During a day of castles in Vilafranca, I am introduced to some candidates for mayor, and Professor Jaume Rafecas warns me that I will like the slogan of the young ERC candidate: “Vilafranca amb sabates noves”. At home we had a shoe store and I know many phrases referring to footwear, but I don’t understand the meaning of the recommendation until I realize that the candidate’s last name allows you to play with him: Sàbat, Pere Sàbat. It’s not a shoehorned pun. In fact, it’s so discreet that it could go unnoticed.

But Rafecas, who is a verbivorous expert, did well to put himself in my shoes (what in English they would say “in my shoes”) because I immediately suspect that the candidate Sàbat will rest happily during the Saturday day of reflection.

Municipalities are so personalistic that they encourage playing with the candidate’s last name. On this occasion Xavier Trias has ruled out conjugating the verb triar (elecir), as he had done other times, but the Junts en Premià de Dalt candidate (Josep Triadó) does it for him: “Tria Triadó”. In Valencia, the current mayor for Compromís, Joan Ribó, proposes “Riboluciona Valencia”. In Cambrils, the candidate for ERC takes advantage of the fact that her name is Camí Mendoza to say “We walk with you”, and in Torredembarra, the candidate for PSC, Valeriano Pino, emboldens herself with a “What’s worth, VALE!”. The problem is that among the other nine candidacies competing with Vale in Torredembarra is that of the Valents party. ok On the other hand, in La Garriga, Valents does not run, and perhaps that is why the PSC candidate Àlex Valiente uses the slogan “The brave mayor”.

The municipal ones are a festival. There are so many candidates that a string of verses with all the slogans would be longer than L’Atlàntida by Verdaguer.