Knowns and Unknowns of Spain

Hello Everyone!

 I've been in Barcelona with a Rotary Camp,in this summer. I stayed at 2 different houses,with 2 different families. Also I've been in Igualada,Vilafranca Del Penedès and Manresa. So,I had a chance to get to know their culture. People who are from these cities (also there are another cities like Tarragona,Girona,Lleida etc.) say that they are Catalan. They speak Catalan,have Catalan festivals and eat something from their culture. I haven't seen any Spanish place like restaurants,cafes etc. All Catalan people know Spanish -I learned that they all learn Spanish from their schools- but they prefer to speak Catalan. They also have their own flag and without exception,all people hang this flag to their balconies. In addition,some houses have ''si'' banners,these mean they will vote for yes if they have a referendum about independence.

 They have their own politicians and some of them are in prison (actually I don't know the reason) so they have symbol to say freedom for political prisoners (the yellow thing) and have banners as llibertat presos politics in Catalan.

 Furthermore,in Vilafranca,I learned that Catalans have a tradition as ''Human Tower'' (Castell). People,who build the human towers with precise techniques are called as ''Castellers'' they do training at least twice a week. There are hundreds of people,who hold the tower from floor. The person on the top is generally a kid. When people feel safe on the tower,the kid climbs the top and raises hand. The record is 15 meters and 9 levels. The Human Tower to be inscribed on Unesco's list of examples of  "intangible cultural heritage".

 In Manresa,on 7th July,I joined at one of the important festival of them. There were huge human bodies. One person in each body and carried it. Bodies have traditional clothes and they were dancing with their songs.

 As a conclusion,before arriving to Barcelona,I hadn't guessed to see another culture types different from Spain's other parts. Even signboards were Catalan. But now,I feel myself lucky for learning something unknown. Hope my post will beneficial for you.

Gracias!

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