Lluís Puig named new Catalan Minister for Culture

The general director of the Popular Culture, Local Associations, and Cultural Action group of the Catalan government, Lluís Puig, has been appointed as the new Minister of Culture. Puig replaces Santi Vila, who has now moved to the Ministry of Business and Innovation. Up until his appointment as minister, Puig occupied the position of general director of the Popular Culture, Local Associations, and Cultural Action group in the Department of Culture.

The new minister has a background in musical studies, dance, and audiovisual production, and a degree in the Arts from the Open University of Catalonia. He previously held positions as the artistic director of the Vic’s Live Music Market and as the director of the Mediterranean Fair.

Lluis Puig replaces the previous minister for Culture, Santi Vila, who has taken over the ministry of Business and Innovation after Catalan president Carles Puigdemont fired former leader Jordi Baiget on Monday evening amid a controversy over Baiget’s comments about the Catalan independence referendum, which were published in an interview in El Punt Avui newspaper. Baiget said that the Spanish government will “act so definitively against the vote that we will probably need to do something different, and something different will be similar to the unofficial vote on independence held in November 2014.”

The crisis in the Catalan government comes just one day before the reveal of the logistics and legal framework behind the referendum, which will take place at the Catalan National Theater this Tuesday evening.