Catalan president attends Spain's National Day official ceremonies for first time in 14 years
'Catalonia has to be present in the construction of a diverse Spain,' Illa claims
For the first time in 14 years, the official ceremonies organized in Madrid to celebrate Spain's National Day have seen a Catalan president.
Socialist Salvador Illa attended the military parade in Madrid as well as the royal reception with King Felipe VI.
In a post on social media shortly before the October 12 official ceremonies, Illa emphasized that Catalonia "has to be present in the construction of a diverse Spain" and that Catalonia must "get involved again in order to listen to others and be heard."
José Montilla was the last Catalan president to attend the ceremonies of October 12 in 2010.
Illa attended the military parade together with Núria Marín, the delegate of the Catalan government in Madrid.
As Madrid experienced a rainy day on Saturday, the aerial military parade was cancelled, which usually is one of the most visually striking moments of the event. The military paratroopers were also unable to perform as expected, due to the weather.
In total, the parade featured 56 planes, 29 helicopters, 117 vehicles and 49 motorcycles. 4,092 members of the armed forces attend the ceremony, of which 3,619 are men and 473 are women, which accounts for 13%.
The parade also included horses and the Spanish Legion's pet, which in this occasion is a six-year-old goat name 'Killo'.