Hi!

I must answer to the tsunami of expectation about the subject of my father and our surname. This morning I've talked to my father and he wasn't annoyed at all. He doesn't disapprove the translation of our surname. Yes, I've said our surname. What I'll do is to gather information and present it in a familiar meeting (I mean my parents, brother and sister).

That's all for today.

Best of luck!

Albert

Another picture to show you the great dimension of the antennas they had in Pune!

Who am I?

This question seems very profound, but this is not my intention. What I'm thinking about is my name. When somebody asks me "Who are you?", I answer "Albert Cañellas i Pagès". When I say it, there's no problem*. What I don't like is when I write it. My first surname is catalan, but it is in Spanish, and it has the "ñ", a symbol of spanishness. The "ñ"is like a flag of the spanish nationalism. And I have it in my name. It's not a coincidence: when an army conquers a hill, they hummer a flag in it. So they hummered an "ñ" (and an "a") in my ancestor's surname.

Now seem that my name begins to appear in international documents. Today we had sent a proposal to Mumbai, India, to observe with their GMRTelescope (an array of thirty antennas like the ones in the picture). In the proposal I appear (after the word "Authors" and a few names :D ) as "A. Cañellas". I don't like it. I hate forgetting my mother's surname. And I don't like to contribute to the international projection of Spain.

I've searched information Generalitat's webpage and I've found that this is very easy. It's a translate, not a change.

However, the fisrt is to speak it with my parents. I have had some trouble for talking to him. And when I finaly catched, and I was explaining him, his face turned very serious. He doesn't liked it at all. 'What is more Catalan than Cañellas**? And then, I'll not be your father anymore? When you get out of home, do what you want. Dont talk abou it anymore!' he said, in an angry voice that I didn't remember.

Well, I don't understand this reaccion. If he doesn't like, I'm not going to contradict him. But he has said not to talk about it, and I want to talk to him an explain that I don't want to change my surname, my idea was only about a translation, I'm not rejecting his surname. I don't know what to do.

Albert Cañellas i Pagès


*Well, yes, there is one problem, I have some trouble pronouncing "ll".
**Canyelles is a catalan town, in Garraf.