The origins of the Catalan anthem

The song you hear at every football match here began with a bloody revolt in 1640. Els Segadors, meaning The Reapers, is the official anthem of Catalonia, born from one of the most violent peasant uprisings in European history. In the historic Sant Andreu district stands the Capella dels Segadors, a small chapel where armed farmers gathered before marching toward the city center on Corpus Christi Day in June 1640.

Spanish troops had occupied the region during the Thirty Years War, forcing locals to house soldiers who destroyed property, assaulted women, and desecrated religious sites. Furious peasants from across the territory arrived with their farming sickles as weapons. They killed the Spanish Viceroy Dalmau de Queralt and sparked what became the Reapers War, a conflict that lasted until 1659. The original folk song spread through oral tradition for over two centuries.

In 1892, composer Francesc Alió standardized the music, and writer Emili Guanyavents created the modern lyrics in 1899 after winning a competition organized by a political party. The powerful chorus calls Bon cop de falç, Strike with your sickle, rallying defenders of the land. Francisco Franco banned the anthem during his dictatorship from 1939 to 1975. The Catalan Parliament officially adopted Els Segadors as the regional anthem on 25 February 1993.