Big things have been going on politically here in Barcelona and in Spain. The first big change was
the Sept 27 regional elections in Catalonia. The result is that the two parties that are in favor of becoming an independent nation and separating from Spain together received the majority of seats in the Catalan Parliament, even though they received less than 50% of the popular vote (which is not uncommon here). These parties have announced for months beforehand that if they received the majority of seats, they would pave a path for independence. This they started on Nov 9, when a resolution was passed to begin the process toward the creation of an independent Catalan state in the form of a republic. Currently, however, they are at an impasse because the smaller of these two parties will not support the prior president of the Parliament, Artur Mas, to continue in that post. Some news reports stated that by law the Catalan parliament had two months from the elections to elect a president, which has long passed and they are still debating. Other reports stated that after the second vote held on Nov 12, which Mas failed to obtain a majority, two months are now open for new debates. If after those two months, a president is still not elected, then elections will be repeated early in 2016. I just heard from a friend that Jan 10th is the deadline. Sometimes I get the feeling they are making this up as they go along, but I digress.
The other big news is that on Dec 20 Spain had its national elections. Unlike the national elections of four years ago, this time no one party received the absolute majority in Parliament, although the conservative party, Partido Popular (PP), received the highest number of seats. But in order to form a government, a candidate has to be elected among the representatives to be President (or prime minister). This year, it requires at least two or more parties to form alliances, a difficult task at best, as the parties that have more in common still would not have the sufficient number of seats to form a majority and would have to join with parties that are idealogically very different. If a solution is not found in early 2016, new elections will occur in May.
Personal Thoughts
I am still very new to the politics of Spain and Catalonia, so my opinions are still forming. The path to independence for Catalonia, if it moves forward, will be fraught with pitfalls and obstacles, I believe. It won't occur in the near future. It is much too complicated and Spain is diametrically opposed to an independent Catalonia. Although those in favor of independence believe the new state would be more prosperous after separation, I believe Catalonia would experience very hard economic times that would continue for a while before finding its economic balance and begin to prosper again, as I'm sure it will.
The recent Spanish elections show a very divided electorate still reeling from the economic crisis that has not ended, and a profound disgust for the high level of corruption that has infected all levels of government, to some degree or another. They are also very concerned with the very real possibility of Catalonia attempting to separate, which would have a devastating affect on Spain. Whatever government eventually is elected to govern Spain, it will most likely be weak and ineffective to move its agenda forward.
The Holidays
This year I decided to stay in Spain for the Holidays (last year was my first and only visit back to the
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| My favorite pastry place! |
States). Holiday lights were turned on Dec 1 throughout the city. Around Dec 19 four blocks of wooden/steel booths were set up on the Gran Via on both sides of the street, just two blocks from my home, filled with all types of small stores, from candy to children's toys, to jewelry and artesan products of every kind. On almost every corner there is a Churreria, where they make fried dough that is in the shape of a long, thin tube, sprinkled with suger and can also be dipped in hot chocolate. This will stay up until Three King's Day (Dia de los Tres Reyes - see below).
In Catalonia, families gather on Christmas Eve evening and/or on Christmas Day to exchange presents and have their Christmas dinner. They also have the following day, Dec 26, St. Stephen's Day,as a holiday, with a big meal that includes
canalons, where the leftover meat from the previous day are ground and stuffed in a pasta roll and covered in a bechamel sauce.
A friend who I've known for a few years and who lives in Madrid invited me to spend Christmas with him and his brother and niece in the northeastern coast of Spain in the city of San Sebastian, which is the Basque region of Spain. I took the train up and back, long but relaxing. It was a great time. I've only been to San Sebastian once for less than a day, so it was a real treat to be there with a friend that was born in that area. The city is beautiful on the Cantabrian Sea (or the Bay of Biscay). It's also well-known for its amazing cuisine and delicious tapas called pintxos. Besides San Sebastian (or Donostia in Basque), we also visited the picturesque town of Hondarribia which is on the sea and borders France, as well as a small and historic town called Oñati, where we visited some friends of mine who live there.
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| Chris is crooning away at our New Years Eve party |
Of course New Year's Eve and New Year's Day are celebrated here, with the Spanish tradition of eating 12 grapes when the clock strikes 12 midnight, eating one grape with every chime. You generally stuff your face with grapes in order to eat all 12 within a minute. Chris arrived on New Year's Eve after visiting his family in the U.S. and we celebrated New Year's Eve at the home of one of our friends. One of the guests brought the latest version of a kareoke machine (all contained within the microphone and connected to a flat screen TV). We had a lot of fun singing Spanish, South American, American and English songs.
The last holiday of the season is Three King's Day, which is the same day as Epiphany, this year falling on Jan 6. This is the traditional day when children receive their presents, although many receive presents earlier so that they can enjoy them before going back to school the day after Three Kings. Here in Barcelona, the "three kings" arrive by ship to the Barcelona port the day before, where they are greeted by the city mayor. A parade is formed and traverses throughout the city. We are planning on seeing the parade at our friend Jordi's home, where his balcony overlooks the parade that passes on his street.
