Graffiti Assassins in Barcelona

The assassins boarded the trains at various Metro stations across Barcelona last Sunday.

Jardins de les 3 Xemeneies, Barcelona – You could see the tools they use to eliminate their rivals poking out of backpacks and foldable shopping carts.

They had picked up Green and Purple Line connections at Sants Estacio, España or Cataluña and climbed out into the daylight at the Parallel station. They made no effort to hide what they were about to do.

The Jardins de les 3 Xemeneies (garden of 3 idle smoke stacks) is down near the wharves where the old power plant provided electricity during of the Fascist era, close to the majestic ‘Aduana’ customs building where you can see the colossal Columbus pointing to the New World and smell the Mediterranean.

This garden is where self-appointed street artists can use a gallon of fast-dry latex to snuff out the work of any another artist, painting a new creation over an a old one. Life expectancy is short here. The Jardins de les 3 Xemeneies is the Serengeti of graffiti art.

There are no rules — each artist decides which piece of art to paint into oblivion. You can put an inferior work out of its misery or you assassinate an artistic genius who makes your own work look average. A piece might survive a week or a day or just an afternoon.

An artist at work that Sunday morning said he invests no more than a few hours creating his masterpieces. I reached for the Spanish word ‘espantáneo’ to describe my admiration of his agility but the syllables came out wrong. He thanked my in English.

It’s impossible to get off the metro and walk a few blocks anywhere in Barcelona without finding something you didn’t expect and you didn’t know existed.

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Monarchist Girls in Barcelona

They wrapped themselves in Spanish flags as a show of solidarity.These kids on the fanciest part of Diagonal Avenue struck this pose instantly, almost professionally.

They were on their way back from a loyalist march on the National Day of Spain. They had demonstrated for Cataluña to remain as part of Spain.

In the morning you could see a steady stream of flags headed toward the main plaza. Estimates from sixty to two-hundred thousand people had participated.

Four years ago massive showings of independence flags, the huge demonstration on Plaza de Cataluña, and the banging of pots and pans from open windows (a haunting event) shaped my notions about Cataluña’s push toward independence.

But today’s counter rally shows the other side of the debate. These young Barcelonans believe that preserving the union will serve their future best. Both sides use red-hot rhetoric to condemn their opponents and both have valid arguments worth considering. The media are playing to their bases.

This northeast corner of Spain is struggling with the same questions that roiled our colonies. Even though we had the benefit of limitless land and resources, it was touch-and-go for a good while.

An independent Cataluña carved out as a sliver on the Mediterranean coast would not have those advantages. And truth be told it’s hard to find a Washington, Jefferson or Franklin when you need one.

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Xavier and Catalan Independence

They declared the referendum unconstitutional and then put the independence leaders in prison.Xavier Ballart is the owner of the apartment where I’m staying in Barcelona. He stopped by to explain Cataluña’s drive for independence.

Even though he spoke Spanish instead of Catalan, I couldn’t understand him as well as I’d like. He suspected as much but was too polite to let on. There was no mistaking what his hands and his expressions were saying.

Xavier said economics is part of the story. Cataluña is an innovative, productive part of the country. Like the colonials in early America, Catalans resent that Madrid takes a oversized bite out of their taxes before sending what’s left to other parts of the country.

But just as important, he said, is dignity.

The Catalan history runs deep and includes a distinct language that was outlawed by the fascists under Franco. Cataluña considers itself more open and forward thinking that other parts of Spain. It sets trends and challenges traditions. It is to Spain roughly what California is to the U.S.

Its population is about that of modern-day Switzerland and three times greater than America’s was when we claimed independence .

Last year a referendum on independence was outlawed by Spain and suppressed by the police. Some separatists leaders went into exile. Although the vote was in favor of independence, divisions run deep.

There were marches on Sunday. I happened to walk past a company of police standing on the ready on the east side of town. Xavier refers to them as RoboCops.

Secession is tricky business. Our Declaration of Independence insists that a free people have the right to secede and form a new government but the constitution we ended up with doesn’t include that protection. We fought a civil war over that issue.

Cataluña’s drive for independence has had an effect on investments and the economy. European governments have not given the recognition the ‘independentistas’ are asking for.

Xavier wears a yellow cloth ribbon on his shirt — you see them on the streets. He gave me an enameled metal version that he knows, as a visitor, I’ll never wear. He simply wanted a blogger from America to know that something is happening here.

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Reasons To Learn A Foreign Language

There are thoughts you can’t think in English.

Studying a foreign language changes your brain.

Studying a language is a kind of travelling.

You like crossword puzzles, it’s like that.

It will improve your English.

Each new word becomes an old friend.

Learning to read for the second time is as magic as the first.

Doing the difficult for no practical reason appeals to you.

People are nice to people learning their language.

You’ll end up with an irresistible accent.

Many of you have mentioned you have studied, you’re now studying or hope that one day you’ll free up the time to study a foreign language. And why not?

I’m heading back to Barcelona for several weeks of classes — hoping that this time I’ll be able talk to people in their language and later introduce them in ‘Out Among Humans.’

A lot of them will want to practice their English, they always do. So we’ll compromise and end up somewhere in between two languages.

I’m okay with that — I still need a safety net.

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Spanish Fever 1 – No Shortcuts

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The Year of The Spanish Fever

There are no magic chants or mobile apps to make learning a language easy.

The term ‘language immersion’ suggests that you can learn through osmosis and master a language in your sleep. The reality is that your brain can absorb only so much before it needs to process in background mode. At some point it shuts down and demands tequila (sake you’re studying Japanese), a long walk or a nap. Read more…

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