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Catalan people possess a powerful collective unconscious to
which certain keys have been given by history in the form of
information and ideas. This acquired knowledge, the prestige
of centuries past, and more importantly, the existence of a
Catalan nation have been eclipsed by traditional education.
A minority of 430 000 residents of North Catalonia are today
informed of historical events that took place in the region;
of Catalan contributions to the sciences, arts, humanities and
economics in Europe and the world. The first world atlas, the
establishment of peace for all, the role of women, democratic
innovations, iron forging techniques are all examples of idea
or inventions from Catalonia that have benefited the rest of
humanity.
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The
failure to recognise and appreciate these aspects of Catalan
culture does not exist in opposition to the Catalan pride: the
North Catalan people are aware of having experienced trials
in which they were badly treated, they know they represented
a power and influence, they are capable of imparting this certainty
buried at the base of their memories without knowing the fundamental
details. Alongside this contradiction is the search for an ideal
– as powerful as it is undefined – lost in the minds and damaged
by the loss of references or by the fact that there is no longer
mastery of the Catalan language. This fact, essential to understanding
the region, overwhelms numerous observers, journalists, scholars,
tourists and ‘new Catalans.’ Following Spain’s entry into the
European Community in 1986, the opening of minds towards South
Catalonia added new ingredients to the pride of North Catalonia.
Dali and Gaudi, F.C Barcelona, the economic push, the prestige
and profusion of South Catalan events, Catalan television channels
– these were the new keys identified, they gave occasion to
the renewal of Catalan pride in the north and to a full rediscovery.
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