The evening we understood what Llotja Catalunya could become

Witness a foundational evening with Artur Mas in which an emerging generation transformed an incipient idea into a community with its own voice and began to weave, from Llotja, bridges with the future of the country.

Pau Gener – Member of Llotja Catalunya 

When Llotja Catalunya was little more than an idea —a group of friends with the desire to look at the country up close and from end to end, to understand its parts, gears and the people who support it— and we moved without budgets or infrastructures, jumping between cafes and offices, presenting an initiative that was still imprecise but driven by that incorruptible energy of someone who may not know exactly where it will go, but is clear that it wants to get there. In those days, among the showers of ideas and names of those who, we believed, would lead us to outline a clearer vision of what Catalonia was and is, one stood out with almost instinctive unanimity: that of the 129th president of the Generalitat, Artur Mas.

Now, over time, I think we have all understood that consensus better. It responded to an internal coherence, although perhaps at the time we did not know how to fully explain it. Because Mas, apart from being a former president, is a privileged witness to a stage of reconstruction, of the attempt to place Catalonia in a new centrality after Francoism and the transition; his background condenses the continuity and, at the same time, the break with the giant of Pujolisme. A connoisseur of memory not only of the institutions but also of that magma of “things and little things” on which politics really rests. We were interested in him as much as the man and the symbol he represents.

Wanting Mas in Llotja was, on the one hand, a gesture of recognition and, on the other, a declaration of intentions.

The day we first crossed the doors of the Palau Robert to establish contacts, we understood that what had until then seemed a bit naive — a group of university students with the ambition to reach the big names in the country — could take shape. In fact, the fact that Mas agreed to receive us was, in itself, proof of the sense of Llotja, since if a former president was willing to talk to us, it meant that the exchange was truly bilateral and that we, the young people, could also offer something valuable to the other side of the table.

All said and done, after conversations and time, the real challenge arrived: to prepare, convene and conduct a public meeting, an event that would not only be an interview, but also a kind of founding rite of the project. The president agreed with kindness, and, that evening, when he finally sat down in front of the nearly 200 attendees to converse with frankness and generosity, we realized that, without wanting to, we had doubled the bet.

With the auditorium of the Royal Artistic Circle full, the atmosphere was electric. I remember the expectant silence when Mas took the stage, with that serenity that exudes from those who have navigated political storms. As moderator, it was my responsibility to order the questions, maintain silences and question him with respect, but without fear. I tried to make the conversation encompass his entire career: from his first days as a councilor to the weight of leading a country in moments of clear tension... We also talked about the fact that he had accepted our invitation; condensing into words what we were beginning to sense, he recognized that initiatives like ours are the ones that plant the seeds of future leadership, those who know how to look beyond the immediate noise and that, even, help figures like him to keep up. Despite what we might have expected, Mas seemed to speak frankly and without much pretension, about the lights and shadows of politics; of the state of the country, of the adversities that can only be faced with cunning and principles, and of the irreplaceable need to start building from the ground up if you really want to change a system.

That evening, the audience applauded and congratulated us —it was one of those moments that I will cherish in the pats that fell on my back— and we felt the euphoria of having made a dream come true. But I think I speak for the entire team when I say that we were all left with a somewhat bittersweet aftertaste. I was probably one of the most critical or demanding people —after these kinds of events, you leave with your mind focused only on what you could have said or proposed better. We had achieved a triumph, yes, but we also wanted more: more risk in the questions, more depth in the topics, more impact in the message.

Over time, I came to understand that this dissatisfaction was not a failure, but precisely the driving force behind Llotja. We realized that interviewing Mas was not only a founding act, but also a demonstration that our project made sense. Putting a former president in front of a group of young people with all kinds of concerns and questions was, in itself, our small political statement: the conviction that generational bridges do not arise alone, but must be built with will and courage.

And, of course, today, looking ahead, I see that that night taught us that Llotja had to be, nothing less than, what it had the potential to become: a laboratory of ideas, a place where young people would listen, challenge and co-create the future with today's leaders. Each meeting had to be a spark for new projects, for networks that would connect university students with those who move the threads of the country, and for a vision of a more open, braver and more inclusive Catalonia.

That evening with Artur Mas was the first step, but also a reminder that the path to Llotja had only just begun. This year, as the new members will have noticed, new things are coming. The very fact that you are reading this article is already a symptom of this: magazines, new meetings, training... All of this confirms that the project is growing. And I hope I am not mistaken when I say that we are on the right track and that now, more than ever, we are clear about the role we play.