Manresa, in the Bages region, will host its first "Sant Jordi for the Language" demonstration on 23 April, with organisers calling for a mobilisation to protest the decline of the Catalan language.
The protest, themed "Book, rose, and demo!", will begin at 7pm in Neus Català Square. This marks Manresa's debut as a host city for the annual event, which previously took place in Girona and Barcelona. This year, the organisation has expanded its territorial reach, with demonstrations also planned for Barcelona, Girona, Reus, Tortosa, and Igualada. The initiative aims to decentralise the struggle for Catalan and bring it to every corner of the country, according to organisers.
The call to action has garnered support from around 30 civil and social entities, including Òmnium Cultural, Plataforma per la Llengua, and the Tenants' Union. For the second consecutive year, the platform seeks to publicly denounce the regression of Catalan and the rise in linguistic discrimination.
The Manresa event is designed with a clear unitary purpose, bringing together unions, cultural and sports entities, and social movements from the Bages region. Organisers emphasise that the defence of Catalan is not an isolated issue, but is intimately linked to the country's broader societal model.
Linking Language to Social Issues
As stated in the manifesto, "the economic model based on tourism and real estate speculation precaritises our lives and hinders rootedness and access to the language for everyone." The gathering in Neus Català Square is intended to be both a protest and a celebration of cultural resistance. The programme for the event will feature the reading of a unitary manifesto by representatives of Manresa's social fabric, alongside brief political interventions designed to place the linguistic emergency on the public agenda.
The event will culminate with the Tirallongues human tower group raising a 'pilar' (human pillar) to symbolise the steadfastness and verticality of the Catalan language. The Sant Jordi for the Language team in Bages has urged all entities and collectives to join the call and actively participate in what they anticipate will be a historic day for the capital of Bages.
Organisers remind the public that Catalan is "the tool that allows us to build community in an increasingly hostile world," and that this Sant Jordi, the best way to celebrate it is by defending it on the streets. The Sant Jordi for the Language initiative originated from the concerns of young people involved in Barcelona's associative fabric, who concluded that linguistic demands needed to be brought to the city streets and linked to other social struggles.
