Catalan National Anthem
Els Segadors (the reapers) was declared the national anthem of Catalonia in 1993 by the Catalan Parliament.
It is based upon an anonymous ballad written in the second half of 1640, and refers to the Revolt of the Reapers in a Catalonia occupied by the troops of Philip IV in which the peasants played a key role. The anthem is a fierce call to defend the freedom of the land, calling upon the peasants to cut down the Spanish oppressors with their scythe!.
In contrast, another well known national song is El cant dels ocells (Birds song), spread around by Pau Casals as a message of peace and freedom.
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