Catalonia Day: a shared celebration
The celebration of the National Day of Catalonia at the Casal Català de Guayaquil was, once again, a meeting of participation, culture and community.
The day brought together the different groups that are part of the life of the Casal and allowed us to share a celebration in which Catalan culture was expressed through music, dance, language, arts and the participation of our partners and students.
One of the particularly significant moments was the participation of the Catalan students with the Choir of the Casal, who joined the celebration through music and put into practice, also on stage, what they have learned during the course.
The participants of the dance group for the elderly joined the day with a presentation of Catalan rumba, bringing joy, movement and a lot of enthusiasm to this celebration.
We also had the opportunity to present the participating works of “Essències de Catalunya”, a project developed within the framework of Catalonia-Guayaquil, which seeks to bring Catalonia and Guayaquil closer through creation, artistic gaze and cultural exchange.
During the day, the works that received recognition in this edition were made known and the different views on Catalonia proposed by their authors were shared with the public.
The celebration began with a word of welcome and thanks to all the people who make it possible for the Casal to continue being a living space of encounter between cultures, generations and people.
The president of the Casal Català de Guayaquil, I also shared a few words with the attendees. The Diada speech can be consulted in full in this same space.
The Day is, for us, much more than a date on the calendar. It is an opportunity to meet again, celebrate our roots and, at the same time, continue building bridges between Catalonia and Guayaquil.
One more year, we celebrated it together.
Live Catalonia and live the Catalan Casal de Guayaquil!
SPEECH — NATIONAL DAY OF CATALONIA 2026
Very good morning.
Authorities, institutional representatives, members, friends and friends of the Casal, Catalans and Catalans, descendants and all the people who accompany us: welcome to the Casal Català de Guayaquil on this 312nd National Day of Catalonia.
Every September 11th we remember the fall of Barcelona in 1714, after months of resistance during the War of the Spanish Succession. It was a historical defeat that, over time, became a symbol of memory, identity and cultural resistance. Today we are not here just to remember the past, but to ask ourselves what we are doing today, in Guayaquil, with the inheritance we have received.
For a long time we thought that, in order to strengthen the Casal, we had to look for more Catalans, more descendants and more people closely linked to Catalonia. We realized that reality had changed and that we needed to move and look from another angle. 13 years ago we opened the doors to the Guayaquil community.
The harvest was coming, little by little... young students, artists and elderly people without Catalan ancestry arrived who wanted to learn the language, paint, dance, take photography or explore new tools. So we created a true community.
Learning the language is the best example. We know full well that, on the way, not everyone continues or completes the route, but what is really valuable is that new students continue to arrive.
In the period 2024–2025 58 students enrolled. 17 students were encouraged to prepare especially to take the tests of the Institut Ramon Llull. In the period 2025–2026, the number of registered students grew to 66, consolidating today a living training offer that covers, for the moment, from level A1 to B1.
Soon we will open classes aimed at the elderly, in closed groups, for those people who have children or grandchildren living there and who want, as a family, to approach culture, or for those descendants who thought it was too late to learn and who finally give themselves a chance.
In addition, we took a key step in integrating our students into institutional life under the figure of the partner-student. Today we have 72 student-members, who join the 60 members with direct ties to Catalonia and the 8 managing partners, reaching a total of 132 people linked to this Casal.
I'd like to stop here for a moment. Because these figures acquire immense value when we remember who we are.
We are not a social club with large infrastructures or recreational spaces. What the Casal offers is content, culture, exhibitions, learning and memory.
That 132 people choose to be part of this space does not respond to a material benefit, but to a pure act of solidarity, romanticism and a deep love for Catalan culture and our roots.
Therefore, our future challenge is to get these new generations to move from participating to proposing projects, making them a reality and also leading them.
The framework agreement with universities has been a great boost, strengthening teaching and promoting CatalàClick, our space dedicated to Instagram and Facebook to the dissemination and learning of the language, a space designed especially for them.
This impact is also reflected in the institution’s social networks – on Instagram, Facebook and X under the name of Casal Català de Guayaquil – where we have a solid community that grows organically.
At the same time, the groups of Painting and the group of Elderly people in dance have been consolidated. Our workshops range from cooking masterclasses at the University of Guayaquil for Gastronomy students, to photography, artificial intelligence and Trencadís workshops, which we offer here, at the Casal.
We are especially grateful to the Spanish Ministry of Labour and Social Security in Quito, whose programmes not only support workshops for the elderly, but also provide care for people in vulnerable situations.
Likewise, over the last five years, the Casal has been a supportive hand and a guide: a link to accompany in document management, coordinate with the Consulate and facilitate the process of repatriation to Spain and Catalonia of compatriots in difficult times.
Cultural management acquires its most human meaning when it translates into solidarity and mutual support.
We also want to thank the Generalitat de Catalunya, whose continued support allows us to keep the Catalan presence in Ecuador alive every year.
Opening up to the future requires taking care of our memory.
We remember Montserrat, our founder, and all the people who have supported this house for decades, such as Lolita, Marianita and various patrons during the 1980s and 1990s.
In this line, on August 28, we presented the book The legacy of Catalan immigrants in Ecuador, by researchers Albert Arnavat and Francisco Javier Mazzerés, with the support of the Casal de Quito, reaffirming that our history is part of a living memory.
This memory continues to be active through art.
During the month of September we will present an exhibition about the architect Josep Lluís Sert and another dedicated to three great Catalan photographers: Colita, Pilar Aymerich and Joana Biarnés, claiming the role of women creators.
Likewise, the Guayaquil - Catalunya project has convened eight non-professional painters as participants to interpret, from their own sensitivity, the geography and the Catalan landscape through oil painting.
It was not all simple.
The difficulties and the reality of the country and, above all, of our city, have forced us to adapt and to look for new ways of finding ourselves.
A community is put to the test before adversity: we continue here, with the house open and creating together.
If I had to summarize this period in three words, they would be: visibility, because we want the Casal to be recognized in Guayaquil; community, because culture lives in participation; and family, because we continue to be an intergenerational home.
That Catalan seed that arrived in Ecuador decades ago took root in Guayaquil and today continues to grow every time someone learns the language, takes a brush, dances or discovers that this house is also theirs.
Commemorating history is not living in the past; it is taking care of the inheritance and having the courage to make it flourish.
Thank you very much to everyone for joining us and for making it possible for this house to continue to make sense day after day.
Long live Catalonia.
Live the Catalan Casal of Guayaquil.
