Bratty Teens and Shanty Towns - How the 47 Made Me Miss My Home by Altea Munuera García

Before I got to UCU, I never thought I’d feel homesick. Sure, I knew I’d miss my family, my cats, my friends… But, the extreme feeling of missing my home, the warmth, the smell of my parents' coffee in the morning, sitting on a terrace and being loud, being allowed to be loud, cackling, passionately hugging... that is something I never expected, even less after having lived abroad for two years already. 

So, in the spirit of recognizing and acknowledging my feelings, I decided to make the most of my Spanish summer. I went out, I yelled, I laughed, and, in an attempt to get to know my culture through one of my core interests, I watched so. Many. Spanish movies. 

As someone who used to hate her country and was completely against Spanish productions, it felt like I was hit in the head with a bat, except, instead of seeing little birds chirping all around me, I could finally see clearly as I watched some of the most amazing films I have had the pleasure to watch to this day.

The movie that takes the top spot in my – I must admit, quite reduced – “Spanish directors” marathon is The 47. Based on a true story, this film follows the creation of the small town of Torre Baró in Catalonia. A town that was created from nothing. Starting as an agglomeration of shanties, the citizens of Torre Baró built the houses and buildings they use to this day with their own hands. The film depicts the struggles that the older citizens went through to attempt to institutionalize this neighbourhood within Barcelona’s public transport system, and the younger generation’s struggle to feel proud of the place they come from. 

This movie made me reflect on how UCU students, myself included, think about where we come from. I can’t count the number of times I have heard people say where they’re from, receive a “oh, cool!” from the asking party, and react to that with a “yeah… It’s not that cool.” So, why are we so against admitting pride towards the place where we come from?

In The 47, Joana, the main character’s daughter, hates telling people that she is from Torre Baró. After her father literally built houses so that they could move there in the midst of a civil war, this bratty teenager crashes out numerous times because she doesn’t want her friends knowing she lives in a town with no schools, no hospitals, no public transport. Her father’s greatest achievement was her greatest insecurity. Seems a bit foolish, doesn’t it?

Perhaps it is time for us to reflect on why we think our hometowns will always be inferior to others. We tend to lose our connection to the place where we come from, or for some, one of the multiple places we can call home. Still, there really is not much that can top the feeling of being able to call a place home. Even more so in a place where everyone’s homes are far away.