What the 'Those Latinas' case reveals
The controversy surrounding the theatrical performance Those Latinas at Barcelona City Hall has highlighted the complexity of linguistic coexistence and discrimination in Catalonia. Beyond the debate on the limits of humor and artistic freedom, this episode has highlighted the deep tensions surrounding language, integration, and structural racism. In a social context marked by collective frustration following the independence process, any issue related to language easily becomes a symbolic battleground, reflecting a growing sensitivity in Catalan society. In the work, presented during the Barcelona Observatory of Discrimination event, some sectors have accused him of Catalanophobia, while others defend it as a necessary critique of certain exclusionary attitudes.
In a minority nation like Catalonia, it is legitimate to demand that migrants and other people learn Catalan to foster social relations. However, this demand is only justified if the material reality and dynamics of exclusion experienced by these individuals are taken into account. The problem lies not only in the need for the language, but also in the conditions of the people who must learn it and in the way it is demanded: when the demand is made from a sense of arrogance or exclusion, it ceases to be a tool for integration and becomes just another form of discrimination within a context of structural racism. It is therefore necessary to distinguish between the legitimate promotion of Catalan and the discriminatory attitudes that may accompany its demand.
Observatory data show that the vast majority of complaints of language discrimination in Barcelona—up to 99%—relate to cases in which people have been discriminated against for speaking Catalan. These situations occur especially when those affected use Catalan in healthcare services or when addressing public officials. However, many migrants and other people also experience obstacles to seeking knowledge of Catalan, which can hinder their social and professional integration in the early stages of their adjustment. This dual reality requires a nuanced approach: defending the rights of Catalan speakers cannot make invisible the difficulties of accessing Catalan for those arriving from outside, but neither can their own language be marginalized or disparaged in public spaces.
The linguistic debate cannot be separated from the structural racism that affects many migrants and other people in Catalonia. According to recent data, almost a quarter of racist discrimination occurs in access to social rights. These people often suffer from school, residential, and work segregation, with precarious material conditions and diminished public representation. Beyond the controversy over the spectacle Those LatinasThe denunciation of racism should focus on the fact that Catalan policy does not guarantee the necessary conditions for real socialization processes in Catalan, not even within schools. It favors Catalan as the language of choice and hinders the construction of a common project.
Catalan must be the language of instruction and public life, but for it to play a truly integrative role, effective public policies are needed to facilitate both the learning and social use of the language. In addition to the lack of bold and inclusive language policies from the Generalitat (Catalan Government) that take into account the material reality of the migrant and othered population, another complexity must be added: the relationship of Catalan speakers with their language is plural and changing. While some actively defend it, others have incorporated it as their own over time, and many adapt their language usage according to the context or the person they are speaking to.
The controversy surroundingThose Latinas It highlights the urgent need for a calm and mature debate on language, integration, and discrimination in Catalonia. Neither hypersensitivity nor the simplification of conflicts provide real solutions. The country needs courageous policies, sincere dialogue, and a collective commitment to transform Catalan into a tool for coexistence, not a barrier, and to combat the structural racism that still divides society. Only in this way can a common project based on social justice be built.