Neus Català: A Literary Tribute to Resistance and Culture

05.03.2026

In 2020, Omnium Cultural established the “Neus Català” Literary Prize to honor the legacy of the resistance fighter and anti-fascist. First awarded in 2021 in Neus’s hometown, Els Guiamets, the prize recognizes works that explore commitment, dignity, and solidarity. With 89 participants in prose and poetry, the inaugural edition was a great success and highlights the importance of culture as a form of resistance and an expression of human hope.

In 2020, Omnium Cultural*, a Catalan cultural association, created a literary prize called “Neus Català.” This prize was awarded for the first time on October 9, 2021, in Neus’s hometown, Els Guiamets.

There were a total of 89 participants, 27 in poetry and 62 in prose. This was an unexpected success for a first year. The themes had to relate to the shared struggles and the values embodied by Neus Català: commitment, dignity, anti-fascism…

The prose prize was won by Joan Biscarri Gassió, and the poetry prize by Raimond Aguiló Bartolomé.

After various speeches, Marina Rossell sang. I was able to recall the role of culture for the deportees and all the forbidden and cruelly repressed activities they engaged in, which expressed hope and the will to live and fight. Culture was also a form of resistance for them and helped them maintain their dignity as human beings.

“Òmnium Cultural is a non-governmental cultural organization with more than 125,000 members. Launched under the Franco dictatorship in 1961, Omnium Cultural aimed to fight censorship and general persecution in Catalonia to preserve the Catalan culture prohibited by the dictatorship.

Today, Omnium is the largest non-governmental organization in Spain and one of the most important cultural organizations in Europe. In Catalonia, it is considered a pillar of the Catalan language and culture, and a key player in the defense of civil and human rights.”

Neus’s sentence at the top of the poster is: “Many people believe that fighting is taking up a weapon, but fighting is uniting to defend an idea.”