The town in Catalonia that does not exist

A town that does not exist was born on March 28, and it has gone on to become one of the best-known in Catalonia. On that day, El Mundo newspaper published a report that the Guardia Civil police sent to the Supreme Court detailing up to 315 alleged acts of violence by independence supporters against police during the October 1 referendum. The police report said the most violent acts took place in the town of Sant Esteve de les Roures. The thing is that the town does not actually exist.

Initially, the report sparked outrage. Eventually, though, the anger turned into mockery, in what is being regarded as a pro-independence version of the unionist-backed parody of Tabarnia, a fictional region seeking independence from Catalonia. “This is the official account of the Sant Esteve de les Roures town council,” read the first tweet by @st_esteveroures on March 31. More messages followed, with the phenomenon taking off in recent days, with internet users creating Twitter accounts for the town’s main institutions.

The absurdity reached new heights with an unlikely exchange between the Guardia Civil’s official account and the satirical @st_esteveroures, in which the former responded to a critical comment. Sant Esteve de les Roures responded: “This is a satirical account, there is no town, no town council and no citizens.