Catalonia & Spain, What Next?

Spain is going through its most profound political crisis since the end of the Franco dictatorship in 1976. Large protests for and against secession from Spain have filled the streets of Barcelona and other cities in the restive autonomous community of Catalonia which has had its own language and culture and a long history of resistance against the Spanish state. The Spanish government’s violent repression of an October 1 independence referendum triggered this latest upheaval that some say has been centuries in the making. Most recently, the Catalonian parliament declared independence as the Spanish government dissolved it and called for new elections. Former Catalan President Carles Puigdemont has fled to Belgium and the new elections in Catalonia have been called for December 21.

Join us for a roundtable discussion and debrief on what exactly is going on in Catalonia and Spain. Participating in the roundtable will be Sara Nadal-Melsio, Álvaro Guzmán, Anna Pazos and Alex Roche.

Sara Nadal-Melsio taught at the University of Pennsylvania, Princeton University, New York University, and SOMA in Mexico City. Her essays have appeared in Diacritics, RHM, JSCS, and Avenç; as well as in various edited volumes. She is also the co-author of Alrededor de/Around, a book on the photography and architecture of the last fin-de-siécle. A special issue on anachronism and the militant image in Spanish film is forthcoming. She is currently working a manuscript, entitled Europe and the Wolf, on the transmission of dissent in Europe’s musical legacy through a reading of contemporary art and experimental cinema. In February 2018, she will curate an exhibition by artists Allora & Calzadilla at the Tàpies Foundation in Barcelona.

Álvaro Guzmán is the U.S. Correspondent of online magazine Contexto, and a graduate of the Columbia School of Journalism, where he got an M.S in Magazine Journalism and M.A. in Politics. He’s written about politics, economics and social movements for publications such as Spain’s monthlies La Marea, Nuestro Tiempo and FronteraD, Italy’s The Post Internazionale, Al Jazeera America, Univision and The Miami Herald. In addition, he spent a year working as a producer and researcher for two different Al Jazeera English documentary shows. He has worked as a translator for publications including Harper’s magazine. He’s also an independent film producer, currently working on several projects, including one about the migrant crisis in Europe and a Netflix original documentary series about genetic engineering.

Alex Roche is a lawyer, campaign manager for social change and political analysts. He works in an international NGO that promotes human rights. He is the cofounder of the platform for the right for Spanish residents living abroad to cast their vote in Spain, DosMillonesDeVotos. He has written for the online publications CTXT, JotDown, eldiario.es, esglobal and Agenda Pública. Alex holds a bachelor´s degree in law and administration and business management from ICADE and a master in public relations from Columbia University.

Anna Pazos is a journalist from Barcelona currently based in NYC. Her articles have appeared in The Jerusalem Post, El País, La Vanguardia, Setmanari Directa, La Tercera, Kulturaustauch, The Outpost and Lonely Planet Magazine. Anna is currently studying an MA in Journalism & European and Mediterranean Studies

This session is the second part of a previous event held at the Brooklyn Commons called Catalonia´s Future is at Stake.

Sliding Scale: $10-$15, nobody turned away.

From The Indypendent.