This Thursday night is the 130th night since the Spanish Supreme Court released its verdicts on the Catalan independence leaders' trial, sentencing nine politicians and activists to long years of imprisonment, sending Catalonia into a rage that set the streets on fire for days, and provoking international outcry about both the sentences and the failure to address the conflict.
How do we know it is the 130th night? Because tonight, protesters in Avinguda Meridiana in Barcelona blocked the major city traffic artery for the 130th consecutive time.
They were accompanied this Thursday by singer-songwriter and activist, Lluís Llach. He thanked them, saying "Those of us who go around talking about possible hopes know that you are here every day, and in reality, you are one of the few candles that is still burning, every night, every night, every night."
Later, Llach sang L'Estaca (The Stake) enveloped in an impassioned audience who lit up the scene with their cellphone flashlights.
The Avinguda Meridiana roadblock reached its 130th consecutive night on Thursday with its ability to continue under threat. On Wednesday, the Barcelona city council called on the Catalan government to end the traffic interruptions at this location in the Catalan capital.
However, Catalan interior minister Miquel Buch responded that "the decision can only be made in accordance with the law." As long as there are no risks to people or property, Buch says the Catalan government "can do no other than comply with what the law says."
Buch made it clear he was convinced that this right to protest could coexist with the rights of other people.