Five presidents of the Generalitat attended the tribute to Pau Casals in Prada de Conflent. The image has great power in times of sentimental and ideological divorces. And the presence of Carles Puigdemont underlines its political relevance, confirmed by the displays of support and – there are things that do not change – by the cries against José Montilla.
President Jordi Pujol held a parliament in which, by mistake, Pasqual Maragall was put to death. This suggests that no one writes the speeches and that, after a certain age, the possibilities of confusing us multiply. Maragall distanced himself from public activity when he was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s and, in 2007, he wanted to announce it to give visibility to the disease and contribute to research. Today the Pasqual Maragall Foundation actively honors this intention. Until recently, I still saw the president walking, accompanied by two carers, along Via Augusta, the last time sitting on a bench and humming the Virolai.
Hopefully President Pujol’s confusion doesn’t become a recurring and cruel meme. For family reasons, it made me smile wistfully. In the summer of 2006, Agustí de Semir, lawyer and defender of anti-Franco defendants, died. He was an important figure in Catalanist politics and resistance, a friend of my father, with whom they had recently shared (with Maria Salvo) an honorary doctorate from the Universitat Politècnica de Barcelona.
The phone rang at the parents’ house. The mother hung up. The president, sincerely contrite, conveyed his condolences for the death of Gregorio, my father. The president was confused and, probably out of haste, wanted to be the first to support the widow. The mother listened to him and when she was able to put in a spoonful – it is not easy to interrupt Pujol – she said to him: “One moment, president, so that I can give my condolences to Gregorio personally”.
Gradually, the father, whose health was already threatened by the ravages of old age, got up and walked into the hall – they had a telephone in the hall – and he and the president were able to clear up the misunderstanding between laughs and celebrate, with respect for differences and shared battles, the fact of being alive.