By billienkatz
The geographic area of Spain is divided into various Autonomous Regions, which operate similarly to the way the 50 state system does in the United States. Barcelona is part of the Catalonia region and there is a strong sense of Catalonian identity, that is causing major political uproar, because the residents of Catalonia are seeking to separate from Spain and become their own country. This would pose many problems for Catalonia if they chose to do this. For example, in order to be a recognized country of the European Union, each country that is currently a part of the EU has to vote in favor of having any additional country join. As a result, Catalonia would need Spain to vote in favor of their EU membership, which I can assure you will certainly never happen. In addition, Catalonia lacks the monetary resources to operate as a stand-alone country from Spain, and without the aid of the EU behind them, they would have many issues surviving.
This issue of Catalonia vs. Spain was blatant from my first few days in Barcelona. First and foremost, the majority of residents in Barcelona speak Catalan (and Spanish) as their primary language, and this separates them from the rest of the country almost instantaneously. In addition, the Catalonia flag is similar, yet different from the national flag of Spain, and while walking down the street you see more Catalonia flags than Spanish flags hanging off of residential balconies.
This issue is so important to daily life and current events here in Barcelona that it has been discussed in every single one of my classes so far, and I've only been in classes for a week! This past Thursday in my Human Development in the Spanish Socio-Cultural Context class, my professor, a Canadian citizen who has lived in Spain for almost 15 years, was explaining that his close friend is a crazy obsessed FC Barcelona fan; however, when Spain won the World Cup in 2012, he showed no interest because he doesn't care about Spain's accomplishments, his ties fall directly to Barcelona and Catalonia.
Here is a clear example of regional nationalism that is alive and well in Spain. This is contrasted with the mentality of the United States, where we all love being American and love America. I don't ever walk around shouting about how Connecticut is the superior state out of all 50; however, every July 4th I let my nationalistic tendencies fly. Someone who has been born and bred in Barcelona speaks Catalan, lives in Catalonia, and has little personal and/or public interest in Spain as their country.
I'm very interested to see how much more I can learn about this conflict, especially in the upcoming weeks during the Olympics! I wonder if Barcelona will set up TV screens in the plaza's and display a sense of support for the Spanish athletes competing, and I wonder if the citizens of the Catalonia region will ever find pride in their Country.