What does Marilyn Manson and Catalunya have in common?

Local News Story

Marilyn Manson had a concert here in Barcelona this past weekend. I know, it doesn’t sound like breaking news at all. But it was a pretty big deal. He came on December 4th and played at the Olympic Stadium at Montjuic. This was the stadium originally created for the 1929 International Exposition that never happened but was rebuilt for the 1992 Olympic games. This stadium is HUGE! It has a capacity of 55,926 (70,000 during the 1992 Olympics). It hosts many athletic events as well as concerts today. The outside of the structure looks like a cathedral or palace, but the inside is a huge field and stadium. When I first saw the Stadium, I didn’t know it was a stadium but rather a huge castle or cathedral. I find this very intriguing. What seems peaceful and church-like on the outside was hosting Marilyn Manson’s tour on the inside.

Believe it or not, Marilyn Manson and Catalunya have a lot in common. He has been known to make extremely controversial comments that upsets a lot of people. Some people hate him for his extreme ideas, but some people support his “out of the box ideology.” Catalunya would never do that! (insert sarcastic smirk here) Catalans have always been chastised for their radical ideas of being different from the rest of Spain. There have been wars and countless people dead because traditional Catalans have a different perception of government and culture than the rest of Spain. Historically Catalunya has always wanted to be an independent country from Spain, and this can be observed in almost any aspect of Catalan life today. People in Madrid don’t have a lot of nice things to say about Catalan ideas, while those in the Basque region look to them for inspiration. The point is that both Marilyn Manson and traditional Catalans have radical ideas that have never been supported by higher authority, but neither give in and submit to social normalcy’s. Marilyn Manson could be describing Catalunya when he claims “They can’t destroy me just because I have a different opinion.” Some have tried, but the radical ideals still live on in Catalan tongue.