Dispatch From Catalonia

The fervour of Spanish politics shows up our Kiwi concerns as trivial.

- Bill Ralston

We arrived in Barcelona and a million flag-waving locals turned out to greet us. Well, actually, the crowd was waving the yellow and red striped flag of Catalan independence; they blocked the streets and choked the city square where our tiny hotel, Catalunya, was situated and seemed somewhat irate that their bid for full autonomy last year had been blocked.

Like much of Spain’s politics, the people of Catalonia are roughly equally split over full independence as opposed to being an autonomous state within the country. The Catalans are a distinct national group with their own language and customs who were brutally suppressed by General Franco after the civil war and only gradually re-emerged at about the time democracy did.