President Salvador Illa will visit Extremadura on 16 and 17 September 2026, establishing an annual rotation of Catalan national day events across different autonomous communities.
The itinerary includes a visit to the Monumento al Emigrante in La Zarza and an event in Merida celebrating 1970s Barcelona activist Manolo Vital, attended by his granddaughter Joana Vital.
Data from the Instituto de Estadistica de Extremadura shows that nearly 98,000 Extremadurans live in Catalonia, representing 20% of the 489,340 who reside outside the region.
On 17 September, Illa and Mayor Antonio Rodriguez will oversee a cultural agreement linking the Roman theaters of Merida and Tarragona.
The President of the Generalitat of Catalonia, Salvador Illa, will travel to Extremadura on Wednesday, 16 September, and Thursday, 17 September 2026, for an official visit centered on regional ties. The trip introduces a new format in which the Catalan administration will hold its institutional Diada celebration outside Catalonia in a different autonomous community each year, shifting away from the traditional reception in Madrid. Extremadura serves as the first stop for this initiative because of migration flows from the 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s. According to the Instituto de Estadistica de Extremadura, 489,340 people born in Extremadura reside outside the autonomous community, and 20% of them (nearly 98,000 people) live in Catalonia. Spokeswoman Silvia Paneque stated that the choice reflects a desire to recognize the integration of those migrants and the welcoming tradition of Catalan society, aligning with Illa's goal of reducing territorial confrontation from the independence dispute.
“We have to underline what unites us, because there are many people interested in emphasizing what differentiates us and in seeking reasons to separate us.”
The itinerary will begin on Wednesday in La Zarza, a municipality in Badajoz province. Illa will visit the Monumento al Emigrante, a bronze sculpture by local artist Javier Guerrero Gonzalez-Pinero that commemorates the hundreds of residents who left the town during the 20th century for industrial regions. The migration experience connects thousands of families across both territories. Examples include Tomas Cabezas, who was born in Retamal de Llerena in 1946 and has led the Casa Regional Extremena in Santa Coloma de Gramenet since 1995, and Manuel Guerrero, who participated in the 1976 Diada gathering in Sant Boi de Llobregat.
Later on Wednesday, proceedings will shift to the regional capital of Merida. The institutional Diada ceremony at the Auditorio de Merida will center on the late Manolo Vital, an Extremaduran migrant who became a prominent community organizer in Barcelona. Vital served as founder and leader of the neighborhood association covering Torre Baro, Vallbona, and Trinitat in Nou Barris. In the 1970s, Vital commandeered a public bus to drive it into Torre Baro, demonstrating that municipal transit routes could navigate the steep hillside neighborhood. That protest is the subject of the feature film El 47, directed by Marcel Barrena. The Merida event will screen the film and host Vital's granddaughter, Joana Vital, alongside regional representatives.
On Thursday, 17 September, Illa will visit Merida City Hall to meet Mayor Antonio Rodriguez and sign the municipal book of honor. The two administrations will then formalize an agreement between the city councils of Merida and Tarragona. The signed protocol aims to foster joint research, protection, dissemination, and public promotion of the Roman Theater of Merida and the Roman Theater of Tarraco in Catalonia. Following the signing, Illa will tour the Roman Theater of Merida, an ancient architectural complex recognized as a UNESCO World Heritage site.
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Catalan President Salvador Illa will travel to La Zarza and Merida on 16 and 17 September 2026, marking the Diada outside Catalonia while honoring 20th-century migrant communities.
AI text based on reports by ABC TU DIARIO EN ESPAÑOL, La Razón, europa press and other publishers. Published .