Aroca intended to defend her Spanish roots and cast a ballot against Catalonia breaking away from the rest of the country. Catalan officials said that 90 percent of the 2.3 million people who voted Sunday were in favor of independence. Born of parents from other parts of Spain, Aroca, a 40-year-old mother of two, still wants to embrace a dual identity of both Spanish and Catalan. But she says the political crisis caused by a lack of dialogue between Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy and Catalan regional chief Carles Puigdemont has forced her to choose. The transformative experience reached its climax when the polls closed and the crowd gathered at the school joined in singing the Catalan anthem, "Els Segadors" ("The Reapers" in Catalan).

Source: ABC News October 03, 2017 13:18 UTC