Pregonero appointment sparks Lleida controversy

A city festival speech turned into a Catalan political fight. That’s the short version. Lleida opened its Festa Major on Friday, May 8, with Olympic canoeist and National Police officer Saúl Craviotto delivering the pregó — the ceremonial opening address — even after 23 local entities rejected the choice and ERC said its city councillors would stay away. The argument is not really about whether Craviotto is famous enough. It’s about what a pregonero is supposed to symbolize in a city where the memory of October 2017 is still live. ### What is the fight actually about? In Lleida, the pregó is not treated like a random celebrity cameo. It is one of the most visible institutional moments of the Festa Major, which runs from May 8 to May 11 in honor of Sant Anastasi. The groups opposing Craviotto argued that the role should reflect “plurality” and “social cohesion,” and that this choice did the opposite. (publicnow.com) ### Why Craviotto? Because he is both locally rooted and nationally prominent. Craviotto is from Lleida, is Spain’s most decorated Olympian, and works as a National Police officer. For the city government, that makes him an obvious civic figure — successful, recognisable, and tied to the city’s name. Mayor Fèlix Larrosa defended him as a model of values and a reference point, especially for young people. (segre.com) ### So why did that choice blow up? Because critics were not judging only his sporting career. They were judging what he publicly said after the 2017 independence referendum. The joint statement from the 23 entities pointed to Craviotto’s opposition to the 1-O vote and his support for Article 155, the constitutional mechanism Madrid used to intervene in Catalonia’s self-government. In Catalan politics, that is not old background noise — it is identity-level material. (publicnow.com) ### Why does his police job matter so much? That is the emotional core of the row. Several groups said naming a member of Spain’s state security forces, without broad consensus, could be read as a political decision because of the role police played on October 1, 2017. Basically, the objection is symbolic before it is personal: they see the office he holds and the stance he took as inseparable from the honor being handed out. (segre.com) ### Who boycotted the event? ERC’s municipal group said it would not attend the official pregó, and local reporting said Junts also distanced itself from the act. ERC spokesperson Jordina Freixanet framed the issue as one of civic representation — saying the city’s highest honors should go to people who can be shared across a broader part of Lleida. (elperiodico.com) ### Did the city back down? No. That is what turned the controversy into the actual news. Larrosa’s government kept the appointment in place, and Craviotto delivered the speech on May 8 in the Paeria’s council chamber, officially opening the celebrations. His remarks themselves were not a political broadside — they leaned on hometown pride, effort, ambition, and roots. But by then the symbolism battle had already happened. (segre.com) ### Why is this bigger than one festival? Because it shows how little the 2017 divide has faded in parts of Catalonia. A festa major pregó is supposed to be connective tissue — one of those moments where a city sees itself as one thing. In Lleida this year, the same act did the reverse. It forced a choice between one idea of civic recognition and another idea of political memory. (publicnow.com) ### Bottom line? Craviotto still gave the speech. But the real story is that a ceremonial honor in Lleida became a test of who gets to stand for the city — and who never can. (publicnow.com) (segre.com)