How fresh

The president of Aragon has said these words about the Sijena works: "The sentence will be carried out willingly or by force." Deunidó, the phrase he uttered, while the MNAC (National Council of Aragon) declared "the technical inability to carry out the operation within the timeframe established by the civil procedure law."

To me, the phrase and the intentions of this president make me think of that story told about the wise Solomon. Two women fight over a baby, and each claims it's hers. Since they can't agree, Solomon decrees that the child be split in half and that each of the pieces be given to one of the alleged mothers. And lo and behold, one agrees, and the other says no, no way, that she prefers to give up the child but for it to remain alive. Solomon, then, in his infinite wisdom, understands which of the two is the mother and hands over the child to her, safe and sound (and, above all, whole).

If I were the director of the MNAC, I'd tell them to dismantle the museum, the National Palace—brick by brick and stone by stone—and take it away, including the frescoes, which no longer belong here. I'd even propose creating a corridor from Aragon to Montjuïc, like a canal, that would be Aragonese territory, allowing them to visit the frescoes without having to set foot on Catalan soil. But if I were a technician at the MNAC, I'd say it's out of their question and let whoever wants to take them dismantle them. With a pick and shovel, if necessary. And we'd broadcast it on television, which would be a beautiful spectacle, which whoever pushes day by day will be a year later. In the meantime, just in case, I'm planning to go see them one last time. They were saved from the war. They will die in peace.