Scottish Independence: Why Catalans Dream of Joining the Party

On Monday, two days before David Cameron made ​​a passionate speech on the verge of tears urging Scots to vote No in the Scottish referendum, Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy warned that he has 'all the measures ready' to stop the Catalan self-determination vote from happening. Scotland and Catalonia have strong independence movements, but it's evident that their paths to achieving their goal are very, very different.

On Thursday, during the official speech for the National Day of Catalonia, Catalan president Artur Mas reaffirmed his "commitment" to delivering the consultation vote, and warned that "silencing the voices who want to express themselves is a mistake, but deny the vote to the people who see a solution in the polls is a double mistake".

A flight from Glasgow to Barcelona takes just two-and-a-half hours, and it costs about £100. Yet Catalonia and Scotland were never so far away.

Every year on 11 September Catalonia celebrates its National Day, known locally as La Diada Nacional de Catalunya. Celebrated for the first time in 1886, the commemoration was banned during Francisco Franco's dictatorship and it wasn't until 1980, five years after the dictators' death, that it was officially reinstated.

The day commemorates the end of the Siege of Barcelona during the War of the Spanish Succession, when on 11 September 1714 Catalan troops were forced to surrender to Philip V of Spain. The Bourbon victory led to harsh repression and in Catalonia, as in other territories of the Crown of Aragon, it meant the abolition of the Constitutions and institutions of self-government.

Some people say Catalonia celebrates a defeat on its national day. Others say they remember the ones who fell in the battle and renew their vow to never forget what could have been and was not.

In recent years 11 September in Catalonia has been synonymous with large demonstrations in support of independence. In 2012 more than 1 million people flooded the streets of Barcelona, and last year 1.6 million formed a human chain extending over 250 miles through the Catalonia region.

Today, 300 years after 1714, Catalans will participate in a new mass demonstration for independence. The mobilisation will place more than 470,000 people on two of the biggest avenues in Barcelona, drawing a massive human 'V' to symbolise the words 'voluntat' (will), 'vote', and 'victory'. A gigantic human 'V'- as easy and peaceful as that. As easy and democratic as placing a vote in a ballot box.

You can follow the National Day of Catalonia activity live on Instagram and Twitter with the hashtag #11s2014.