Catalonia’s National Day honors role of women in history

Honoring the role of women in Catalonia’s history has been the main focus of the official closing ceremony of the territory’s National Day. On Sunday night, the Catalan government and parliament organized a small performance in Barcelona to highlight the importance of women from 1714, when Catalonia lost its sovereignty at the end of the Spanish War of Succession, to now.

The act started at 10 pm in the square in front of the ‘Quatre Columnes’ monument by ‘modernisme’ architect Puig i Cadafalch on Barcelona’s Montjuïc mountain. The women who were honored at the event were those who have helped "write the story of our country," the event organizers said.

A show that included musical performances from famous Catalan artists such as Mariona Escoda, Helena Miquel, Borja Penalba, Judit Neddermann, and Joan Dausà, who is known for his failed crowd surfing attempt. 

Spectators also got to enjoy small skits featuring these historic women, who in the vast majority of cases, have been "minimized, invisibilized, or even silenced," despite their achievements. 

The ceremony took place a few hours after thousands of demonstrators took to the streets in the center of Barcelona.

This year has been politically marked by the absence of members of the Catalan government from Esquerra Republicana de Catalunya. In fact, the political party was shouted when laying their flower tribute.