Mònica Estruch: "We have a responsibility with the type of Catalan we teach"

BarcelonaStrong Horse is the longest-running children's magazine in Catalan and has just published its 1,500th issue. For 63 years, the publication has been a benchmark in children's literature and has offered comics, stories and information to the little ones. Mònica Estruch has been its director since 2022.

Albert Jané, former director of Strong Horse, celebrated the magazine's birthday with a tweet: "More than 60 years, it's a unique case, it's a miracle!" Do you think it's a miracle?

— It's a miracle because there's a lot of work behind it, not just now, but accumulated over the sixty-three years that the magazine has been around. We have a foundation from the beginning that has evolved, just as children change, but we try to maintain what we call the essence of Strong Horse from the beginning, which is still recognized today. You compare a copy from the early years and the last issue and they have little graphic similarity, but they have very similar ingredients, sections, approaches and objectives.

How would you define this essence?

— The essence is a set of values, a way of understanding the work we are doing and an immense respect for readers. We are targeting children of an early age, but we do not treat them as if they were ignorant or stupid. We must explain ourselves in a different way, because they have ways of looking at the world that are absolutely suggestive. This translates into rigor when writing and researching. Behind every page there is a work of synthesis, of not taking anything for granted, of placing everything we explain, and then adding a touch of humor. We always have our readers very much in mind.

But what is more important, humor or learning?

— Entertaining and amusing is the top priority. Humor, fun and play are the channel, but we accompany it with knowledge. Through play you can learn a lot.

How is the choice of topics made? There are Strong Horse an active role for readers in choosing content?

— For a couple of years now we have been holding a meeting with child readers and I think it is a great solution. It is a representation of several readers out of the thousands that exist. But, as the children speak very clearly, they tell you without filters what interests them, what they like and what they miss in the pages of the magazine. And there are always suggestions for topics. We have already collected some and we have noted others. They can also write to us through a forum that we have on the web and suggest topics.

In 2023, the Burriana City Council (Plana Baixa) cancelled the libraries' subscription to the magazine Strong HorseHow did you experience it? Has there been a repeat of similar cases?

— The City Council stopped paying for the newspapers, but the magazines are still there. What they provoked was a spectacular popular reaction of solidarity and defense of the language. Strong Horse It was the workhorse and although they cancelled one subscription, they created many more. That hasn't happened anymore.

How is the language model managed in a magazine for children from all the Catalan Countries?

— We have a privilege, the language model established by Albert Jané, the second director of the magazine: a normative Catalan, from the Diccionari Català-Valencià-Balear, where we pay close attention to spelling, syntax and calques. It is a very meticulous editing process, because we have a responsibility with the type of Catalan that we teach, which we send not only to the Catalan Countries, but all over the world, and we believe that it is worthwhile for all our readers to know the richness and dialects of the language.

With technological changes, children consume more online. How do you approach new readers? Does the paper format still work?

— Our readers do not have networks or mobile phones and, therefore, with our media channel we address parents or educators. In the magazine we address children, who do have access to the digital world. But Strong Horse is an oasis where the reader chooses the tempo. Ultimately, children need to read to develop comprehension and everything that comes out of it bounces off of that. With all the concern that exists now about reading comprehension issues, it is worth starting to introduce reading with The Tatano either Strong Horse and then they keep the bug.

What impact has it had? Strong Horse in generations of young Catalans?

— When we make calls, there is an avalanche of messages, comments and anecdotes. Many people have some kind of connection with the magazine. Over sixty-three years, there are many generations of readers! The key is the impact of when you are young, when things excite you and leave a mark on you. Especially if they are positive: they stay with you for life. Generally, the tone is this: emotion, something that awakens you and links you to a childhood and a happy memory. And this is wonderful.