Basque Flags

Long hair on the boys too, lots of black leather. They look and act like high schoolers. They move in mass, and quickly, laughing and giggling a little. One carries a big Basque flag, twisting in the wind and rain. Another carries a flag of Navarra.

A little further, down past the station and through Ciutadela, I see a second and bigger group. This group is carrying five Basque flags, a new one every thirty or forty students. My curiosity overwhelms me, and I ask the last girl why she's carrying it.

"It's the flag of the Basque Country." She tells me in English, in what sounds like a rehearsed line, giggling nervously with her friends. Silly foreigner doesn't even recognize their flag.

"I know," I tell them, in Spanish, "But why today?"

"Hoy? Pues porque hoy hay una huelga."

Of course.