"This is Can Pixa and it slips" and other viral videos about Catalan

BarcelonaEvery year, unexpectedly and by popular vote, a spontaneous candidate for the Creu de Sant Jordi (Cross of Saint George) appears, feeding our linguistic self-esteem with some quirk of ours. The latest phenomenon is a commuter who, faced with the rail crisis, defines the country as "can Pixa i resbala" (a Catalan expression meaning "it's a mess and it slips"), a very precise and genuine expression. Some authors, like Ramon Solsona and Josep Maria Ballarín, have used the saying in their books, but for the most part, it's a spontaneous, popular expression. The surprise of commuters suggests that perhaps it was thought to be dead and buried, but it seems to have been given new life.

We review this and other iconic viral videos of Catalan popular culture.

The kids from "'Lighter'? Flamisell"

Two national heroes in Berga starred in one of the best TikTok videos. Presenter Sofia Coll went to the Patum festival in Berga to film it. Attention deficitA program on 3Cat that seeks out iconic figures at parties and festivals across the country. And a couple of young people served up Catalan culture with a sense of humor and transgression, demonstrating that Catalan is fun and that there is a shared cultural space.

—What's it called? rug in Catalan?
-Rug with twinned ephah!
—And what's it called? trash[Duo] Juan... Borsa!
-Lighter?
—Flamisel.

The German comedian who defends Catalan

German comedian Shahak Shapira performed in Barcelona, ​​and someone in the audience complained about living in a place where people only speak Catalan. "I think the problem is yours," the comedian retorted, in a clip he posted on Instagram that has since gone viral. "You can't go somewhere and say, 'Why are they speaking the language that's supposed to be spoken here?'" the comedian argued. He himself seemed to think he'd become a "national hero" for such a trivial matter.

"We want him to speak to us in Catalan."

"It turns out we're all Catalans here," said a girl interviewed in The StrangerShe was surprised by what he was asking: that racialized people be spoken to directly in Catalan and not in Spanish so that those who don't have it at home can learn it. "Then they ask us why we don't speak Catalan. It's their fault," said the girl, Mammarena. "We want him to speak to us in Catalan every day, like he does among yourselves."

Boiled carrot

In a report on street parties and COVID-19 restrictions on TV3 in the summer of 2021, a girl who seemed a bit understated appeared and uttered an expression that went viral, especially since no one had ever heard it before. "We're not making any noise. I'm going home now because I'm a bit stuck," she said, referring to the community officers who were making them leave, and added, "I look like a boiled carrot." It turns out it was a phrase her tutor used to tell her when the class got rowdy. Candy herself, born in the Dominican Republic, acknowledged that her skin color, her good Catalan, and that expression were what had made her go viral.

Aitana Bonmatí's Three Balls

Aitana Bonmatí has ​​won three Ballon d'Or awards, and each time she has given her acceptance speech partially in Catalan, and each year she has received criticism for speaking her language. The Barça player It has been explained many times"Catalan is my language, the language I feel most comfortable with. We shouldn't have to justify ourselves every time we speak Catalan. If I speak English, nobody says anything, so we should probably ask ourselves what our problem is with Catalan." In a 2024 interview with Pep Guardiola, they both agreed in their defense of Catalan.

Marc Giró and what is Catalan used for?

Marc Giró started one of his Late show On La 1, a presenter delivered a monologue defending Catalan, following the vote in the Valencian Community allowing families to choose the language of instruction for their children. The presenter argued for the usefulness of Catalan, a statement that went viral due to the infrequent times TVE (Spanish public television) champions multilingualism. As he said... Mònica Planas in her review"To assert an obvious fact such as the usefulness of Catalan and the right of citizens to learn it is almost a heroic act that provokes cheers and hallelujahs from its speakers" and demonstrates how bad things still are.

The woodworm Montserrat Pujol

One of the latest characters to emerge from social media is Montserrat Pujol. No one knows who's behind it, but her profile has been dedicated to asking Spanish-speaking influencers to create content in Catalan. It must be said that many played along, and it became a viral phenomenon with a happy ending. The most striking example is that influencer from Extremadura who even dedicated a couple of videos to her—yes, in Catalan.