Catalanophobia by the Partido Popular

I have written before about how the PP is a legacy party of yesteryear: founded by a Franco minister, and carrying on the banner of Spanish nationalism -unashamed.

What happenedthis week however, takes the biscuit for stupidity and bigoted prejudice.

October 9^th is the day where Valencians celebrate the entrance of Jaume I [wiki] in the city of Valencia to expel the Moors. Jaume I repopulated Valencia with settlers from the counties from Lleida and the rest is history as they say, and that’s why Catalan is spoken in Valencia (or it used to be), where it is known as Valencian.

However, the political party currently in power in the Generalitat Valenciana is the Partido Popular. This, as I have written before, is a party with the ideological legacy of Franco’s Movimiento. Their ideology can be summarised by the dogmatic approach to Spanish unity and territorial integrity. So much so that calls to the Spanish Army to intervene to prevent a secession (by democratic means) of the Basque Country or Catalonia are heard with alarming regularity.

There has been so many demographic and political changes in Valencia that it has become a PP stronghold, with dire consequences for the future of Valencian language and culture.

On 9^th October, the choir of the Generalitat Valenciana was scheduled to play the opera Roger de Flor [wiki] from Rupert Chapí, [wiki] a Valencian composer.

Except that the powers that be had decided to change the lyrics to take the word Catalan out and replace it with Valencian or Aragonese. Stanilist censhorship by the Spanish nationalist right. If this had happened elsewhere in Europe against any other cultural group, it would be front page news.

The play has now been suspended to avoid further embarrassment.

This is the nature of the main opposition party in Spain.

Once, again the legacy of fascism alive and well in the hands of the Partido Popular.

Links: Avui [cat], Vilaweb [cat], Racó Catala [cat], Público [cas]