LA DIADA

National holiday day in Catalonia. It commemorates the fall of Barcelona in 1714 against the troops of King Bourbon Philippe V at the end of the War of the Spanish Succession. Prohibited by Francoism between 1939 and 1975, the Diada continued to be celebrated in a clandestine manner. With the return of democracy in 1976, it will regain its status as a national holiday. For several years, it has given rise to major independence demonstrations throughout the region. The record was set in 2012, with one and a half million demonstrators gathered!