The Catalan Stereotype

From our foreign point of view we all know – and probably cherish – the typical stereotype of the Spanish: loud, happy, carefree, party animals. There are even more of those inside Spain. And so people in Madrid are arrogant, those in Andalusia – traditional, happy and they dance flamenco all day long, the Basque Country is full of pig-head ignorants and Catalans… what are Catalans like? According to the local stereotype they are stingy and closed.

During my 6-month stay in Catalonia I’ve come across all sorts of Catalans. And yes, some of them seemed closed, some were stingy, some were not as friendly as I would have wished. In total those made only a handful of people I met. Most of the them, especially the ones I got to know better, turned out to be absolutely great people and lovely friends.

On the top of it, I’ve experienced quite a few acts of friendliness coming from total strangers. Like this woman on the metro one summer night who reminded me of the main character of the Spanish show Aida: short, curvy and motherly. She must have noticed I was in pain after wearing heels for too long and, like a guardian angel, kindly offered me a sticking plaster to soothe the pain. Or like the guys who shared a cab with me at 3am on a Sunday night because I was not aware of the fact there are no other means of communication at this time of the night and in this area, and I was freaking far away from home. And like the numerous maintenance/construction/road workers with their ever creative piropos, varying from ‘hey beautiful’ to ‘sweetie, don’t walk in the sun or you’ll melt!’ (OK, I never actually heard this one myself but my Spanish teacher swore it’s a true story). Or like this guy who saw me walking down the beach and asked if he could be my friend. He was very determined to make friends so I eventually gave him my e-mail (the one I never check).

And now who said Catalans are not friendly?