Loading...
Observations of Catalan Independence: A Foreigner's Perspective
Riseman, Noah
Riseman, Noah
Citations
Altmetric:
Author
Abstract
11 September 2014, the National Day of Catalonia, was quite a unique experience for me. I had only been in the country about six weeks. A friend told me a few days earlier that there would be a large ‘manifestación’, or demonstration, on the day. For some reason I had it in my head that this meant there would be a parade, and I thought it was an annual event commemorating the public holiday. So you can imagine my surprise when I learned what the manifestación really meant: approximately 1.8 million Catalans taking to the streets in support of independence from Spain. All day the city was awash in a sea of red and yellow t-shirts with the slogan ‘Ara És L'Hora’: Now is the time. Excitement and jubilation were in the air. I went for a bike ride and detoured at the Arc de Trionf, where I wandered through several dozen stalls representing various Catalan community, sport, cultural and nationalist organisations. There were men dressed in the uniforms of 1714, commemorating 300 years since that fateful 11 September when Catalonia lost its autonomy at the end of the War of Spanish Succession. I watched as the men fired old muskets.
Keywords
Date
2014
Type
Journal article
Journal
Blue Gum (online)
Book
Volume
1
Issue
1
Page Range
36-41
Article Number
ACU Department
School of Arts and Humanities
Faculty of Education and Arts
Faculty of Education and Arts
Collections
Relation URI
DOI
Source URL
Event URL
Open Access Status
License
File Access
Open