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Changes in the 'family photo' for the anti-independence Ciudadanos (Cs) party: Lorena Roldán, currently a Cs senator and a deputy in the Catalan Parliament, is to replace Inés Arrimadas as Cs leader in Catalonia, following the decision announced this Saturday by Arrimadas to make the jump from the Catalan Parliament to Spain's Congress at the Spanish general election on April 28th. 

Meanwhile, a photo of new leader Lorena Roldán shows that she was once a link in a pro-independence "human chain". The image shows Roldán wearing a traditional red Catalan barretina on her head in an enormous protest asserting Catalonia's right to decide its own future through a referendum. Specifically, the photograph comes from the Via Catalana, the spectacular 400-kilometre human chain formed by an estimated 1.6 million people on September 11th, 2013.

lorena roldan amb barretina Delcamp

Roldán has confirmed to the digital newspaper Delcamp.cat that it is her who appears in the photo wearing the barretina. She says she is not in favour of independence and only went to the Via Catalana because she didn't want to stick out as different at work. However, co-workers of Roldán question this version.

Today, Lorena Roldán went on Twitter to show her support for the woman she is replacing as Cs leader in Catalonia. She said to Inés Arrimadas: "Good luck in this new stage. Your courage, firmness and determination in defence of freedom in Catalonia will continue to accompany you wherever you are. It will be an honour for you to be the voice of millions of Catalans in Congress."

The 'musical chairs' in the Cs party also include the shift of Juan Carlos Girauta, the current head of the party list for Barcelona, to the list for Toledo province at the upcoming Spanish elections. This change left the way clear for Arrimadas to be number one on the Barcelona list.