ángeles was the one who took complete control of the business. She becomes a chronicler of the Javea Town Hall. There is no act that is not captured. The first woman and photographer from Xàbia witnesses the visit of artists and personalities to the town. Her photographs were the image for the press.
Now, at 94 years of age, he does not remember clearly all the experiences, but in his memory remains what it was like at the time of the old developments in the laboratory, "he spent hours passing the clichés in the three buckets, then he hung each photo and "Finally, they had to be trimmed, giving that pointy shape on the margins." Long hours in the dark room to see the great final result of the moment that happened.
Ángeles welcomes us, happy, in the courtyard of the Cholbi Brothers Asylum. She tells us that she also dedicated herself to portraits; She «took photos of the falleras, she was at all the Fogueres events and she also took photos for the DNI. She took me on the 1500 to El Poble Nou de Benitatxell to take ID photos for all the neighbors.
And this xabiera woman was not afraid of anything. Despite these being difficult years, where women have not yet taken center stage, Ángeles worked and drove. She was independent. She was an example of power for other women. Known and loved by the entire town, Ángeles moved her photography studio to Calle San Buenaventura, in the Plaza de la Iglesia, in the 70s. She remained there for 25 more years, until in 1995, at the age of 65 and after more than 40 years dedicated to photography, she decided to retire.
While she talks, she looks in her bag, and among her personal things she finds her professional photographer's cards and some family photos.
His first cameras would now be a treasure; just like the old photos. Ángeles and family only have a bellows camera and some family photographs taken at that time. Her kindness caused him to lose a lot of material. He lent material for the recording of a film and it was never heard from again. Looking at her photos would reveal the true life of Xàbia in those years.
Ángeles and a nephew tell how they worked with glass negatives - donated to the Cirne Foundation - and in black and white. «We innovated by giving color to the photos. The touch-ups were by hand. "My little sister painted women's lips or we corrected imperfections," says Ángeles. "The photo was also given light with very fine brushes and colored inks," the photographer from Xàbia told Codina Bas.
In these years, the evolution in the photographic world has been enormous. From the manual work of those years to today's technology there is no comparison. Today leaves behind an entire experience and a life dedicated to capturing good moments. Ángeles' life has always been behind the camera, but today, she has been the protagonist.
Apart from being a great professional, I remember her as a very kind person, especially affectionate with children. With me it always was.
I want to highlight that her father, who had studied at the central university, had a vision of the future that made it possible for his two daughters to go to Alicante to study. And that decision for them allowed them to stand out. Her mother, Silveria, was my father's cousin and we had a special relationship with her.