Alejandro López was born, raised and still lives in Zalamea la Real, a small town in Huelva. During the pandemic he met a Catalan girl who lived in the same town, they formed a couple and he began to become interested in Catalan. During a stay in Catalonia, walking through Rupit, they entered the wafer shop of a man named Joan, an artisan who still makes them with a century-old machine.
Joan began to speak to him in Catalan and, when she learned that Alejandro was Andalusian, she immediately switched to Spanish. The boy told him that it was not necessary, that he really liked Catalan. In fact, the conversation with Joan made him decide to learn Catalan.
In the interview, which the young man gave to RAC1, he comments that people who are unaware of the Catalan reality believe many false myths, and assures that Spanish is not the threatened language in Catalonia, but Catalan.
López has become famous on TikTok with the account @aleonfocus for his defense of Catalan and because he breaks stereotypes of anti-Catalanism with videos in which he responds to comments that criticize him for speaking in Catalan. “
Alejandro recognizes that having a Catalan partner has helped his learning a lot. However, he has done the heavy lifting through the language learning application Duolingo and also by watching TV3 programs such as Polònia, of which he considers himself a fan. All, without forgetting that he also listens to RAC1 and Catalunya Ràdio. When there is interest, there are no barriers.
