2024-02-28 20:59:55
GironaAn evening of high political voltage at the Teatre Municipal de Girona, where six presidents of the Generalitat have met (three telematically), with the logical absence of Pasqual Maragall. The 60th anniversary of Les Voltes, the bookstore that has only sold books and magazines in Catalan since 1963, has been the excuse to demonstrate that there are still consensuses that can bring them all together.
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Beyond parliaments, awards and tributes, the event also had a political aspect, with the health of Catalan as one of the main concerns. Jordi Pujol, who recalled his clandestine struggle as a teenager in the 50s and 60s, warned: “We have very serious problems that endanger the preservation of our language and identity as a country.” This is one of the concerns the 126th president has been voicing for some time. Its historical motto (“It’s Catalan who lives and works in Catalonia”) has long since incorporated “but especially those who agree to be part of it and, therefore, want to know their language”.
Quim Torra, son of a generation that lived through the Transition, but who grew up with references such as Cavall Fort or La Galera’s books, agreed with Pujol: “Language is the identity of the country and if it fails, everything will fail. We are in danger of entering a moment of national deconstruction”.
José Montilla, however, lowers the catastrophist tone and places the problems of the use of Catalan in the global context of uncertainty: “Not only is the language in crisis, but also democracy or the capitalist system. Catalonia must know how to play its cards to strengthen the institutions and improve the country’s conditions”.
Artur Mas, on a trip to the United States, and Pere Aragonès, who has excused himself for reasons of schedule, have sent congratulatory videos, in which they have praised Les Voltes for their defense as a meeting point for the country. And, finally, Carles Puigdemont has closed the political interventions, live from Strasbourg, received with a long ovation from the Girona public that filled the Municipal: “During these 60 years Catalonia has lived a dictatorship, an exciting process of democracy , disappointments and conflicts, but Les Voltes has resisted at the foot of the canyon, being not only a bookstore, but also a national monument”. In May, he will be 61.
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