Albert Batet (Valls, 1979) became fond of human towers as a child. His father, a member of the Colla Vella dels Xiquets de Valls, took him with him, but he had to earn the pink shirt. He keeps carrying her. The last time, in June, for Sant Joan, and this August he already has appointments on the agenda to roll up the black belt, with which he chooses to be photographed, in the family farmhouse.
What do you like about making castells?
It's a lifestyle. I started going with my father. There are some values that are camaraderie and understanding that the collective objective –the castell– is above a personal objective. The bonds that are generated, the emotions, the passion, are very powerful.
And in a castle, who's in charge?
The cap de colla, who decides which castell is made, who goes up, the order. A colla is a very well organized structure.
And the positions in a castell are decided by the cap de colla by finger or can one apply?
It is evident that each one, according to its physical conditions, is useful for one thing or another. But Miquel Martí i Pol says in a poem: "The homeland is a castle where no one is indispensable and we are all necessary". Everyone has their own space, a pineapple welcomes everyone, everyone is welcome.
The strength is in the feelings generated by the group.
There is a mixture of emotions and feelings, from seny i rauxa, there are many aspects that make it so attractive. There is excitement and risk, because in a castell there are falls, and you learn that you get up again and that you have to join forces. I hope to transmit to my children those values of the casteller spirit, that if they were in many aspects of life it would be better.
Are you still making castells?
Me, making castells as such, climbing the trunk, is not my specialty. In addition, I have been mayor of Valls for almost eleven years and maintained a point of neutrality, out of institutional respect. Now I participate, but I have always been a pineapple casteller, of being below and in the middle.
The construction is the most attractive, of course, but the key is in the network of arms that support it.
And so much! The key is in the set, without a pineapple they are not made. I like to compare it with politics, leaders are important, but with the people. Politics lacks more castellers values.
And how strong is the Junts-ERC pineapple right now?
Well, the pineapple of independence is there, and if we applied the casteller spirit, it would surely be bigger and stronger. Now we are in time for joint reflection, we have to think about what castell we have to do. I told President Aragonès in the last control session that now that these weeks were coming, it was a good time to reflect on the independence movement as a whole.
Do you think that the summer will dilute the controversy over the suspension of Laura Borràs?
The suspension of President Borràs makes this reflection even more necessary. The general policy debate in September could be a turning point to be able to weave a winning strategy, which is shared by all, because it is evident that right now it does not exist. In the case of the president, it is an unprecedented event, the presumption of innocence has not been respected and the Parliament has also been weakened.
But they have very different roadmaps, the CUP asks for another unilateral referendum, the ERC explores the path of dialogue with the central government, and Junts...
Our line is that of intelligent confrontation, that of advancing, with determination and jointly. Now we are doing the report on compliance with the legislature pact.
Where does Together want to go?
We are the party of solvency and independence, that is an inseparable binomial for Junts. We have to govern with rigorous management to improve people's day-to-day lives, but also with a sense of State, because we have to move towards independence. Without a State and without having our resources, we cannot build a country. The State punishes Catalonia, who governs who governs. There is a looting, due to the investments that do not materialize, due to the fiscal deficit.
Wouldn't all the groups in Parliament have to do a common front for the reform of the financing system?
Yes, we have always claimed, as the legislature agreement said, that we have to have a space for coordination of the independence movement as a whole with respect to Madrid, with the strength that the 23 deputies of Congress can have, which is decisive. That is why we do not agree with a dialogue table that in three years has not given any results for the independence movement.
Would a reform of the crime of sedition help to rebuild the bridges that would favor the return of President Puigdemont?
This is not about personal solutions, but collective ones, and what is best for the country, which wants recognition of the right to self-determination and an amnesty. That moves our political will to negotiate, not anyone's personal situation. President Puigdemont has always been explicit in this position.
Do you talk to him often?
We have a very close relationship and we talk often, yes.
And how is he?
Good. President Puigdemont is a leader, he is the cap de colla, he is a benchmark, he has incorruptible resilience and determination. And he is very convinced of his struggle and of his will to persevere.
Now in August it's time for a political parenthesis, what do you do?
Holidays are family and castells. Our life as politicians means that family reconciliation is not excellent, and these weeks, in the farmhouse, I dedicate all my hours to my children, I try to compensate for what I cannot dedicate to them the rest of the year. In Valls there is a certain tradition of having the house in the center of the city and a farmhouse on the outskirts, to celebrate calçotades in winter and to spend the summer.
Reading plans?
There are many things pending, but I have decided to read President Pujol's first book, which he himself gave me a few days ago, Des dels turons a l'altra banda del riu, which he wrote in prison.
