Zayan Pereborow on the Catalonian Identity

By: Zayan Pereborow

October 4, 2010

Prior to my departure to Spain, I must admit that I was a little apprehensive after being informed by many individuals that “people in Barcelona do not speak Spanish;– they speak Catalan.” I did not understand and assumed, without much knowledge, that the languages would probably be similar. It is one unified country, is it not? I soon discovered that my initial assumption was far from reality.

After spending some time in Barcelona, I concluded the existence of strong Catalonian pride. Was it when I noticed that all the street signs were entirely in Catalan? Or when my colleague had no choice but to drop her class at Universitat Pompeu Fabra after the professor stated that the course would be taught in Spanish, but the exams would be in Catalan? Perhaps it was my confusion with the political protests and waving of signs with “Adeu Espanya” on September 11—which is Catalan for “"Goodbye Spain."” It seemed ironic to me that the day that America becomes unified under a shared national pride is the same day Barcelona explicitly declares their perceived cultural division from Spain.

During my study abroad experience in Barcelona, I have decided to live with a host family with the intent of facilitating my full immersion into the Spanish culture. To my pleasant surprise, I am continuously having the privilege of learning copious amounts of information about Catalonian history and traditions.

Full of Catalonian pride, my host father was more than happy to address my curiosity of the events that I observed on September 11 with historical information that was certainly never addressed in my history textbooks. “Mil setecientos catorce” (1714) kept resonating from his voice. September 11, 1714 marks the day that Catalonia surrendered its independence to Spain after being defeated in the War of the Spanish Succession. He then proceeded to draw a detailed map of Europe highlighting that Catalonia originally served as the flourishing economic powerhouse of the Mediterranean. Catalonia's financial success from its trade and commerce attracted the unwanted attention of Castilla—one of the major historic provinces of Spain. The numerous wars and expansion attempts had drained Castilla's economy. As a result, Castilla decided to invade the financially healthy Catalonia and succeeded as Catalonia sorrowfully surrendered its independence. While Castilla focused on their eastern invasion of Catalonia, a province on the western coast, which we know today as Portugal, took advantage of Castilla's distraction to become a country. Bet you never learned that in your world history class.

After the invasion, the natives of Catalonia were prohibited from speaking Catalan as Castilla intended to impose a full immersion into the Spanish culture. However, this did not stop the Catalonians from preserving their sacred language and conversing with each other in secret. Three hundred years later, the Catalan language is still in use, which confirms the fact that most of Barcelona's population is bilingual. In addition, my host father proudly affirmed that, "We are still fighting for our independence."

Through my observations, it appears that Spain is not defined by a single, national culture but by the distinct diversity of its regions. I would refer to Spain as a nation of nations. The Catalonian independence movement represents a clear signal to Spain's national government that they want more autonomy. The universal sentiment in Barcelona is that they give more to Madrid in taxes than they receive in benefits—another prime motivation of Catalonian nationalism. Currently, Barcelona's booming economy contributes 17 percent to Spain. Expressing his strong opinions, my host father shared his belief that Barcelona within Catalonia has the potential to economically flourish if it were to be an independent country. Many Catalonians believe that Spain and its economic crisis weigh the province down.

Fueled by a yearning for independence, the general consensus of Barcelona is that Catalonia is not Spain. I had asked a boy what his nationality was. For me, I do not hesitate in proudly affirming that I am an American. For him, his hesitation was evident when he answered, "I am biologically half Spanish and half Catalonian, but in my heart, I am 100 percent Catalonian."

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