Sónar festival, local band Sopa de Cabra, activist Cuixart honored with Creus de Sant Jordi

Sónar festival is one of the entities that has been awarded a Creu de Sant Jordi, or St. George's Cross, a humanitarian prize given by the Catalan government that recognizes those that contribute to and enrich the nation's cultural identity.

The three-day music event held in June will be celebrating its 30th anniversary this year.

Other groups such as local band Sopa de Cabra, one of the main contributors to the Catalan pop-rock boom in the 1990s, or singer-songwriter Jaume Sisa have also been recognized with a Creu de Sant Jordi, as has pro-independence activist Jordi Cuixart, who spent three and a half years in jail for his role in the 2017 referendum deemed illegal by Spain.

Activist against child abuse Vicki Bernadet, who runs a foundation focusing on sexual attacks on kids, 90-year-old actor Julieta Serrano, and late filmmaker Agustí Villaronga have also been awarded, as approved by the Catalan government in their weekly cabinet meeting. 

Some artists have also been given this prestigious civil award, such as painters Antoni Miró and Joan-Pere Viladecans, and ceramist Josefina Vilajosana. 

Creus de Sant Jordi are usually awarded to well-regarded figures in several disciplines including psychiatry, archeology, language, and feminism, as well as several kinds of entities, including Catalonia's Federation of Agricultural Cooperatives (FCAC), a choir called Progrés, in Palamós, a leisure center in Amposta, the Casino Recreatiu d'Amposta, and timber rafting association Raiers de Coll de Nargó - this traditional Pyrenean activity was recognized as UNESCO World heritage last year.

Miquel Morera, one of the last Civil War veterans still alive, will also receive the St. George's Cross in a ceremony this July. In an interview with Catalan News in 2017, the then 97-year-old remembered the events he witnessed in the war, which took place between 1936 and 1939.