The Latin American worker who went viral defending Catalan: "It changed my life."

BarcelonaIn Jairon Orellana's most viral video, you can see how his boss speaks to him in Spanish at the construction site ("Jairon, are you done there or not?") and he answers him in Catalan ("We brought 20, 25 tiles more or less") and the man automatically speaks to him in Catalan. A sarcastic voice-over comments: "See? I made him speak Catalan."

Jairon Orellana is a Girona native of Honduran origin (Tegucigalpa, 1979) who arrived in Catalonia in 2006 and has just emerged as a TikTok phenomenon Thanks to his videos defending Catalan with grace and arguments. "While people from outside complain about the Catalan language being spoken in Catalonia, I try to get Catalans to speak their language with us, those of us from outside, because it's as if they're giving us a space in their land, it's like a welcome to their land," he explains in one of his videos.

Studies and good work

Orellana explains to ARA that he has worked in the construction sector since he was 13. He is the son of a single mother and a member of a large family; he wasn't able to attend school much. That's why he decided to emigrate, leaving behind two young daughters, whom he did want to educate. "In my country, there are no jobs; a person earns as much as a meal, there's a lack of education, there are no schools, and the ones that exist don't have teachers because they're always on strike. The system is a disaster, and the government doesn't act responsibly. That's why people emigrate," he explains.

The fact, however, is that emigrating has also been the path he took to acquiring an education and earning a position as a first-class officer in a municipal brigade. Catalan has paved the way for him: "It's very important. Learning it is your own decision, but it depends on the job you're applying for. It's changed my life," he assures.

The road to this conclusion, however, was long. "I've been living in Girona for 19 years, but due to life circumstances, I've been trapped in a Spanish-speaking environment for many years: work, family, and friends. All of this influences personal growth or stagnation," he reflects.

In 2012, he decided to get his driver's license and realized it was time to change course. He began taking Catalan courses and reading aloud at home, especially from digital newspapers and magazines. Realizing that without any training, he'd only be able to work in precarious jobs, he enrolled in adult education. He earned his ESO certificate and even dared to give motivational talks to new students.

This is how he was able to qualify for a job that required a B1 level of Catalan. He's already asked all his colleagues to speak Catalan to him. "And if they don't, I'll stop them right away," he says. "I speak Catalan unconsciously, until inside my house," he says.

A phenomenon on TikTok

"I've taken courses in many places, but in the end, you only speak it while you're in class. Outside of the classroom, it's very difficult, as there are places where you walk in speaking Catalan and they give you a scared look, as if they don't understand you, and you feel forced to change languages if you don't have the character," he says. And he goes further: "I understand what's happening in Catalonia, and I understand what happens to me when I speak Catalan on the street: I would say that out of ten people I speak Catalan to, three or four don't like listening to me," he laments.

In any case, to be able to practice speaking, she started making videos on TikTok: "It was like a game to have fun and practice. It wasn't planned, it's just me talking about what comes out. At first, I asked to be corrected. Quickly, the motivational messages started and the motivational messages started coming back to me. In 90% of cases, and 5% are negative, but since everyone jumps to my defense, I don't get into controversy. My only intention is to practice the language that I like," she says. Orellana is profuse in her gratitude for the support she is receiving: "Thank you for speaking Catalan with us, the foreigners."