Politics, folklore and humour: the case of Sant Esteve de les Roures

Abstract


 
 
 
 After the referendum on the self-determination of Catalonia held on 1 October 2017, the Guardia Civil sent the Supreme Court a report listing acts of alleged violence against police forces that had been sent to Catalonia to stop the referendum from being held. According to the report, the most violent events took place in the village of Sant Esteve de les Roures, a non-existent town. From that moment on, Sant Esteve de les Roures came to life online, as profiles were created for all the services and institutions of the town of 750,000 inhabitants, presided over by its mayor, Josep Orni. The aim of this paper is to trace the general public’s spontaneous creation of Sant Esteve de les Roures, a town invented by the Guardia Civil, as an illustration of creativity and an example of a community overcoming a political crisis through humour.