Ayuso surpasses Bono: she already has the largest flag of Spain

BarcelonaSpanish nationalism is certainly curious: it advertises itself as a non-nationalism, as a natural state of affairs that requires no display of self-affirmation, but then, in practice, it competes over such provincial things as who has commissioned the largest flag of Spain. Until now, this record was held by former socialist minister José Bono, who on October 12, 2001, inaugurated at the Plaza Colón in Madrid what was then the largest flag: 294 square meters, 35 kilos, and a 50-meter flagpole. It was only a matter of time, therefore, for some Popular Party leader to take the record from him. The pseudo-media outlet Ok Diario reported proudly on Monday that the new record holder was Isabel Díaz Ayuso, who has had a new flag built at the Formula 1 street circuit that exceeds Bono's by 122 square meters, that is, it measures 416.

The newspaper provided more juicy details: for example, the weight of the pole, 7,450 kilos, and highlighted that it has night lighting and is equipped with an automatic beacon due to the proximity of Barajas airport (it would be just our luck to have an aviation accident because of Ayuso's obsession with showing her Spanishness). The banner was manufactured at a company in Fuente Vaqueros, in Granada, and required seven months and the work of 40 professionals (!). As they explain it, it is a high-tech job, in which wind load and the characteristics of the fabric must be calculated.

The most important thing, however, they save for the end. The circuit flag is not only the largest in Spain, but it is larger than the American one that flies at the Austin, Texas circuit, which measures 297 square meters, and which until now was the largest to be seen in Formula 1. As I said, for being a non-nationalism, it is quite similar to any other nationalism.