Elkano in Passeig de Gracia

I said once that in this blog I would be talking about Barcelona. I admit that this hasn't happened as often as I promised, since I tend to talk about what happens to me and my circumstances. But today, for a change, I will talk about something about my mother's city.

I was waiting at the station surroundings, wasting some minutes until the moment came to go to the dungeons where this station is located, an infernal and ghastly place, where I try to stay the shortest time possible. Outside the evening was wonderful, inviting me to stay for longer, sitting at some terrace having a drink and, perphas, a talk with one of the many visitor that like swallows in Spring appear in the streets of Barcelona.

I looked up, while standing in front of the mouth of the station, and I saw an unexpected statue. Who was that guy? On its base it is written "Elkano". Elkano? Juan Sebastian Elcano? What is he doing up there? And a little to the right, over the threshold of the main entrance to the building, the answer. Two marble engraved stones, with the same text, in Catalan and in Basque.

Etxe honetan egon zen 1936-tik 1939-arteko gerrate bitartean euzkadiko ordezkaritza katalunian bi herrien arteko anaitasunezko eta adiskidetasunezko harremanak bultzatu eta giza-aldezko ekintza eskergarri bat burutu zuena.

Something like that during the Spanish Civil war, a delegation of the Basque Government was housed here, which closely and fraternally collaborated with the Catalan Government in humaniratian tasks. I imagine those humanitarian tasks had to do with the help to all the people who had to flee from the fascist army from the Basque Country to Republican zone caused by the breaking of the front war line into two pieces and the fall of San Sebastian and Bilbao very early in the war.

At the end of the war, though, the Catalan President was shot dead by the fascists and all our laws, government and language, banned. However, by selling their soul to the devil, they managed to keep theirs, along with their sovereignty and taxes. Even now, April 2010, the flimsy statute that should be ruling the Autonomy -- this humbug that was invented in the 70's to shut up our demands -- is stuck in the Constitutional Court just because it says that Catalan people exist and, maybe, we should be managing our own taxes.

And where is the fraternal and friendly help of the Basques now? Lost, as usual, and minding their own business. So, mutatis mutandis, I'm sorry to say that your people and you, Elkano, can go and get a little lost fishing some bacalao!