Castelló a València: una disputa amb història

Abstract

“Castelló a València” is an audiovisual report of a social nature which tells the story of Castelló and how it was named, a municipality of 7054 inhabitants located in la Ribera Alta, a local region in the province of Valencia. Since its inception, Castelló has been identified by several different names, such as: Vilanova de Castelló, Castelló de la Ribera, Villanueva de Castellón or Castelló de Xàtiva. The attempt to regulate this great diversity and breadth of opinions and finding a suitable name that would represent all the inhabitants of the town ended up in a local division of both the citizens and local administrations themselves. On October the 4th of 2020, Castelló was definitely established as the official name of this region, as it was the only common name in all its historical variants, attempting to end the conflict the had been going on for four decades. Despite this fact, however, Castelló de la Plana still does not approve the formalization. Appealing to the similarities of the names, it justifies that only the capital city can be called Castellón, to avoid introducing any confusions. Amparo Marco, Mayor of Castellón de la Plana, has submitted a complaint to the Superior Court of Justice, an action that could jeopardize the burying of the conflict. The general objective of this report revolves around the union of the people, carrying an important social burden. The aim is to explain the origin of the two most controversial names, Villanueva de Castellón and Castelló de la Ribera, which unleashed and triggered the conflict. Thus, it sets out the reasons for the various implementations from an historical point of view and shows how they have derived in the current name. On the other hand, it is also intended to state the reasons why a municipality in Valencia should be named Castelló. The controversial point around this name has only been exposed and disputed in short journalistic pieces of minor importance such as articles in local papers or a two-minute media release in the local news. Hence, it was necessary to look into the matter and address the issue in more detail and depth. The REPORTATGE AUDIOVISUAL Castelló a València: una disputa amb història 18 feature calls for reflection, it is an invitation for the audience to individually draw their own conclusions. It is impartially narrated in order to go over and be on the subject of different points of view. The sources have been selected in a way to ensure that they were representative figures of the present-day city, as well as chroniclers of its history. Furthermore, it relies on two official sources for providing more detailed information regarding the administrative part of the name change process. The work process has been divided into three phases: pre-production, production and post-production. Prior to beginning recording, it was fundamental to gather information and documenting themselves about it, finding the suitable and reliable sources, thinking about the right approach or coming up with innovative ideas to create an appropriate content. Thus, the pre-production part includes all this procedure. Besides, it is necessary to establish a work plan with a timetable in which the team organization and due dates are arranged. In order to schedule the activities and tasks, time must always be considered. It is crucial to set each activity within a specific time period. It should state the materials that will be used, as well as the permits that will be required and a consideration of overall economic cost. The production part is when it comes to action. Having a clear structure is key to being able to developing the ideas and performing the recording. The producers have opted for giving it a chronological order. The structure is divided into thre parts. First, the audience needs to be put into context. For this reason, the report begins by taking us around the history of its origins, emphasizing on the outbreak of the names’ polemic: Villanueva de Castellón i Castelló de la Ribera. As a means to complete the information on this matter, Antoni Vizcaino, mayor at the time when Castellón de la Ribera was first officially established, draws a personal anecdote that ends the first part of the piece. Secondly, following the chronological order in which the events took place, it brings out and explains the present local and administrative situation in which Castellón finds REPORTATGE AUDIOVISUAL Castelló a València: una disputa amb història 19 itself, and the position it holds in the Castellón de la Plana City Council. The circumstances are told through the testimonies of the Mayors of both localities. However, the statements of the spokesmen of the opposition parties of the town of Castellón together with the words of Amparo Marco, suggest that the confrontation has not yet come to an end.Eventually, the report closes with the declaration of Maite Mollà, a member of the Valencian Language Academy, who tells us about the current situation in Castellón and what would happen in the event that the appeal prospered. As for the technique followed, during the pre-production phase was decided to let the interviewees be the ones who tell the plot of the story through their speech. Nonetheless, a narrator's voice-off has been included to describe some more events because the subject of the report is difficult to understand only by the statements of the sources. Sometimes, they unconsciously omit part of the events’ information that they take for granted but the audience is not aware of. Hence, the voice-over of the journalist helps linking the different ideas and parts of the overall piece. Regarding the music choice, at first the idea was to add a copyright-free song that would sound as a background to give some dynamism to the narration. However, it did not fit the theme of the project, so it was decided to use only ambient sound. Hence, it was decided that the music would go to the beginning of the piece and that the subsequent images will only be accompanied by the ambient sound. The target audience of this report is the Valencian population. This topic has been covered and analyzed by local and provincial newspapers, such as El Levante, Las Provincias or La Veu. It has not reached a national level, it is not in the best interest of the rest of autonomous communities of Spain. If it were to be broadcasted, it should be emited trough the valencian television channel “A Punt”. “Castelló a València: una disputa amb història” has been produced in the Valencian language, therefore, it is a product that helps to promote the language. REPORTATGE AUDIOVISUAL Castelló a València: una disputa amb història 20 According to its social interest, the report would be included in the “Va passar ací” section of the channel. It is a program in which outstanding facts and events, as well as anecdotes and curiosities of different regions of the Community are reported. The documentaries last approximately half an hour each, so this piece would perfectly suit the timing. Also, it could be included in the weekend’s evening opening between 16- 18h. Lastly, it should be uploaded to the official website so that it can be accessed from the online “A la Carta” menu. This way, those interested can watch it when it suits them best. The project has been an important challenge in all aspects of the process. Firstly, because the the subject dealt with is difficult to explain within such a short space of time. On top of that, the reduction in the number of people in the work-team has forced the remaining one to deal with new roles, challenges and responsibilities. All the above combined with the fact that it is the first time that a production work of this nature has been undertaken by this team, has brought some weaknesses to the final project. Still, the research background has remained a strong point. In addition, the variety of sources enriches the discourse. The members of the group have worked together at all times. There have been lots of face-to-face meetings in order to plan, set up, organize, carry out, cooperate and give constant, mutual support.