One of the standard debates between Spanish and Catalan nationalists is on the question of how different from Spain Catalonia really is. One piece of evidence the Spanish nationalists have is that everyday life in Catalonia is very similar to the rest of Spain, and rather different from other European countries. Barcelona is much more like Seville than it is like Lyon. The daily rhythms of worktime and mealtime, people's body language, shared popular and high culture, manners, food, sense of humor, style of family life--all these aspects make Catalonia a lot like Spain and not very much like France. Catalan, Aragonese, and Old Castilian towns and villages are virtually indistinguishable in their appearance.

The Catalan nationalists answer back, saying that Catalonia is different from the rest of Spain. When asked, "How?", they'll cite the language question first. And they have a good point; some 50% of Catalans use Catalan as their preferred language. This is very different from the rest of Spain. However, 50% of Catalans prefer to use Spanish, and 99% of them can do so with native-speaker ability. This is very similar to the rest of Spain.

The next thing they'll usually mention is the food, but actually Catalan food isn't that much different from the rest of Spain. Really, all Mediterranean cooking has a lot in common; the major difference is that on the north side they eat pork and on the south side they don't, and some people on the south side don't drink wine. The other raw materials used are the same.

Then they'll probably mention Spanish cultural specifics that are not true in Catalonia, and the answer to this is "Yes, but..." For example, most Catalans don't care for flamenco / sevillanas in general, but every village fiesta mayor band plays Spanish standards. Generally, Spanish pop music is quite popular here. Many Catalans don't care for bullfighting, either, but enough of them do to keep a major bullring in business in Barcelona. Towns along the Ebro River, and for some reason Olot, also have bullfights, and several towns have bull runs, called "correbous."

Then they'll cite Catalan cultural specifics that don't exist in the rest of Spain. Here they sort of have a point. There are things people do only in Catalonia. The question is whether they're really important enough to distinguish a nation from another one.

At the top of my list is Sant Jordi, April 23, today. It's the Catalan equivalent of Valentine's Day. Men buy women a rose and women buy men a book. This is actually quite civilized; of course, the book and flower industries make tons of money, but, hey, I'm all in favor of business. They hang Catalan flags out all over the place, and set up stalls on the streets selling flowers or books. The city is very pretty on Sant Jordi.

Second are castells. Castells are really cool. These large organized groups, who practice this a lot, get together in public squares and climb on top of one another to make human towers. They can go ten persons high, and if the tower collapses the results are painful. It's all organized, and they have competitions and championships and the like. My understanding is that the Estrella beer company pays for the insurance in a sponsorship deal.