Last week I received an important letter from the Secretaria de Política Lingüística of the Generalitat. I knew that it would reveal the results of my 2009 C-level exam of the Catalan language (Certificat de nivell de suficiència de català - C), and it certainly felt like a victory to see the word apte (pass) next to my name. Now, some days later, I realize that the consequences go beyond that pass.
The registration process and test for the C-level exam is similar to that of level B, which I described last year. The big difference lies in what you can do with the diploma. The C-level does not seem overly attractive when you hear that it is equivalent of having completed the full primary school (ESO) course of Catalan in the modern version of the local school system. However, at the same time, the C-level is the established minimum requirement for most positions in the education and civil service of this autonomous community, and therefore coveted also by older Catalans and - even more - native speakers of Spanish who have moved here.
An example of this is a friend of mine who was born in the same year as I - but here and not in Sweden - and who has checked up which qualifications he needs to become a teacher in case he would lose his job as an engineer. The only thing he lacks is the C-level. This, in my eyes, feels odd since Catalan is his mother toungue, but it is a fact that local people as late as my generation suffer from the aftermath of the ban on using Catalan in schools, firmly in place during the Franco dictatorship. From the perspective of the language, that is nothing but a tragedy. However, for us foreigners, it is also an opportunity much too good to miss. How many other cultures offer newcomers the chance to, with a reasonable but not extreme effort, achieve a language certificate highly valued also by the local inhabitants? In that sense, my exam result confirms that I am not an outsider any longer.
It also stresses that I must not be ashamed of my broken Catalan. From now on, I must stop allowing people to switch to Spanish as soon as I make a mistake. True, my Spanish is still better, but I now have a formal proof that my Catalan is "sufficiently" good. It will not develop further unless I force myself to use it even when I talk about complicated matters. I am aware that more than once will this lead in funny situations where I persist in speaking Catalan to locals as determined to help by answering in Spanish. That fight is the price I will have to pay for proficiency and it is a duty I have to all students of Catalan on lower levels.
Passing the C-level exam will not be the beginning of the end of my Catalan studies. Rather the opposite - in a very refreshing way it marks the end of the beginning. And I feel more motivated than ever.
If there are two things from the area where we live which are famous on the international level, they must be the idyllic beach resort Sitges, on the one hand, and the D.O. Penedès wines, on the other. They attract different kinds of tourists, but at least once a year they converge: the verema - the grape harvest festival - of Sitges.
In quantity, the coastal comarca Garraf certainly cannot compete with the wine production of the lush Penedès inlands, but especially the town Sant Pere de Ribes is surrounded by vineyards. In neighbouring Sitges, the tradition to celebrate the grape harvest during the third weekend of September is well established – this year saw the 48th edition - and adds yet another element in its hectic festive month between the mainFesta Major of Sant Bartomeu, August 24, and the littleFesta Major of Santa Tecla, September 23.
The focus of the verema is, in fact, to select the pubilla ('heiress') of the town and all social entities have the right to present a candidate, a girl between 16 and 22 years old. Apparently, it is knowledge about Sitges rather than beauty which determines who will be the winner.
The highlight of the festivity takes place on the Sunday afternoon – when the social entities challenge each other in a spectacular wine treading competition (concurs de trepitjadors de raïm). As soon as the judges have established which team is the winner – in 2009 the folk dancers from l'Associació de Balls Populars won with 22,5 litres – it is time for the pubilla to have her weight measured. This year, Ariadna Olimpia Font, from the Casino Prado, brought home 50 bottles.
For me, la Verema de Sitges was yet another occasion when I felt grateful for having moved to Catalonia. Next year I will bring the family and I will make sure to arrive before the scheduled start of the wine treading - the competition is much shorter than I had expected.
As a part of the celebrations of the 300th anniversary of the old giants of Vilanova, on Saturday September 19, we saw yet another spectacular parade through the town centre.
This time all male giants carried a club (porra). However, just like in the summer event – when age was the common denominator – the participants originated from all around Catalonia and, again, we had the chance to see giants whose maintenance protocols usually does not allow them to travel (i.e. els gegants de Valls and els gegants de Sanaüja).
Many of the giants with clubs are so called moros (Arabs), but some are Christians (notably Jaume I el conqueridor from Lleida), most are tall, but the gegantons de Solsona are children’s giants.
The clip shows how the Colla Gegantera of Vilanova – the organizers – enters the Rambla.
The giants of Valls
The giants of Lleida
The giants of Calella
In the clip we can, among others, see the giants of Calella and the children’s giants (gegantons infantils) of Solsona.
‘La Cu-cut’ from Plaça Nova in Barcelona.
Giants from Plaça Nova (Barcelona), Amer, Sanaüja and Manlleu.
Whether Catalonia is coming closer to becoming a sovereign state or not, is difficult to determine. September 13, a referendum took place in the municipality Arenys de Munt (Barcelona) and those who want independence won an overwhelming victory. Here is an attempt to map the background and outcome plus explain why I think that this initiative will have future consequences.
The Background
In June this year, the political party CUP of Arenys de Munt proposed to hold a local referendum on the Independence of Catalonia and received the support from all other parties represented in the town council, except for the Catalan socialists (PSC). Everybody understood that the idea would provoke reactions and in the last week before the voting date, did a Spanish court rule that the town council (ajuntament) must not be involved, since the question of the referendum was above the local decision making competence. To the surprise of some, the same court ruled that a demonstration against the referendum, planned by the extreme right-wing remnants of dictator Franco’s party, Falange, was perfectly legal.
Not surprisingly, the referendum received a lot of attention, not only in Catalonia and other parts of Spain, but also by international media.
Future Consequences of the Arenys Referendum
The referendum of Arenys de Munt has mobilized the Catalan independentistes in a way which I have not seen since we came here in 2005. This movement - or rather, these movements, since it (quite typical for Catalans, I think) is split into many factions - has agreed on December 13 as the day to hold referendums in as many municipalities as possible. What started in Catalan heartlands - the comarquesBerguedà and Osona –has spread to a hundred municipalities and will grow further. Today, Barcelona “suburbs” like Gavà and big cities like Tarragona and Reus have announced their possible participation.
The Arenys referendum has also forced a lot of politicians to “come out of the closet”. In the name of social realities and more urgent priorities, these people usually avoid demanding independence, but for their own credibility, they will have to stand up for a “sí” if there is a vote.
Finally, many until now mainstream catalanistes – including members of the ruling socialist party (PSC) - reveal that they do not accept for the autonomy charter (l’Estatut) of Catalonia to be diluted, and that is exactly what is expected to happen when the Spanish Constitutional Court’s finally makes its verdict on it.
The text of the Estatut has been ratified democratically three times: by the Spanish parliament on the highest level, but before that by the Generalitat and subsequently through a referendum in Catalonia. If that is not enough, many Catalans will ask themselves if it makes sense to negotiate about autonomy with Madrid. Before the end of the year we will have a better picture how many prefer a more far-reaching solution.
- - - In the Penedès area, Vilafranca del Penedès and l’Arboç are among the municipalities which might hold referendums on December 13. Which will be the first socialist stronghold to do the same? Vilanova i la Geltrú?
- - - Up-date:Here is a September 20 article from El País which suggests that the independentism is now 'coming out of the closet' ("sale del armario").
What is true is that the existing Spanish constitution does not allow for autonomous regions like Catalonia or Euskadi (the Basque Country) to organize referenda on sovereignty and independence. The current autonomy charter (l’estatut) will grant Catalonia the right to arrange "consultations" (consultes populars), but the implementation of this document is, for now, blocked by the Spanish Constitutional Court.
In Arenys de Munt this issue was solved by letting a private initiative organize the event. However, already now can Catalan public entities, if desired, formally document the population’s opinion on a separate state; they just have to phrase the question so that it focuses on the road to independence, rather than on independence as such.
September 11 is the National Day of Catalonia – la Diada - and, as always, the main celebration will take place in the park Ciutadella of Barcelona. This year, special respect will be paid to Francesc Macià with an official commemoration of his birth 150 years ago.
Francesc Macià i Llussà was born in 1859 in Vilanova i la Geltrú, but by the age of 15 he moved to Guadalajara to start military training. He reached the rank of Lieutenant Colonel before, in 1905, a grouping within the Spanish military attacked the print house of the Catalan magazines la Veu de Catalunya and Cucut over some caricatures. Macià was appalled when a court declared the perpetrators innocent and sided with his native Catalan culture, although that put an end to his career in the armed forces.
In 1907, he became a member of the Spanish parliament for the highly popular party Solidaritat Catalana (in 1907, it won 44 of the 47 seats available for Catalonia) and was re-elected six times, representing the small town les Borges Blanques (province of Lleida), from where his family of business people had its origins.
Spain during this period managed to stay neutral during WWI but was heavily marked by social unrest and debilitating wars in the colonies. In 1923, Primo de Rivera installed a military regime which received the support of the king, Alfonso XIII. Macià went into exile in Paris, via Perpignan, while the movement of catalan independentistes - Estat Català – which he had founded in 1922 – worked together with anarchists and communists to initiate an insurrection in Catalonia. Financial support was given by Catalans in South America but, in spite of many efforts, Macià never managed to convince Moscow to enter into the conflict.
In 1926, the Estat Català attempted an armed attack on Spain in what is called the 'complot of Prats de Molló'. It was stopped by French intervention, but the subsequent court trial turned into a media success which increased Macià’s popularity among Catalans. After that, Macià exiled himself in Belgium, Argentina and, finally, Cuba, from where he put together a constitution for what he wanted to see as a future, independent Republic of Catalonia.
When Primo de Rivera lost power in 1931, Macià returned to Catalonia, where his Estat Català became one of the founding forces of Esquerra Republicana de Catalunya. This new party won the municipal elections of that same year and Macià could claim the title as president of the Diputació de Barcelona. However, when he was greeted by the masses, he took the opportunity to at the same time announce the creation of a “Catalan republic within a federation of Iberian republics”. That was not liked by those who, on the same day but in Madrid, proclaimed the Second Spanish Rebublic, however the disagreement was solved through negotiations: the historical Generalitat was established as the highest political organ of Catalonia and it was agreed that the Catalans would be granted an autonomy charter (estatut).
The draft estatut - approved with large majorities first by the municipal councils of Catalonia and then by the electorate - defined Spain as a “voluntary federation”. However, in the text which was finally ratified by the parliament in Madrid, that had been changed to an “integral state compatible with municipal and regional autonomy”.
In that environment, Macià lead the provisional government of Catalonia to, after the 1932 elections, formally become the President of the Generalitat. In 1933, he died a natural death and Lluís Companys– co-founder of Esquerra Republicana – took over.
Macià always regretted that his fight had depended on the support of Spanish republicans and that he thereby did not achieve full independence for Catalonia. “Catalonia, poor Catalonia (Catalunya, pobre Catalunya)” are said to have been his last words. The funeral made the masses take to the streets - they loved Macià and called him grandfather (avi). Still today is he one of the strongest uniting symbols of the Catalan political culture.
- - - The Catalan flag, la Senyera, which will be hoisted in Ciutadella on Friday comes from the town hall of Vilanova i la Geltrú and it will be handed over by our mayor Joan Ignasi Elena (PSC) to acknowledge that Francesc Maciá was born here.
- - - During la Diada, there is a trade fair called the “Mostra d’Entitats” in the Passeig de Lluís Companys of Barcelona, where a large number of NGOs, companies and other entities related to Catalan culture take part. So will I this year.
Internationally, most people associate the Penedès with quality white wines, but this area is also famous for its strong popular culture. Nowhere is this more true than in Vilafranca del Penedès and especially during its Festa Major.
In 1699, the relics of the originally Italian martyr Felix of Girona were brought to Vilafranca and, after years of drought in the vineyards, it finally started to rain. Many elements nowadays associated with the town – the giants, the eagle, the devils and, above all, the dragon - trace back longer in history, but from 1776, when Sant Fèlix (SantFeliu in other parts of Catalonia) was declared the new patron saint, the festa major celebrated to his honour follows the same structure.
Nowadays, the main sponsor of the event is the local government (ajuntament), but the vilafranquins as of tradition contribute directly as well through the so called capta. Historically, money used to be collected house by house, street by street.
On its first day, August 29, the festivity formally starts with bell ringing in all the churches, which in turn triggers the tronada - something an avarage Swede would describe as five minutes of unbearable noise, since one string of firecrackers after the other goes off along the rambla de la Nostra Senyora, but which is extremely appreciated here. As soon as the street has been cleared, the cultural teams (colles) start to move in the first performance parade (cercavila). Later in the evening, the same people take part in the first Sant Fèlix procession – l’entradeta - but this time they are followed by the statue of the Patron Saint, brought from the house of one of last year’s festa major organizers (l’administradors) to the Santa Maria church.
August 30 is the day of Sant Fèlix and starts with a solemn mass in the morning. Thereafter follows a commemoration at the monument of human tower builders (castellers) in the plaça de Jaume I. About noon, the focus switches to the plaça de la Vila, where a huge crowd of people sing the Catalan national anthem –els Segadors – and then see the castellers making their entry into the square in pillar formations. Only the four best ranked teams of Catalonia are allowed to take part in this high profile challenge and that usually means the Colla Vella dels Xiquets de Valls, the Colla Joves Xiquets de Valls, the Minyons de Terrassa and the Castellers de Vilafranca.
In the evening the same day follows a new Sant Fèlix procession (l’entrada). This time it makes a loop through the town but it is made up by the same cultural teams and, again, ends at the Santa Maria church, where all participants make a final joint performance - as intense as emotional. After that the saint is brought into the church and celebrated with a poetic elegy (goig).
August 31 is often called the’ day of the dances’ (dia dels balls), since – after another morning mass - there is a huge folk dance exhibition. Many of these dances can be found throughout the Penedès area, but Vilafranca has them all plus local specialties like the ball de figuetaires. An interesting detail is the fact that the ball de gitanes until 1999 used to be performed by real (roma) gypsies.
At the end of the show it is time for the Falcons de Vilafranca, in turn followed by more human towers – la diada de Sant Ramon - the chance for the Xicots de Vilafranca to, together with the Castellers de Vilafranca, show that also they are a team which easily reaches eight levels (colla de vuit), albeit not belonging to Catalonia's top four teams.
In the procession of this evening, the Sant Fèlix statue leaves the Santa Maria church and is paraded to the home of one of the current year’s administradors. During the year up to the next festa major, these will take turns keeping him in their houses.
The performance parade for children take place on September 1, when, after dark, there is also an opportunity to dance under fire in the ball de foc. On September 2, the festa major is symbolically rounded off with fireworks.
Vilafranca proudly claims to house the most typical festa major (la més típica) and most people agree that the conservation of its format, its rich and spectacular collection of monster animals (bestiari popular) and dances and, above all, the massive participation of the inhabitants makes it a model for the whole of Catalonia. This spring, it was voted one of the top 10 treasures of Catalonia’s and Andorra’s immaterial cultural heritage and it does, of course, form part of the Generalitat’s list of Festivities of National Interest.
Having started last year with the human towers of Sant Fèlix, this time I decided to try to capture as much Vilafranca atmosphere as possible – starting with the practice (assaig) by the Castellers de Vilafranca, followed by the cercavila, l’entradeta and, again, la Diadade Sant Fèlix. Although I am content, next year I will make sure not to miss l’Entrada, even if that means that I will have to fight for a restaurant table with all other people who are hungry after having watched castells for hours. That, I foresee, will not be my best memory from Vilafranca, but it does not matter. The more often I go here, the more often do I want to come back. Not only during the Festa Major.
- - - Find the official Festa Major de Vilafranca del Penedès web-page here. My other main source for this entry was this article at festes.org.
Here is a summary of some places and dates when you can see human towers (castells) in Catalonia. Find the background, sources and explanations to the calendar at the end of the entry.
April 23; Catalonia: the Day of Sant Jordiis when many teams (colles) make their first performance of the season.
The third week of May; Vilafranca del Penedès (BCN): During the ‘fairs of May’ (fires de maig).
June 24; Valls (TGN): Part of the Sant Joancelebrations.
First week of July; Terrassa (BCN): During the Festa Major.
Third Sunday of July; Mataró (BCN): During the celebrations of Les Santes.
July 26, el Vendrell (TGN): During the Festa Major.
August 15; la Bisbal (TGN): Part of the Mare de Déu d’Agost celebrations.
August 19; City of Tarragona: Part of the Sant Magí celebrations.
Last Sunday of August; l’Arboç (TGN): During the Festa Major.
August 30; In the plaça de la Vila of Vilafranca del Penedès (BCN): the Day of Sant Fèlix– Catalonias most prestigious human tower day with top teams from the whole of Catalonia.
August 31; Vilafranca del Penedès (BCN): a human tower day with the two local teams.
September 11; Catalonia: Some teams make exhibitions to celebrate the National Day of Catalonia (la Diada).
September 23; in front of the cathedral of Tarragona: the Day of Santa Tecla where you can see the ‘walking pillars’.
The Sunday closest to September 24; In the plaça de Sant Jaume I of Barcelona: the Day of la Mercè.
Mid-October; el Vendrell (TGN): Part of the Santa Teresa Fair.
Late October; City of Girona: Part of the ‘Girona fair’.
Third Sunday of October; Valls (TGN): During the Festa Major de Santa Ursula. Valls is the origin of the Catalan human tower tradition.
November 1; Vilafranca del Penedès (BCN); During the Tots Sants Day.
Third Sunday of November; Terrassa (BCN): The Day of the Minyons de Terrassa.
Fourth Sunday of November: Vilanova i la Geltrú (BCN): The Day of the Bordegassos de Vilanova.
- - - Sources, background, advice and explanations:
The inspiration and main source to this calendar comes from El Fet Castellerby la Fura, but is up-dated with my own findings.
During our first years in Catalonia, I considered it very difficult to in advance find out where I would be able to see a performance of human towers (castells) and regularly missed events taking place in our neighbour towns. This is largely a problem for newcomers like tourists and expats, since the Catalans themselves know that almost all human tower days (diades castelleres) form part of the festa major celebrations and therefore come back about the same date, year after year. This generic calendar does not does not provide you with exact details on when, where and by whom there will be a performance but can hopefully help you to circle in which days and towns are of interest.
If the event you want to see takes place in the area stretching from Barcelona via the Penedès to Tarragona, you might be able to find more details in the ‘Event Calendars by Wirdheim.cat’. Alternatively you might find out more in the web-page of the town hall (ajuntament) of the town where the exhibition will take place.
Most human tower exhibitions take place outside the centre of Barcelona, but can easily be reached by car or commuter trains (Renfe Rodalies). BCN means the province of Barcelona and TGN the province of Tarragona.
Sunday, August 30, was the Day of Sant Fèlix, the main exhibition of human towers during the festa major of Vilafranca del Penedès. This annual event draws a lot of spectators – this time as many as 15.000 people – since you are guaranteed to see the best castells of the season. The four teams (colles) which are invited to participate always have a solid record of building constructions with 9 levels (colles de nou) and this is the day and place when they give their best. Only the bi-annual Concurs de Castells in Tarragona is more prestigious in that sense.
The strong tradition of this day of human towers (diada castellera) can, in fact, be said to have rescued this art from disappearing. Historically, castells were very popular in the area from Tarragona to the Penedès, but in the late 19th century the masses started to prefer new social activities like sardana dancing (!) and sports. That resulted in a major decline, usually called the decadence (decadença), which lasted for some 50 years and lead to a reduction of levels in the towers built from nine to seven. During this period, the Vilafranquins were many times the only people in Catalonia who contracted castellers for their festa major and also actively helped to build them. This served as a motivation for the classic teams from Valls not to give up their skills. With that in mind, I clearly think that the plaça de la Vila here deserves its epithet as the "number one human tower square" ("la plaça més castellera").
This year especially the green coloured local team always made use of its right to try again when a tower collapsed and that made the program quite long (more than 4 hours). More than once did the audience – many of whom themselves practising castellers, judging from their t-shirts – whistle when the time for preparation felt exaggerated. Now, perfection has its price and we must not complain since in return we were received proofs of bravery and commitment in many impressive attempts to, completed or even successfully dismantled human towers, five of which from the highest category (la gamma extra).
The Castellers deVilafranca opened the day with the – for them – consolidated 4 de 9 amb l’agulla (9 levels, 4 people per level and dismantled via a pillar) and made a breath taking attempt (intent) to build to build a 3 de 10 (10 levels, 3 people per level) in the second round. The Colla Joves Xiquets de Valls completed (carregat) their emblematic 5 de 9 amb folre (9 levels, 5 people per level) and then the Colla Vella dels Xiquets de Valls completed and dismantled (descarregat) a pillar of 8 levels (pilar de 8). The final attempt to a castell with an equivalent difficulty was an attempt by Vilafranca to build a 3 de 9 amb l’agulla.
Except for this, we were presented two torres de 9 (9 levels, 2 people per level) first by the Colla Vella dels Xiquets de Valls and then by the Castellers de Vilafranca – both completed and dismantled (descarregats). The fourth participating team – the Minyons de Terrassa – had to make do with a 3 de 9and a 4 de 9 as their best achievements of the day – a disappointment for them but at the same time totally beyond reach for most other colles castelleres.
- - - N.B: On August 31 – in a local human tower exhibition together with the Xicots de Vilafranca - the Castellers of Vilafranca managed to complete and dismantle the 3 de 9 amb l’agulla. That has never been done before.
The registration process and test for the C-level exam is similar to that of level B, which I described last year. The big difference lies in what you can do with the diploma. The C-level does not seem overly attractive when you hear that it is equivalent of having completed the full primary school (ESO) course of Catalan in the modern version of the local school system. However, at the same time, the C-level is the established minimum requirement for most positions in the education and civil service of this autonomous community, and therefore coveted also by older Catalans and - even more - native speakers of Spanish who have moved here.
