Stereotypes about Catalonia – Language, Nationalism and Money
The Catalan News Agency is reviewing the stereotypes, myths and ideas that foreigners have about Catalonia and experts are called to challenge them
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Stereotypes about Catalonia - “FC Barcelona, that is what I relate with Catalonia. Visca el Barça i visca Catalunya!”, says Bosnian Rusmin Terzic
Motorbike world champion of 125cc Marc Márquez answers: “More than just football, there are other sports such as hockey, basketball and motorcycling that we are very good at”.
Stereotypes about Catalonia - “Barcelona is the capital of Erasmus”, affirms Berlin resident Andreas
Laia Fàbregas, a Barcelona born writer, says: “Barcelona is much more than that. There are a lot of tourists and different types of people that enjoy living here”.
Stereotypes about Catalonia - Catalan music? "What comes to mind is cheesy salsa, passionate flamenco and Latin dancing”, says Lucy
Lluís Gavaldà, lead singer of Els Pets answers Lucy from Glasgow: “Catalonia has very extensive musical richness, with traditional, classic, jazz and pop music in Catalan”.
Stereotypes about Catalonia - “I know Barcelona, but I don’t exactly know what Catalonia or Catalans are”, states New Yorker Sarah
Sergi Belbel, artistic director of the National Theatre of Catalonia (TNC): “To understand Catalans, the first thing is to understand the concepts of ‘seny’ and ‘rauxa’”.
Stereotypes about Catalonia - “Tapas, paella, patates braves and pa amb tomàquet are the dishes that define Barcelona’s way of life”, said Parisian Laure
For chef 7 Michelin-star, Santi Santamaria, with 2 restaurants in Catalonia, 1 in Dubai and 1 in Singapur, tapas are for tourists. “We prefer more to deeply experience dishes”, he states.
Stereotypes about Catalonia - “We ask ourselves if Catalan is really important on an international level”, says Brit
The president of the Institute of Catalan Studies, Salvador Giner, responds, “Catalan is spoken by 10 million people in 4 different countries”.
Stereotypes about Catalonia - Gilles Cols: “Spaniards should have solidarity; it is a shame that Catalans are separatists”
Miquel Valls, president of the Barcelona Chamber of Commerce, says, “Catalonia is the first economic region in Spain, it makes up 19% of the GDP and has solidarity with the rest of the regions”.
Stereotypes about Catalonia - Catalonia means “parties and sun”, “from January to December”, says Parisian
Tomàs Molina, Catalan public television's weatherman, answers: “It only rains 100 days a year here, but when it does, it rains a lot, almost like Monsoon season in India.”
Stereotypes about Catalonia - “I like Catalan ‘seny’, but where is the ‘rauxa’”?, says Teresa from New York
Justo Molinero, born in Andalucía and founder of a radio and TV station in Catalonia, answers: “Catalans are very serious people, but that doesn’t mean they don’t like to party and make jokes”.
Stereotypes about Catalonia – Tomanic: “My Balkan origins know that nationalism can be very dangerous”
Aleksandra Tomanic, a German with Balkan roots, tells CNA what she thinks about Catalonia and nationalism. Muriel Casals, president of the main NGO promoting Catalan culture and expert in International Relations, responds to Tomanic.
European Central Bank: “Catalonia is in a better condition to recover from the crisis than the rest of Spain”
The “export vocation” and “good management of economic, tourism and trade competences” will ease Catalonia’s recovery from the crisis. This is the opinion of José Manuel González-Páramo, member of the European Central Bank’s Executive Board.
Tourism rises by 9% in September compared to last year
In the first 9 months of 2010, more than 10 million tourists chose Catalonia as their vacation destination. After the Balearic Islands, Catalonia is the most visited territory on Spain.
Petitioning for a Catalan Twitter
Over 1,600 people have signed a virtual petition for a Catalan translation of twitter. The initiative was started by the Catalan journalist Albert Cuesta.
The CiU gives 2 economic conditions for a stable pact with Spanish Government
Catalonia must be able to co-manage key infrastructures such as Barcelona’s Airport and receive a special economic agreement like the one the Basque Country and Navarra have. Artur Mas, President of the Centre-Right Catalan Nationalist Party (CiU), explained the main line of his economic programme today. Mas sent a message out to Prime Minister Zapatero (PSOE) and the Conservative People’s Party (PP).