L'hora dels adéus (time to say goodbye)

Four years ago, I started my first blog, Catalonia, Politics and Supply Chain as a reaction to a New Yorker, Ale, who trashed my city, Barcelona, in one of her posts when she still was Sempre Primavera.
These have been 4 very interesting years in my life, both personally and professionally. It has been, however, very difficult to combine my literary and political ambitions with my private and professional lives. In the last 8 months, this has become impossible. My new job required that I travel constantly (about 90% of my time) and I have to devote to my family the little free time I have left. Just as a reference, I will tell you my next 5 weeks schedule, Boston, Germany, Boston, The Netherlands, Boston, Ohio, Boston, Mumbai, Boston, Sao Paulo, Belo Horizonte, Boston.

In addition to that, I may be moving to another country in North Europe in the summer to optimize my travel and try to spend a little bit more time with my wife and children.

I want, however, end up this blog with a post that I would call, "Se'm cau la cara de vergonya d'ésser espanyol". It is really upsetting to see that Spain is governed by real idiots and that Catalonia is at the mercy of those morons. During the times of absolutism, it was somewhat logical to be ruled by idiotic monarchs. For instance, Charles II "the Hexed" DNA was more inbred than the average even for brother-sister matchings, his speech could barely be understood, and he frequently drooled (wikipedia). But now, we elect those same idiots. It is not that they are imposed on us and we cannot do anything about it. No, we are masochists and we elect them. No one wants to invite our monolingual politicians anywhere, we have to beg every time to be invited to the G20, even Sarkozy joked about the intellectual challenges of the Spanish prime minister, "but he wins elections", he added.

The Spanish prime minister just reshuffled his government. The new ministers are two Galicians, two Andalusians and one Basque. The Catalan representation in the central government is pathetic, Corbacho (born in Extremadura, I do not consider him a Catalan, neither does he, I think), and Chacon (no Catalan roots either, I am afraid, and strategically put there with machiavellic intentions). She is the Secretary of Defense, the civil head of the Spanish Military, the same army who has the mandate to shoot to kill if someone challenges the unity of the country, as proven during the heroic defense of the "Perejil island". I would describe her as a weakened virus inoculated to the Catalan society to prevent it from developing the Catalan nationalistic flu (pandemic among Catalan Prussian pigs). The only positive note has been the departure of a national disgrace, an Andalusian ministress who would be uncapable of managing a post office in a village with 3 inhabitants. Listen to this video clip and do not forget your Kleenex.



I left the country 17 years ago as a Spaniard with strong Catalan sentiment. I do not longer feel myself Spanish. Spain is for me like my ex-wife. I loved her, she was attractive and fun, but if I had continued with her, I would be now emotionally destroyed and financially bankrupt. Filing for divorce was a difficult decision that I never regretted. Catalonia should do the same with Spain, it will be tough at the beginning, but we will never regret.

In the fall I may come back with a new name, and maybe a different language. My style will continue to be the same, maybe a little bit bolder, since I will not show my real family name, but those who know me, will easily recognize me.

See you again - A reveure - Hasta la vista

Politicians without "cojones"

Some of you still remember that I described Catalonia as a country without "cojones". And the question is where did we lose them? My conclusion is that we never had them, or, at least, our politicians never had them.
When I left Catalonia, 16 years ago, I thought that Catalonia was part of Spain and I never challenged that reality. After 16 years overseas, I have become a Catalan nationalist who would like to see Catalonia as an independent country. Why? I have realized that I do not feel Spanish, I have little to do with the image Spain portrays in the world, I do not want to be identified with that country, I do not feel proud of being from Spain, I try to hide it or euphemistically say, I am from Barcelona (since I positively know that if I say I am from Catalonia, 99% people will think I am from Caledonia). My personal values are different from those who people associate with Spain or the Hispanic people and, in addition to that, I am against bullfighting in Catalonia, I dislike "flamenco", and I feel like vomiting when someone uses one of these symbols to refer to me. You can tell me that what I am saying it is an attack to Spain. I do not think so. You foreigners tell me the truth, which symbols do you associate with Spain. Go ahead. Tell me the truth. Do no be shy. Isn't it flamenco, siesta, bullfighting, conquistador? (I still remember when a group of Swedish customers visited my factory in Barcelona and during the factory tour they asked me where we took the naps. I swear). And now, tell me whether you think of the same symbols when you think about Andorra. You see. And I am much more like Andorra, even if that means that your mind is blank.
The Spanish government has done NOTHING to reverse this. Go to any embassy and you be immersed in a Castilian atmosphere. I feel like a man trapped in a woman's body, I want to be a man, but my ID says I am a woman. I want to be a Catalan, but I am a Spaniard (I have to say that since I became American, I feel much better, but it is impossible to erase decades of mental stress).
If someone wants to understand what a Catalan is (or was, I should say) and which the fundamental differences with the perceived Spanish culture are, I invite you to read Jaume Vicens i Vives's "Noticia de Catalunya" (Catalonia news), a very unbiased and subdued book about us Catalans filtered by the Franco's dictatorship, but deeply Catalan if you read between the lines.
All my internal suffering could have been avoided if years ago, decades ago, centuries ago, a millenium ago, Catalan politicians had had "cojones", but they had NOT. Starting with Ramon Berenguer IV who got engaged to a one year old Petronilla, was appointed regent of Aragon and who never took the title of King, never dared to change his title of count of Barcelona to king of Barcelona or king of Catalonia, and took the cojonessless title of "Count of Barcelona and Prince of Aragon". His son, Ramon Berenguer, the first king of the emerging XII century European power, the combination of the Catalan counties and Aragon, who was only 11 years old when he became count of Barcelona and 13 when his mother renounced her rights in Aragon in his favor and became king, ruled under the name of Alfonso II to PLEASE the Aragonese. Give me a break, he was not called Josep-Lluis, Ramon Berenguer was not so difficult to pronounce, he was the son, grandson, great grandson of Ramon Berenguers, he was born in the outskirts of Barcelona (something I have to change periodically in the Spanish wikipedia, since they always make him a native of Huesca) and he had to change his name to please the Aragonese.
And his grandson, Jaume I, another big disappointment, even though I truely admire him. Despite he has nothing but praise for Catalonia and the Catalans ("And by the faith that we owe to God, since those of Catalonia, which is the best kingdom of Spain, the most honoured, the most noble,...", Llibre dels Feyts), he goes to Majorca and makes them a kingdom, he goes to Valencia and makes them a kingdom, he does not annex them to Catalonia, let it be, but he does not even change the rank of Catalonia to a kingdom, the most noble, the most honoured, the most "gilipollas", that's the truth.

After such a brilliant start, what can we expect now? The worst. On one side, our politicians have adopted all the negative characteristics of our Catalan ancestors, making compromises too quickly, not having "cojones", being low profile, betraying their own (botiflerisme), etc, plus many other new ones that they have quickly absorbed like being corrupt, practicing nepotism, red tape, etc.
The Mas, Carod-Roviras, Puigcercos, Chacons, Corbachos, Vendrells and Montillas of this world will sink Catalonia and will actually erase the few remaining characteristics of our culture, characteristics which survived in its genuine form for more than 1000 years till 1939 and which first through Franco's application of Machiavelli's guidelines that can be concisely found in The Prince ('if you want to dominate a country that has a different language, it is much more effective to send colonies of your own people than big armies' wrote Machiavelli) and later through the even more effective methodology of self-destruction that consists of giving the power to a moron and ask him to represent an "honoured and noble" people.

And I know what you are thinking and you are right. I have to admit it. I do not have "cojones" either.