Catalonia will project itself to the world through culture and heritage

BarcelonaSagrada Família, the crypt of Colònia Güell, the Roman amphitheater of Tarragona, the Seu Vella of Lleida, or the Barri Vell of Girona are protagonists, along with castellers or characters from popular tradition, of the new tourist campaign of the Generalitat, Feel our culture. Live Catalonia. The Minister of Business and Labor, Miquel Sàmper, presided this Friday over the presentation of the campaign, with an investment of about five million euros for its dissemination. With this intention, Catalonia wants to "project itself" to the world through its culture and its cultural heritage, from architecture, music, popular culture, dance, theater, language, or spirituality.

At an event held at the Teatre Nacional de Catalunya (TNC), with about 400 people from the Catalan cultural, tourist, economic, and business sectors, a video by a new generation of internationally renowned creators, directed by Max Larruy, could be seen. The sculptor Berta-Blanca T. Ivanow, the visual artist Eva Fàbregas, RCR Arquitectes, the director of photography Artur Pol Camprubí, the musical duo Tarta Relena, the violinist Maria Florea, the composer Nil Ciuró, the fashion designer Flor Violeta Sobrequés, and the photographer Ana Larruy were also involved in the piece.

Sàmper, who highlighted the joint work carried out with the Department of Culture, indicated that the initiative seeks to "diversify" the different areas of tourism and "avoid significant gentrification points". Historically, there has been overcrowding in certain places, such as Barcelona, and the campaign aims to put an end to it, seeking incentives for tourism to go "everywhere", especially "to Central Catalonia, La Garrotxa, the Pyrenees, or the Terres de l'Ebre", and throughout the year, he explained.

At this point, he also did not shy away from the fact that he is one of those who "breaks a lance" in favor of tourism, as it represents 12% of the GDP in Catalonia, which means that "behind it there are many people who live from it". "Therefore," he continued, "defend tourism, but with a willingness to improve and to be attentive and to listen to what we can improve".

The campaign is based on four ideas: the identity of Catalan culture based on tradition and the avant-garde; a culture that is lived in the street; creativity as a "distinctive" characteristic of Catalonia, and they also do not forget the "great cultural icons", with the Year of Gaudí or Pau Casals. During the event, the director of the Catalan Tourism Agency, Arantxa Calvera, highlighted that the campaign is also aimed at Catalans, because it "explains who we are and how we are", with the basis being "the authenticity of a shared culture that is passed down from generation to generation".