Stereotypes about Catalonia - “I know Barcelona, but I don’t exactly know what Catalonia or Catalans are”, states New Yorker Sarah

New York / Barcelona (ACN).- Sarah was born in the state of Oregon on the US West Coast and currently lives in New York. The 29-year-old claims that she does not exactly know how Catalonia differs from the Spain and what Catalans are. “I would like to learn more about Catalonia…I know Barcelona but I don’t exactly know what is going on in Catalonia nor with Catalans”, she explains.

For the artistic director of the National Theatre of Catalonia (TNC), Sergi Belbel, the first thing he wants foreigners to understand about Catalans is the concept of ‘seny’ and ‘rauxa’. “Lately the ‘seny’ is more prevalent than the ‘rauxa’, but the mixture of both is what defines us”.

Sarah is completing her masters in social integration at Columbia University. She is not the only New Yorker who does not really know what Catalonia us. “I know almost nothing about Catalonia and Catalans”, she states. In New York, Sara meets people from around the world, even some Catalans. She has learned a little about Catalonia through them, though she is still unclear. “I do not understand the difference between Catalan and Spanish people, but it seems like the languages are a little different”, she says. But Sara does have some idea about Barcelona. “I love Barcelona. It is the best city in the country”, she comments.

“Here everything is based in your ability to network”, Sara says. She is going to school, has an internship, and is part of a running group that practices in Central Park.

“Catalans are cold rationalists, but at the same time wild and passionate”

The artistic director of the National Theatre of Catalonia (TNC) believes that the best way to define Catalans is through the concept of ‘seny’ and ‘rauxa’. The ‘seny’ refers to “the coldness, rationality, thinking, sensible side” of Catalans, according to Belbel. The ‘rauxa’ makes up the wild, passionate side of Catalan people. The fusion of both concepts could be a good way of explaining how Catalans are”, explains Belbel.

“And what is Catalan?” The director of the Catalan Studies Institute (IEC), Salvador Giner, gave a clear explanation: “Catalan is spoken by 10 million people. We are a nation without a state and we must talk about what our language is and what it means. It is spoken in four states (Spain, Andorra, France and Italy). Many people speak it, but we do not have a [independent] state. Because of this, we defend its use in universities. We are surprised when people say that Catalan is a dialect, because it is a normal European language. We often face difficulties because it continues to be recognised like other languages in small states. It’s a matter of justice that it becomes completely recognised”.