BARCELONA, Spain — Catalonia residents opposed to independence from Spain took to the streets of Barcelona in large numbers on Sunday but struck a moderate tone, with many saying they felt Catalan and Spanish — and wanted to remain both.

Many of those marching in favor of a unified Spain pledged to vote in the Dec. 21 elections for a new Catalan Parliament, which were announced by the Spanish prime minister on Friday when he stripped the Catalan government of its power.

The tone of the rally, much like the overall mood in Barcelona this weekend, was one of relief: The tensions of recent weeks over the Oct. 1 referendum and the subsequent retaliation by Spain’s central government appeared to have subsided. But whether the mood has really shifted or whether Catalans were simply resting and girding for the next confrontation was hard to tell.

“I am Catalan with blood from Andalusia and Galicia — I don’t want an independent Catalonia,” said Sandra Gonzalez, 37, one of the demonstrators, who was bearing a handmade cardboard sign saying the same. The reference was to two other regions of Spain.