Barcelona Has A New Diasporan Armenian Community

Every Saturday, the community gets together, with chess lessons, Armenian language classes, and dance lessons. Occasionally the students perform at events. The teachers are all

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volunteers, and textbooks are sent from Armenia. Students pay a nominal fee of 25 Euros a month, while parents and members of the association periodically make additional donations.

In addition, every month or two there are lectures or other public events. Sometimes Armenian speakers from other parts of Europe and Armenia come and visit.  Some events are intended more for a Spanish/Catalan audience than for the local Armenians. For example, on February 20, the Armenian ambassador to Spain, Avet Adonts, came from Madrid and participated in a panel at the Centre Internacional Escarré per a les Minories Ètniques i les Nacions (CIEMEN) devoted to the 30^th anniversary of the Karabakh Movement along with journalist and director of VilaWeb Vicent Partal and Abel Riu, political scientist specializing in the post-Soviet realm.

On the other hand, on March 4, the children celebrated International Mother Language Day at the Hay Doun with a presentation primarily for the local community.

ACAB maintains good relations with the government of Armenia and its embassy in Spain, and various diasporan organizations, such as the AGBU (including its US headquarters, in Europe and Armenia). Soulian pointed out that it strives to keep the Armenian cultural identity alive in Spain. At present, most families have relatives in Armenia and sometimes go back during vacations, so this identity is strong, but it is the new generations born in Spain which will require more support to combat assimilation into Spanish society. ACAB is working to create programs for their needs.