Lluis Llach

Catalan songwriter, poet and politician, born in Girona in 1948. He is one of the founders and main representatives of Nova cançó (New Song), a movement of musicians, and singers who defied Francisco Franco's dictatorship by singing political songs in Catalan during a time where the language, and all other cultural manifestations of Catalan identity were prohibited. His famous song L'Estaca about a rotten stick about to fall was clear enough as an image of the regime. As many other singers, writers and politically involved artists, Llach left Spain and lived in voluntary exile in Paris until the death of the dictator.