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Catalans Abroad
13 March 2022 2.00 h

xavier mas craviotto

is from Navàs (Bages). Before moving to Bristol, he did a postgraduate degree in language consultancy and publishing services in Barcelona and taught Catalan as a foreign language

Diverse and eclectic

Teaching Catalan language and culture is one the best experiences of my life There’s a lot of street art, live music, shows, indoor and outdoor activities
Why did you leave Cat­alo­nia?
When the pan­demic started, I saw In­sti­tut Ramon Llull was of­fer­ing read­er­ships in the UK, and so I ap­plied. After a few months of lock­down, I thought a change of scene would do me good. Also, teach­ing Cata­lan lan­guage and cul­ture abroad looked like an ex­tra­or­di­nary op­por­tu­nity..
Why choose Bris­tol?
Teach­ing Cata­lan abroad was a chal­lenge I’d al­ways wanted to em­brace. Bris­tol was one of the UK cities in the offer; I had the chance to talk with the for­mer Reader in Bris­tol and, judg­ing by what she told me of the city and the job, I knew it would be the per­fect place for me.
Are you happy with the job op­por­tu­ni­ties you found?
I’ve been here for a year and a half and feel ex­tra­or­di­nar­ily lucky. Work­ing at the Uni­ver­sity of Bris­tol teach­ing Cata­lan lan­guage and cul­ture has quickly be­come one of the best ex­pe­ri­ences of my life, and one of the most in­tense! I learn a lot as well, not only from my col­leagues, who are in­cred­i­bly sup­port­ive, but also from my stu­dents, who year after year en­thu­si­as­ti­cally en­gage with our lan­guage, cul­ture, lifestyle… and quickly be­come part of our small com­mu­nity of Cata­lan speak­ers in the UK.
Is there a casal català in your area?
There’s a big com­mu­nity of Cata­lans in Bris­tol, but there isn’t one yet. Maybe it’s time to set one up! How­ever, at the uni­ver­sity we or­gan­ise and par­tic­i­pate in lots of cul­tural ac­tiv­i­ties to pro­mote Cata­lan cul­ture: last year, we did a work­shop about Mal­lorca folk­lore, an­other one about memes in Cata­lan... We had some spe­cial guests: the writer Jordi Nopca, the trans­la­tor of La plaça del Dia­mant Peter Bush... We also par­tic­i­pated in film dis­cus­sions with other Cata­lan stu­dents from all over the UK; we watched and talked about In­certa glòria, La mort de Guillem, Pa negre... and we got to talk with the pro­duc­ers, ac­tors, di­rec­tors of these films!
What do you think is the best thing about liv­ing there?
Bris­tol is a di­verse, eclec­tic city. Neigh­bour­hoods are very dif­fer­ent from one an­other, this is why I al­ways think any­one could find a place here. There’s a lot of street art, live music, shows, in­door and out­door ac­tiv­i­ties. I spe­cially love the huge parks in the mid­dle of the city, some­thing I would re­ally liked to have had when I was liv­ing in Barcelona. The at­mos­phere is laid-back, friendly, but it can also be vi­brant and hec­tic.
What would you most like to change?
The weather! Also, Bris­tol is be­com­ing quite trendy, and the price of rent is in­creas­ing a lot. It’s dif­fi­cult for many peo­ple now to find an af­ford­able place to live.
What is the best ex­pe­ri­ence you’ve had in your adop­tive coun­try?
Meet­ing won­der­ful peo­ple, es­pe­cially my flat­mates, my col­leagues and the rest of the Read­ers all over the UK. And every­thing I have ex­pe­ri­enced with them: nights out; birth­day par­ties; brunches, lunches and din­ners; hik­ing in the Wye Val­ley; trips to places like Wells, the Cotswolds, Cardiff, Bath, Por­tishead, Cleve­don, Pens­ford, Ab­bots Leigh, Lon­don, Cam­bridge... Here I also took up ac­tiv­i­ties that I used to enjoy but that for some rea­son I had aban­doned, like swim­ming or learn­ing French. Fi­nally, I would high­light the day I launched my book of poems, La gran nàusea, in Wills Memo­r­ial along­side James Hawkey, who has be­come one of the most in­dis­pens­able pil­lars here, and the ad­mired poet Re­becca Kosick, who read some of my poems in Eng­lish. It was a magic evening!
Do you plan to go back to Cat­alo­nia?
I will even­tu­ally go back, be­cause read­er­ships have to be re­newed after a cer­tain pe­riod of time. How­ever, I will take all these amaz­ing ex­pe­ri­ences and every­thing I have learnt here with me.

CATA­LANS ABROAD Bris­tol (United King­dom)

SOME SUGGESTIONS:

Where are the best places for visitors to stay?
It depends on their interests. If you seek a quiet but central neighbourhood, Clifton is a good idea.
What do you consider the highlights for any brief visit for the first time?
One of my favourite places in the city is the harbourside. The suspension bridge is impressive, and it’s also a must. For a first visit, I would also recommend Brandon Hill, Ashton Court, having some drinks on Gloucester Road or Stokes Croft, strolling around the city centre, Cabot Circus, St. Nicholas Market, or the Christmas Steps. You could also try to find some of Banksy’s hidden graffiti art!
And if visitors have more time or make a return visit?
Then I would explore other neighbourhoods like Montpellier, for instance, or somewhere in the outskirts, like Blaise Castle and its surroundings. Or I would try some local food, go to a pub, listen to live music in the The Old Duke or The Lanes, for instance, or go dancing at The Fleece. I would also visit the Bristol Museum & Art Gallery; they have amazing photographic exhibitions! There is also a place I really like across the bridge, on the riverside, from where you can see the suspension bridge and the houses in Clifton. The view is amazing.
Can you recommend a place to have lunch with friends?
I have very fond memories of having lunch with some of my colleagues in Chris and Jo’s Kitchen. It was one of the first meals we had together after so many months of lockdown and doing everything online. I am also very keen on buying something to take away and eating it in a park or by the river.
Where would you have a special dinner for two?
Maybe in Coppa Clifton Village or The Ivy Clifton Brasserie.
When is the best time of year to plan a visit? Bristol is especially beautiful in autumn: the colours of the trees are simply breathtaking. But it’s not a very good time of the year for the weather. Late spring is a good time to come, when the weather starts to warm up.
What is the best kept secret about the area?
Banksy! Who is he?
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