“El peixos grossos sempre es menjaran els minuts.”  If your Catalan is as bad as mine, it means “Men are like fish; the great ones devour the small.”

A proverb that describes how a lot—but not all—of Catalans feel about their place in Spain.

On October 1st, the Catalan government held an illegal independence referendum. According to organizers, 90% of Catalans wish to walk it alone.  But they failed to mention the turnout, just 43%, and the many irregularities.

With Spain’s 19% of GDP and 16% of the population coming from Catalonia, Madrid’s anxiety is understandable.