President to visit La Zarza and Mérida on 16–17 September
Salvador Illa, president of the Generalitat, will travel to Extremadura on 16 and 17 September 2026 to mark the National Day of Catalonia (Diada) with a series of institutional events. This year, instead of holding parallel events in Madrid, Illa has chosen Mérida and the surrounding region to highlight the historical and cultural ties between Catalonia and Extremadura. The visit begins with a stop in La Zarza, a small town in Badajoz province, where Illa will visit the Monument to the Emigrant. The memorial honours hundreds of local residents who left rural Extremadura in the 20th century to seek work in industrial regions of Spain, including Catalonia, according to a government statement.
Tribute to Manolo Vital and screening of El 47
A central moment of the trip will be a special tribute to Manolo Vital, an Extremaduran immigrant who became a community leader in Barcelona’s Nou Barris district and was the protagonist of the film El 47. The event will include a screening of the film at the Mérida Auditorium, followed by an institutional act attended by Vital’s granddaughter, Joana Vital. The tribute underscores Illa’s ongoing focus on the contributions of Spanish immigrants to Catalonia, particularly those who arrived from Andalusia, Galicia, and Extremadura during the 1950s and 1960s.
The intention is to reaffirm what unites both territories, as well as the historical, family and cultural bonds between Catalonia and Extremadura.
Collaboration on Roman heritage to be strengthened
On Thursday 17 September, Illa will meet with Mérida’s mayor, Antonio Rodríguez (PSOE), at the city hall, where he will sign the city’s book of honour. Later, the city councils of Mérida and Tarragona will sign a cooperation protocol to jointly promote and protect their shared Roman heritage, specifically the Roman Theatre of Mérida and the Tarraco archaeological site in Tarragona. Illa is scheduled to visit Mérida’s Roman Theatre, a UNESCO World Heritage site, during the trip. The new protocol aligns with ongoing efforts by the Generalitat and Tarragona’s city council to strengthen the management of Tarragona’s Roman heritage, including the recently launched Consorci de Gestió del Patrimoni Romà de Tarragona.
No meeting planned with Extremadura’s regional government
Illa will not meet with the Junta de Extremadura, the region’s governing body, which is currently led by a coalition of the PP and Vox. Government sources confirmed that no such meeting is scheduled, underscoring the political context of the visit while focusing on municipal and cultural cooperation.
Primary sources: govern.cat, cultura.gencat.cat, patrimonifestiu.cultura.gencat.cat, patrimoni.gencat.cat. Reported by es.ara.cat, larazon.es, en.ara.cat, J. López-Lago, collector.com.tr, turismomerida.org, Ràdio Ciutat de Tarragona, elperiodico.cat, elpuntavui.cat, laciutat.cat, tarragonaradio.cat, diaridetarragona.com, El País.
