Sílvia Orriols triumphs amid the controversial cancellation at the Calella habaneras

Aliança Catalana leader Sílvia Orriols is at her peak. Her popularity keeps growing at the same pace as her party's voting expectations, partly thanks to her ability to take advantage of controversies. Like the suspension of a popular Catalan habanera due to the woke obsession with cancellation.

The Calella de Palafrugell city council has decided to remove "El meu avi" from this year's Cantada d’Havaneres repertoire. This puts an end to a decades-long tradition. The reason is a recent investigation linking the song's composer to a child prostitution ring.

TV3's investigative team revealed that Josep Lluís Ortega Monasterio, considered the father of the genre in Catalonia, was a partner of a pimp connected to child trafficking. After the controversy sparked by the documentary, Calella's government (PSC) promised to review Catalonia's premier habanera festival. They ultimately decided to remove the most popular song, which always used to close the show, from the repertoire.

Sílvia Orriols, "Headliner" in Calella

This has caused all kinds of criticism, starting with Ripoll mayor Sílvia Orriols. "They call me authoritarian, while you're being deprived of legendary habaneras," said the Aliança Catalana leader on X. She criticized the left's "moral superiority" and invited people to come to Ripoll to listen to the song "El meu avi."

Within hours, Ripoll's mayor had involuntarily become the main protagonist of the controversy. Her message on social media received thousands of reactions. Many lament what they consider a "covert cultural extermination": "Soon there won't be anything left with Catalan roots."

An article in NacióDigital perfectly reflected what happened. "Even without taking the stage, Ripoll's mayor will be the headliner of the Cantada d’Havaneres. She won't have needed a microphone for her refrain to resonate all the way to Cuba."

The columnist accuses the left of "being permissive and bureaucratic with the tangible injustices of daily life, but forceful with moral corrections." Sílvia Orriols has stated that "in the next elections we won't even need a campaign."

Over these two years, it has been proven that what the left tries to use to harm Aliança Catalana ends up benefiting them. Like the cordon sanitaire, which hasn't prevented them from governing in Ripoll or Orriols from being the trendiest deputy in Parliament. It really seems that the surge shown in the polls could even fall short if things keep going this way.