"When we emigrated to Tossa it seemed like I hadn't moved from the 'pueblo'"

The BrambleAt the entrance to La Zarza, a small Extremaduran town of about 3,000 inhabitants, there is a large Civil Guard presence. "This isn't normal, do you know what's happening?" asks the taxi driver. They are awaiting the visit of the President of the Generalitat, Salvador Illa, to celebrate the National Day of Catalonia there. The whole town is full of it, it is the big event and there is quite a lot of anticipation. "There are posters everywhere and we've been notified through the Town Hall's WhatsApp groups," explains Amelia, a shoemaker at Calzados Moreno. Even so, not a single senyera (Catalan flag) is to be seen and quite a few Spanish flags are flying: the big question is whether the Catalan president—who has come as a sign of the fraternity between the peoples of the State—will be well received.

"Man, he's Catalan and with all that stuff about independence... although now it's not talked about much anymore," retorts Francisco Cortés, the president of the senior citizens' center. He also recalls that he is a very well-known face and, although he doesn't quite understand why he returned to Catalonia, he celebrates that the 'Procés' is no longer talked about much. "People know that all that independence stuff isn't his fault," he adds.

Asked about the financing model, they are not very well informed, and the majority of residents are proud that a former minister—they don't know him as much for being the President of the Generalitat—is visiting their small town. "Everyone knows him from when he was Minister of Health during the pandemic. He was on TV every day," recalls the tobacconist and newsagent Juan Benítez. And, according to Cortés, the "most important thing" is that he is clear that "Catalonia is Spain".

Be that as it may, the inhabitants of La Zarza are taking the opportunity to reaffirm the bond between their town and Catalonia. "We feel that Catalans are like brothers. It is impossible to find someone who doesn't have a relative in Catalonia or who hasn't worked there," assures Sara Arranz, who runs a grocery store. The wave of migration was of such magnitude that the town's own mayor, the socialist Francisco José Farrona, who was born in Granollers and went to live in Extremadura at age nine, explained that a third of the municipality's inhabitants—about 1,600—were forced to leave during the 50s and 60s, the vast majority of whom ended up in Catalonia.

Many of them, moreover, went to the same towns or cities, such as Tossa de Mar, Montmeló or, among others, Montgat. "When we emigrated and I walked through Tossa [de Mar], it felt like I hadn't left the town, it was full of Extremadurans. Hey, John Doe, hey, Jane Doe... you would meet and greet everyone from La Zarza", recalls Casimira Toros, who explains that "buses were even organized" to go to these locations to work seasonally.

Over the years, they recount, more and more Catalans of Extremaduran origin are returning to the village, both for vacations and permanently. "Many return when they retire, although there are also those who have become Catalans through and through and no longer come anymore," says the president of the senior citizens' home.