Borja de Riquer: "The past was worse"

Just over a century ago, the Catalans –a large part of the Catalans– We didn't know how to read. "In the 18th and 19th centuries, 70% of the population of Catalonia was illiterate, so for most citizens, information was transmitted orally or through images," explained historian Borja de Riquer at the Palau Requesens in Barcelona, headquarters of the Royal Academy of Belles Lettres, an institution he presides over. He added: "Let's not be nostalgic. People lived worse; living conditions were much worse." De Riquer's voice carries weight. He is a scholar who has deeply studied the history of Catalonia over the last few centuries. He coordinated the voluminous book (weighing in at one and a half kilos!). The memory of the Catalans, the reason for the passionate conversation he had with the deputy director of the ARA, Ignasi Aragay, at an event of Premium Club from the newspaper.

The memory of the Catalans It explains the main symbols, sites of memory, myths, legends, traditions... that form our collective imagination. There are a few symbols that originated in a small territory and spread throughout Catalonia. This is the case of the sardana, which in a short time went from being an Empordà dance to becoming the quintessential Catalan dance. "Since the times of the Solidaritat Catalana (1905-1907), the sardana accompanied the flag and The reapers "in a large part of the protest and festive acts of Catalan nationalism," De Riquer explained.

The book gathers a wide variety of elements that make up the DNA of Catalans, starting from October 1, 2017, an event that was quickly and widely incorporated into the nomenclature of towns and cities (while the declaration of independence by the Parliament of Catalonia on October 27, 2017, both now and before, has not). "At certain times we haven't been viewed very favorably: the inhabitants of the Catalan counties in the 10th century were described by the Andalusians as dirty people who barely washed once a year, and as traitors, and those of the 17th century as bandits and uprooted," Borja de Riquer emphasized.

The historian also spoke about our language. "The battle for the language has been won in the cities, and we have been fortunate that Catalan has been maintained in all social classes: the working class, the middle class, and a portion of the upper class, who, although they have often switched to Castilian Spanish, have not abandoned Catalan and have continued to use it not only in the family sphere but also in business," said De Riquer. "But there are some historians, like Josep Fontana, who, without belittling the language, have maintained that other elements, such as the laws, are fundamental to the Catalan identity," Aragay emphasized. "Catalan law primarily affected property owners, and for many centuries many Catalans never went to a notary: they had nothing to bequeath," De Riquer countered.

During the talk, the attendees observed the portraits of "illustrious Catalans" hanging on the walls of the Academy's auditorium: The poet Joan Maragall, the Indiano and promoter of the Barcelona train in Mataró Miquel Biada, the architect Antoni Gaudí, Queen Elisenda de Moncada… and many more, some of them mentioned by De Riquer or Aragay at some point in the conversation.

The meeting was very participatory. One of the members of Premium Club The ARA representative highlighted the importance of sport as an integrating element for newcomers, and recalled that during the Franco era, Barça was a refuge of Catalan identity. "And it still is. There are Catalans who get more emotional with the Barça anthem than with..." The reapers"," Aragay pointed out, and with a smile added: "Even some of my children."

Now that we are "suffering" from a wave of "new Catalans," arriving from all over, especially Latin America and Africa, "smart and skillful public and private policies are needed to integrate them," De Riquer argued. "But we must keep in mind that Catalan identity is increasingly plural. I offer the castellers as an excellent example of integration. Those I know have participants from many countries: at home they speak their own language, but when they perform as castellers they speak Catalan," Borja de Riquer explained. And Ignasi Aragay added: "ToMiquel Tarradell InstituteIn the Raval neighborhood, right next to the ARA headquarters, some twenty languages are spoken, but when the students come to the newspaper, they all speak to us in Catalan. We mustn't let our guard down: if we preserve the language, our identity won't weaken.