Nosaltres els valencians
Encyclopedia
Valencian people
The Valencians are an ethnic group or nationality whose homeland is the Valencian Community, which is a historical region in eastern Spain. The official languages of Valencia are Catalan , and Spanish ....
s"), is a historical and political essay
Essay
An essay is a piece of writing which is often written from an author's personal point of view. Essays can consist of a number of elements, including: literary criticism, political manifestos, learned arguments, observations of daily life, recollections, and reflections of the author. The definition...
by the Valencian
Valencian Community
The Valencian Community is an autonomous community of Spain located in central and south-eastern Iberian Peninsula. Its capital and largest city is Valencia...
(Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
) author Joan Fuster
Joan Fuster
Joan Fuster i Ortells was a Valencian writer, who published mostly in Catalan.- Life and works :He was born in the village of Sueca near Valencia, Spain, in a relatively prosperous middle class family. Both his parents were pious Roman Catholics and Carlists. His father was a renowned local...
, first published in 1962.
The book deals with Valencians
Valencian people
The Valencians are an ethnic group or nationality whose homeland is the Valencian Community, which is a historical region in eastern Spain. The official languages of Valencia are Catalan , and Spanish ....
, specially with their national identity and their relationship with Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
, Catalonia
Catalonia
Catalonia is an autonomous community in northeastern Spain, with the official status of a "nationality" of Spain. Catalonia comprises four provinces: Barcelona, Girona, Lleida, and Tarragona. Its capital and largest city is Barcelona. Catalonia covers an area of 32,114 km² and has an...
and the Catalan
Catalan language
Catalan is a Romance language, the national and only official language of Andorra and a co-official language in the Spanish autonomous communities of Catalonia, the Balearic Islands and Valencian Community, where it is known as Valencian , as well as in the city of Alghero, on the Italian island...
-speaking community as a whole. It does so from an ardourous Catalanism.
The fact that it represented the first solid intellectual effort in the twentieth century to construct an overview of the past and the present of Valencians
Valencian people
The Valencians are an ethnic group or nationality whose homeland is the Valencian Community, which is a historical region in eastern Spain. The official languages of Valencia are Catalan , and Spanish ....
from a Catalanist point of view explains its relevance and controversy back in the day.
It was because of the novelty of this new Catalanist paradigm, consisting of Catalanism made from Valencia, that the book caused a stir in the Valencian Francoist establishment and, with the advent of democracy in Spain, still remained deeply controversial for its uncompromising views.
Nosaltres, els valencians marked the dawn of Valencian nationalism in its modern formulation. It was also the main force behind a revival of the Països Catalans idea and, with it, of the blaverist reaction against it as well.
The book was also criticized by some Valencian nationalists as well, who considered that Fuster took the Catalan nationalist model without adjusting it to the reality of what soon after (1982) became the present Valencian Community
Valencian Community
The Valencian Community is an autonomous community of Spain located in central and south-eastern Iberian Peninsula. Its capital and largest city is Valencia...
with the passing of the Valencian Statute of Autonomy
Statute of Autonomy
Nominally, a Statute of Autonomy is a law hierarchically located under the constitution of a country, and over any other form of legislation...
.
The book remained most influential in the Valencian Community during the 1980s. It began losing relevance by the early 1990s, as the Unitat del Poble Valencià, a party which had inspired partially on it, started shifting their doctrine from Catalanism to Valencianism-proper, still within the Catalanist tenet, though. To date, Nosaltres els Valencians remains a fundamental cornerstone of the literature on Valencian identity, as much despised by some —who see in it a Catalanist fifth column
Fifth column
A fifth column is a group of people who clandestinely undermine a larger group such as a nation from within.-Origin:The term originated with a 1936 radio address by Emilio Mola, a Nationalist General during the 1936–39 Spanish Civil War...
in Valencia— as revered by others —who regard it as a yet to be surpassed reflection on the Valencian identity.
Sources and influences
Fuster was influenced by Jaume Vicens i VivesJaume Vicens i Vives
Jaume Vicens Vives was a Spanish historian, and is considered, along with Pierre Vilar, one of top influential Catalan historians of 20th century....
's 1954 essay Notícia de Catalunya. Notícia de Catalunya was to initially be titled Nosaltres els catalans, but it was renamed under Josep Pla
Josep Pla
Josep Pla i Casadevall was a Catalan Spanish journalist and a popular author. As a journalist he worked in France, Italy, England, Germany and Russia, from where he wrote political and cultural chronicles in Catalan.His figure is somewhat controversial for present day Catalans...
's advice, for fear of Francoist censorship. Fuster's work has the same structure and intention of Vicens'.
Further reading
- Fuster, Joan: Obres Completes. Barcelona, Edicions 62, 2002. ISBN 84-297-1069-8
- Fuster, Joan: Antologia de la poesia valenciana : (1900-1950). Valencia, Eliseu Climent Ed., 1994. ISBN 84-7502-027-5
- Fuster, Joan: L'Albufera de València. Alzira, Edicions Bromera, 1993. ISBN 84-7660-164-6
- Fuster, Joan: Elogi del meu poble : Sueca, a la ribera del Xúquer. Catarroja, Editorial Afers, 1997. ISBN 84-86574-57-9
- Iborra, Josep: Fuster portàtil. Valencia, Tres i Quatre, 1982. ISBN 84-297-4121-6
- Iborra, Josep: Breviari Cívic. Barcelona, Edicions 62, 1996. ISBN 84-297-4121-6
- The book itself: ISBN 84-297-1294-1
External links
- Nosaltres els valencians. The downloadable book (PDF)
- Biblioteca Joan Fuster, Universidad Jaime I, Castellón de la Plana
- Biblioteca Municipal de Godella, on Joan Fuster