Submitted by Angela Kalesis on the 2018 spring semester program in Barcelona, Spain…
Being in Barcelona is like being in Spain, and not all, at the same time. The people in Spain despise Catalonians for wanting to secede, and the Catalonians hate Madrid for the tyrannical actions of the past and the present. This dispute is nothing new, as all of the study abroad students have learned from our time here. One of the classes I am taking delves into the history of Barcelona from a lens of urban planning and even in that topic the people of Barcelona have been suppressed by the capital. So, what other way to truly understand this divide than to head straight to the capital?
A weekend in Madrid, with SAE, the program we are involved with in Spain, was a truly eye-opening experience. We were able to see the capital while simultaneously hearing the opinions of those from Catalonia. There are different emotions when seeing the magnificent Royal Palace, and later hearing that the tax dollars of people are used to keep this 2,000 room palace pristine, though no one even lives in it. It is clear throughout most of the city that the tax dollars do indeed head straight here. My friends were constantly commenting on how much cleaner the city was and how beautiful the local sites and streets were.
This was such a sad sight to see, but it is the reality of the situation here, and after being a “local” of Barcelona these past few months, it is hurtful. I have made this city my own, seen the protests and heard the struggles of the residents just to go to a beautiful city where the people see Catalonians with such contempt. I believe that both sides are judging each other very harshly, and I still feel like an outsider looking in, but something just doesn’t sit right with me about how lavish the life in the capital seems.