Today, Catalonia bid farewell to antifascist fighter Neus Català, who died on Saturday at the age of 103, in an emotional public ceremony attended by close to 400 people, including a large number of senior public officials.
The coffin, draped in a Spanish republican flag and topped with white and red flowers, was the focal point of a packed room at the funeral home in the village of Móra la Nova in the south of Catalonia.
Photo: ACN
Her fight for feminism, rights and freedoms, as well as the more intimate memories of her children, were at the heart of the farewell ceremony. Music came from Marina Rossell and Montse Castellà, with L'emigrant and Vull un trosset de terra (literally, "I want a small piece of land"), a poem by Desideri Lombarte set to music by Daniel Sesé.
The ceremony was attended by current Catalan president Quim Torra, the speaker of the Parliament, Roger Torrent, and ministers Josep Bargalló, Alfred Bosch, Alba Vergés and Esther Capella. Also present from ERC were their candidate for mayor of Barcelona, Ernest Maragall, and the number two on their list of candidates for Congress, Gabriel Rufián. The current mayor of Barcelona, Ada Colau, also travelled to Móra la Nova to pay her respects. There were also dozens of people who followed the ceremony from outside.
Si alguien merecía un Funeral de Estado en este país ese alguien era Neus Català.
— Gabriel Rufián (@gabrielrufian) 16 d’abril de 2019
Que la tierra te sea leve, camarada.
Hasta la victoria siempre. pic.twitter.com/evI3UDB0zF
Comiat de país. La teva memòria, Neus Català, és el nostre llegat.
— Ernest Maragall i Mira (@ernestmaragall) 16 d’abril de 2019
“Vull un trosset de terra” de Desideri Lombarte.
“No tingueu aprensió, que seran bones; la terra purifique i tot ho escou.
I si n'hi vaig donar bons fruits en vida, per què no els puc donar després de mort?” pic.twitter.com/cfdWgHwfvE
El comiat de Neus Català ha estat sobretot un, fins sempre! Sempre present, sempre en la memòria. No hi ha mort que no sigui la mort de la memòria. Tenim el deure de mantenir la seva memòria viva. És la memòria de la lluita antifeixista, democràtica, feminista i per la llibertat pic.twitter.com/xEk7P4Puw1
— Alba Vergés Bosch 🎗 (@albaverges) 16 d’abril de 2019
Torra promised to preserve Català's memory and said that her example will become a engine which "will give us strength and dignity in our daily fights and in the great fight for a free and just world".
The president called on the Catalan people to "be worthy of her testimony" and to follow "her example, her wish, her commitment and her fight". And he thanked her because "by knowing the darkness, misery and brutality, to want to look them in the eyes and not let them beat us is a way to be stronger in the face of fascism".
After today's public ceremony, her family will hold a more private farewell.