Morning high (7.34am): 11C
Forecast high: 14C; UV: 1
Three-day forecast: 12 January - Sun, cloud, 18C; 13 January - Cloud, sun, 14C; 14 January - Cloud, sun, 12C.
Sea conditions (northern Mallorca; Alcúdia and Pollensa bays to 20.00): North-Northeast 6 to 8 easing 4 by the evening. Waves of up to five metres reducing.
Very blowy and has been all night. The wind will ease in the afternoon. Not much by the way of sun expected. Tomorrow due to be warmer, but then things turn progressively colder with snow near sea level possible at the start of next week.
Evening update (19.15): Was reasonably sunny. The wind has now dropped. High of 14.1C.
Wednesday, January 11, 2017
The Contradiction Of Airport Policy
Palma's Son Sant Joan airport topped 26 million passengers last year. It was a record. Roughly another million may be added this year. Another record. And when the figures are released month by month this year, which they are in laborious detail showing percentage rises for this, that and another thing, the mongers of saturation doom will assure us that the island has reached and passed the point of touristic redemption. If only the numbers arriving at the airport could be limited, they will wail, while wiping away the tears of non-sustainability.
Something curious happened on Monday. One says curious, but it wasn't so curious to hear a Balearic minister calling for a cut in airport charges. This demand has been made before. A justification of bringing about an increase in Balearic competitiveness also wasn't curious. Lower costs (in theory) for the travelling public and freight, and competitiveness is gained. But it does rather depend on which part of the public is doing the travelling and what the freight is for.
What was curious was when the minister, Marc Pons (transport), referred to boosting Balearic competitiveness as a tourist destination and to promoting additional traffic. Did we hear this right? He wishes the records to keep on being broken and thus intensify the cries of the saturation mongers?
Pons may of course had in mind the promotion of more traffic for the off-season. But if he did, then he is still firmly in saturation territory. There may be (are) certain members of the Balearic government, its president for example, who have come up with the ludicrous notion that summer visitors can somehow be shifted to the winter, but that is not about to happen. More visitors in winter mean more visitors, period. In any event, he was also calling for an increase in the off-season tariff discount from 20 to 25%.
Although one struggles to appreciate how much difference a 2.6% reduction in charges over the next five years, which is what he was calling for, would really make, he clearly believes that it would make a difference: greater competitiveness and more people. He has an ally in this regard in the form of the National Competition Commission. It has been demanding that Aena drop its charges by two per cent and it has been at loggerheads with Aena for a while. Basically, the commission thinks the airport authority overcharges, while there is also the issue of accounting for airport operations, with Aena being required to fully adopt a dual-till system by 2018.
What Pons was really driving at was the fact that Palma and the other two Balearic airports each year generate more than 1,150 million euros of airport taxes that go to Aena and which have no benefit for the Balearics. His 2.6% reduction would save the travelling public roughly 30 million euros a year; this public being both resident and tourist. But while he couched all this in terms of greater competitiveness and more employment, the bottom line - once more - is the desire for airport co-management, something that has always been remote and becomes ever more remote if the national government decreases its shareholding in Aena, which it has suggested that it will do. The consequence of this would be that the state would no longer be the majority shareholder, albeit that it would retain a significant holding (probably 40%).
But where this becomes ever more curious is in the apparent contradiction with what has been said in respect of the so-called tourism saturation. Biel Barceló is not alone in having explained that because the regional government does not co-manage the airports, it cannot adjust the number of tourists arriving. The implication is that were there to be co-management, then the government would seek to reduce flights.
Whether it would be able to is a wholly different issue. The national government and Europe would have its say, and the competition commission certainly wouldn't look upon it favourably. Even if there were to be a policy of reduction, courtesy of co-management, it would only take a change of regional government for the policy to be reversed. The Partido Popular, which has been as much in favour of co-management as the left (Jaume Matas believed he was getting somewhere on this with the Zapatero administration back in 2005), would doubtless free things up again. Apart from anything else, this would all cause great uncertainty for scheduling.
Fundamentally though, how would such a policy square with the Pons advocacy of greater competitiveness and greater traffic through a reduction in airport taxes? On the one hand there is talk of limiting arrivals; on the other there is talk of their increasing. It's baffling. Securing a better deal for passengers is an admirable aim, and the additional tourists would no doubt be grateful. Curious.
Something curious happened on Monday. One says curious, but it wasn't so curious to hear a Balearic minister calling for a cut in airport charges. This demand has been made before. A justification of bringing about an increase in Balearic competitiveness also wasn't curious. Lower costs (in theory) for the travelling public and freight, and competitiveness is gained. But it does rather depend on which part of the public is doing the travelling and what the freight is for.
What was curious was when the minister, Marc Pons (transport), referred to boosting Balearic competitiveness as a tourist destination and to promoting additional traffic. Did we hear this right? He wishes the records to keep on being broken and thus intensify the cries of the saturation mongers?
Pons may of course had in mind the promotion of more traffic for the off-season. But if he did, then he is still firmly in saturation territory. There may be (are) certain members of the Balearic government, its president for example, who have come up with the ludicrous notion that summer visitors can somehow be shifted to the winter, but that is not about to happen. More visitors in winter mean more visitors, period. In any event, he was also calling for an increase in the off-season tariff discount from 20 to 25%.
Although one struggles to appreciate how much difference a 2.6% reduction in charges over the next five years, which is what he was calling for, would really make, he clearly believes that it would make a difference: greater competitiveness and more people. He has an ally in this regard in the form of the National Competition Commission. It has been demanding that Aena drop its charges by two per cent and it has been at loggerheads with Aena for a while. Basically, the commission thinks the airport authority overcharges, while there is also the issue of accounting for airport operations, with Aena being required to fully adopt a dual-till system by 2018.
What Pons was really driving at was the fact that Palma and the other two Balearic airports each year generate more than 1,150 million euros of airport taxes that go to Aena and which have no benefit for the Balearics. His 2.6% reduction would save the travelling public roughly 30 million euros a year; this public being both resident and tourist. But while he couched all this in terms of greater competitiveness and more employment, the bottom line - once more - is the desire for airport co-management, something that has always been remote and becomes ever more remote if the national government decreases its shareholding in Aena, which it has suggested that it will do. The consequence of this would be that the state would no longer be the majority shareholder, albeit that it would retain a significant holding (probably 40%).
But where this becomes ever more curious is in the apparent contradiction with what has been said in respect of the so-called tourism saturation. Biel Barceló is not alone in having explained that because the regional government does not co-manage the airports, it cannot adjust the number of tourists arriving. The implication is that were there to be co-management, then the government would seek to reduce flights.
Whether it would be able to is a wholly different issue. The national government and Europe would have its say, and the competition commission certainly wouldn't look upon it favourably. Even if there were to be a policy of reduction, courtesy of co-management, it would only take a change of regional government for the policy to be reversed. The Partido Popular, which has been as much in favour of co-management as the left (Jaume Matas believed he was getting somewhere on this with the Zapatero administration back in 2005), would doubtless free things up again. Apart from anything else, this would all cause great uncertainty for scheduling.
Fundamentally though, how would such a policy square with the Pons advocacy of greater competitiveness and greater traffic through a reduction in airport taxes? On the one hand there is talk of limiting arrivals; on the other there is talk of their increasing. It's baffling. Securing a better deal for passengers is an admirable aim, and the additional tourists would no doubt be grateful. Curious.
Tuesday, January 10, 2017
MALLORCA TODAY - Weather Alcúdia and Pollensa 10 January 2017
Morning high (6.34am): 6C
Forecast high: 15C; UV: 1
Three-day forecast: 11 January - Cloud, sun, wind, 14C; 12 January - Sun, cloud, 18C; 13 January - Cloud, sun, 16C.
Sea conditions (northern Mallorca; Alcúdia and Pollensa bays to 20.00): North-Northwest 3 to 4 increasing 5 to 7 by the evening. Swells up to two metres.
A cloudy sort of day expected. Rough by the coasts with the north wind picking up strongly in the afternoon.
Evening update (21.45): Mainly dull. High of 14.7C.
Forecast high: 15C; UV: 1
Three-day forecast: 11 January - Cloud, sun, wind, 14C; 12 January - Sun, cloud, 18C; 13 January - Cloud, sun, 16C.
Sea conditions (northern Mallorca; Alcúdia and Pollensa bays to 20.00): North-Northwest 3 to 4 increasing 5 to 7 by the evening. Swells up to two metres.
A cloudy sort of day expected. Rough by the coasts with the north wind picking up strongly in the afternoon.
Evening update (21.45): Mainly dull. High of 14.7C.
Pressure Under Pressure: GOB
"We don't live from tourism, we survive from tourism ... (There has to be an alternative) based on agriculture and renewable energy." The quote comes from an interview with Margalida Ramis, the spokesperson for the GOB environmental pressure group. The interview was carried in the Diario de Mallorca on Sunday.
It is never satisfactory to quote out of the context of everything else being said, but the quote nevertheless gives a flavour of the GOB stance on tourism. Environmentalism and tourism make for uneasy bedfellows. In the case of GOB, they would rather kick tourism out of bed, if only over the edge rather than onto the floor. It isn't that GOB wish that there was no tourism, just that there was rather less dependence upon it, a dependence which results in what you get - massification and saturation, to use the buzzwords of the time - as well of course as environmental damage.
The survival from tourism brings with it, in GOB terms, a lowering in family purchasing power (these families being ones in the Balearics). This is a theme of the regional government. Despite the current bonanza, the wealth from tourism does not cascade downwards throughout all the socioeconomic food chain. There is merit to the argument insofar as salaries are as they are (not always great) and jobs can so often be temporary or be subject to dubious contractual arrangements.
There is an additional hazard from this survival. The bonanza, as we all know, owes much to sad events suffered by others. Safety and security in the Balearics have provided homes to holidaymakers "borrowed" from elsewhere. What would happen if security became an issue here? Safety, as we also all know, cannot be guaranteed anywhere.
This said, the islands' tourism has in the past faced difficulties not of its making. An example was the oil crisis of the 1970s. It was survived, although it took around four years for numbers to really recover. There was also the Icelandic ash cloud, which created a shortlived crisis but demonstrated the extent to which the wholly unexpected can suddenly explode.
Ramis was saying nothing new. The dependence on tourism and therefore the need for diversification have been discussed over and over. They are still being discussed: at great length by the current regime. But there is diversification realism and there is lack of realism. Agriculture? Really. It counts for around one per cent of GDP. It is also subject to the caprices of Mother Nature in the same way that tourism is. I give you the drought in evidence, while I can also give you the impact of pests. As for renewable energy, it remains something of a pipedream, and while it would represent diversification, it would need productive sectors to energise, such as tourism.
Having read this interview, the general impression one was left with was that GOB believe they should be listened to more and that they should be exerting greater influence. GOB are never short of things to say or of denuncias to be lodged, but might the sheer volume of noise that emanates from them be doing them a disfavour? One can believe that with the eco-nationalists Més in charge of the tourism and environment ministries, GOB felt they had the right people to bend to their influences. But Biel Barceló is described as a "total disappointment", while there seems to be some disenchantment with Vicenç Vidal at environment and agriculture as well.
GOB have in the past been told, by the right, to either put up and become a political party or shut up. Such criticism is unfair to a pressure group with legitimate aims and concerns, but they are only a pressure group. Més have enough pressure as it is because of the constant battles with the parties of the "pact". They don't need GOB hounding them and telling them what to do. One-time natural allies can now point out to GOB that being in government requires the consideration of more than a pressure group's demands.
It isn't as if GOB aren't pandered to. Although the organisation disagrees with how the tourist tax revenue is to be spent - it wants it all to go towards the environment - it has representation on the spending committee. Two places in fact; one more than the Council of Mallorca, for example.
Then there is the question of pressure that GOB might be feeling. I have previously wondered about the relationship with Terraferida, which shot to prominence over the Cabrera beach "privatisation" and Albufera waste spillage last summer. Ramis says that Terraferida are not a threat, which is revealing in itself. Aren't they both operating from the same hymn sheet? Yes, but in different ways, explained Ramis without being wholly convincing.
Terraferida have, though, captured the "saturation" mood in a more dramatic and direct way than GOB. Is it the case that GOB have become institutionalised and now form part of the establishment? Even pressure groups, it would seem, can come under pressure.
It is never satisfactory to quote out of the context of everything else being said, but the quote nevertheless gives a flavour of the GOB stance on tourism. Environmentalism and tourism make for uneasy bedfellows. In the case of GOB, they would rather kick tourism out of bed, if only over the edge rather than onto the floor. It isn't that GOB wish that there was no tourism, just that there was rather less dependence upon it, a dependence which results in what you get - massification and saturation, to use the buzzwords of the time - as well of course as environmental damage.
The survival from tourism brings with it, in GOB terms, a lowering in family purchasing power (these families being ones in the Balearics). This is a theme of the regional government. Despite the current bonanza, the wealth from tourism does not cascade downwards throughout all the socioeconomic food chain. There is merit to the argument insofar as salaries are as they are (not always great) and jobs can so often be temporary or be subject to dubious contractual arrangements.
There is an additional hazard from this survival. The bonanza, as we all know, owes much to sad events suffered by others. Safety and security in the Balearics have provided homes to holidaymakers "borrowed" from elsewhere. What would happen if security became an issue here? Safety, as we also all know, cannot be guaranteed anywhere.
This said, the islands' tourism has in the past faced difficulties not of its making. An example was the oil crisis of the 1970s. It was survived, although it took around four years for numbers to really recover. There was also the Icelandic ash cloud, which created a shortlived crisis but demonstrated the extent to which the wholly unexpected can suddenly explode.
Ramis was saying nothing new. The dependence on tourism and therefore the need for diversification have been discussed over and over. They are still being discussed: at great length by the current regime. But there is diversification realism and there is lack of realism. Agriculture? Really. It counts for around one per cent of GDP. It is also subject to the caprices of Mother Nature in the same way that tourism is. I give you the drought in evidence, while I can also give you the impact of pests. As for renewable energy, it remains something of a pipedream, and while it would represent diversification, it would need productive sectors to energise, such as tourism.
Having read this interview, the general impression one was left with was that GOB believe they should be listened to more and that they should be exerting greater influence. GOB are never short of things to say or of denuncias to be lodged, but might the sheer volume of noise that emanates from them be doing them a disfavour? One can believe that with the eco-nationalists Més in charge of the tourism and environment ministries, GOB felt they had the right people to bend to their influences. But Biel Barceló is described as a "total disappointment", while there seems to be some disenchantment with Vicenç Vidal at environment and agriculture as well.
GOB have in the past been told, by the right, to either put up and become a political party or shut up. Such criticism is unfair to a pressure group with legitimate aims and concerns, but they are only a pressure group. Més have enough pressure as it is because of the constant battles with the parties of the "pact". They don't need GOB hounding them and telling them what to do. One-time natural allies can now point out to GOB that being in government requires the consideration of more than a pressure group's demands.
It isn't as if GOB aren't pandered to. Although the organisation disagrees with how the tourist tax revenue is to be spent - it wants it all to go towards the environment - it has representation on the spending committee. Two places in fact; one more than the Council of Mallorca, for example.
Then there is the question of pressure that GOB might be feeling. I have previously wondered about the relationship with Terraferida, which shot to prominence over the Cabrera beach "privatisation" and Albufera waste spillage last summer. Ramis says that Terraferida are not a threat, which is revealing in itself. Aren't they both operating from the same hymn sheet? Yes, but in different ways, explained Ramis without being wholly convincing.
Terraferida have, though, captured the "saturation" mood in a more dramatic and direct way than GOB. Is it the case that GOB have become institutionalised and now form part of the establishment? Even pressure groups, it would seem, can come under pressure.
Monday, January 09, 2017
MALLORCA TODAY - Weather Alcúdia and Pollensa 9 January 2017
Morning high (6.42am): 10.9C
Forecast high: 13C; UV: 2
Three-day forecast: 10 January - Cloud, 15C; 11 January - Cloud, sun, wind, 13C; 12 January - Sun, cloud, 18C.
Sea conditions (northern Mallorca; Alcúdia and Pollensa bays to 20.00): Northeast 6 to 7 easing 4 during the morning. Swells up to two metres.
Milder morning. Rough coastal conditions, for which there is a yellow alert. Sun likely to be limited.
Evening update (18.45): Sun was limited. High of 13.2C.
Forecast high: 13C; UV: 2
Three-day forecast: 10 January - Cloud, 15C; 11 January - Cloud, sun, wind, 13C; 12 January - Sun, cloud, 18C.
Sea conditions (northern Mallorca; Alcúdia and Pollensa bays to 20.00): Northeast 6 to 7 easing 4 during the morning. Swells up to two metres.
Milder morning. Rough coastal conditions, for which there is a yellow alert. Sun likely to be limited.
Evening update (18.45): Sun was limited. High of 13.2C.
The Kings Of Satire
In folklore, theatrical performance was historically the medium for satire. European culture provides ample evidence of the role played by satire from the days of Ancient Greece and Ancient Rome to present times. It has remained a constant, a broadening of media in more recent times having made it ever more popular in the sense of it having both a strong public following and also of it being for the people. Satire, with its strain of social comment, has down the centuries provided the people with a voice, one of criticism and of attempts to affect attitudes and legislation.
Different societies are littered with examples. In England, for example, Geoffrey Chaucer used "The Canterbury Tales" to attack fourteenth-century church corruption. Miguel Cervantes' "Don Quixote" was in effect a satire on the whole notion of chivalry. His contemporary, William Shakespeare, used satire in various plays. "Love's Labour's Lost" devoted itself to an assault on the pedantry of the educated classes.
The performance was more important than written works in appealing to largely illiterate societies and expressing what the common people might be feeling. In Mallorca, illiteracy was more the norm than the exception at the end of the nineteenth century and into the early decades of the last century. It was within this societal context that purveyors of satire could gain the ears of the people. The glosadors were a principal medium for this.
Mallorcan and Catalan culture has a theatrical tradition that dates back to at least the middle of the twelfth century. The dances of demons were first noted at a banquet for the Count of Barcelona in 1150. Over time, this mediaeval theatre was to develop a format, with the conclusion of demons' performances being characterised by satirical verses aimed at political and public life. The format, depending on the demons' gang, is still intact. Last year at Muro's Sant Antoni event, for instance, the Grand Demon of the Sa Pedrera gang issued his annual warnings and his reflections on Catalonian independence and the trial of Princess Cristina. In terms of attacks on corruption, Mallorca's demons, it might be said, are following in the long-ago footsteps of Geoffrey Chaucer.
Carnival is one of the most obvious excuses for satirical expression. The parades, theatre in their own right, are occasions for donning attire and masks that point fun at politicians and others. This subversive aspect was just one reason why the Franco regime attempted, by no means always successfully, to outlaw Carnival.
The glosadors, who feature all-year round but who are key players in this month's Sant Antoni fiestas, have invoked the saint in emphasising their historical role in demanding justice, attacking authority and strengthening values. One "glosa" which was certainly being used in Franco's time calls on the saint to "liberate us" from the language of the glosador, whose role is that of a painter, using the same colour for a saint and for a demon. It is a satire on religious reverence accorded to saints combined with barbs against an unspecified demon. Given the context of the times, it might be possible to guess who the demon was.
There is a further satire, one which has just been acted out, as it is each year. The performance of Llorenç Moyà's "Adoration of the Three Kings" on 6 January in Palma's Ses Voltes park is an occasion, similar in a way to the demons, to issue warnings while also poking fun. Corruption was a target, and the local police force wasn't spared. The possible return of José Ramón Bauzá as leader of the Partido Popular was another. If he dares to bring back TIL (trilingual teaching), there'll be a missile heading his way. Other subjects were school bullying and housing: the dogs at the Son Reus pound have better lives than people who live in cold conditions at this time of the year in Palma's worst neighbourhoods.
There were invited amateurs, as there always are. One was the former tourism minister and potential rival to Bauzá as PP leader, Jaime Martínez, who uttered the words: "The government tells you 'no' ... what part of the 'no' do you not understand?" At least and for once, a politician wasn't taking himself too seriously.
This is a time of the year, because of the Adoration, the demons and glosadors of Sant Antoni, and Carnival in a few weeks time, when satire is at its height. And it isn't only apparent with the performances. Look out as well for the bonfires for Sant Antoni and Sant Sebastià. In Pollensa, where Sant Antoni has additional meaning because of its pine climb, political parties make a habit of using their bonfires to convey a message. There was one a few years ago that was a pyramid of 500 euro notes which represented the auditorium project that finally was never pursued, perhaps proving that satire and its criticism can sometimes be effective.
Different societies are littered with examples. In England, for example, Geoffrey Chaucer used "The Canterbury Tales" to attack fourteenth-century church corruption. Miguel Cervantes' "Don Quixote" was in effect a satire on the whole notion of chivalry. His contemporary, William Shakespeare, used satire in various plays. "Love's Labour's Lost" devoted itself to an assault on the pedantry of the educated classes.
The performance was more important than written works in appealing to largely illiterate societies and expressing what the common people might be feeling. In Mallorca, illiteracy was more the norm than the exception at the end of the nineteenth century and into the early decades of the last century. It was within this societal context that purveyors of satire could gain the ears of the people. The glosadors were a principal medium for this.
Mallorcan and Catalan culture has a theatrical tradition that dates back to at least the middle of the twelfth century. The dances of demons were first noted at a banquet for the Count of Barcelona in 1150. Over time, this mediaeval theatre was to develop a format, with the conclusion of demons' performances being characterised by satirical verses aimed at political and public life. The format, depending on the demons' gang, is still intact. Last year at Muro's Sant Antoni event, for instance, the Grand Demon of the Sa Pedrera gang issued his annual warnings and his reflections on Catalonian independence and the trial of Princess Cristina. In terms of attacks on corruption, Mallorca's demons, it might be said, are following in the long-ago footsteps of Geoffrey Chaucer.
Carnival is one of the most obvious excuses for satirical expression. The parades, theatre in their own right, are occasions for donning attire and masks that point fun at politicians and others. This subversive aspect was just one reason why the Franco regime attempted, by no means always successfully, to outlaw Carnival.
The glosadors, who feature all-year round but who are key players in this month's Sant Antoni fiestas, have invoked the saint in emphasising their historical role in demanding justice, attacking authority and strengthening values. One "glosa" which was certainly being used in Franco's time calls on the saint to "liberate us" from the language of the glosador, whose role is that of a painter, using the same colour for a saint and for a demon. It is a satire on religious reverence accorded to saints combined with barbs against an unspecified demon. Given the context of the times, it might be possible to guess who the demon was.
There is a further satire, one which has just been acted out, as it is each year. The performance of Llorenç Moyà's "Adoration of the Three Kings" on 6 January in Palma's Ses Voltes park is an occasion, similar in a way to the demons, to issue warnings while also poking fun. Corruption was a target, and the local police force wasn't spared. The possible return of José Ramón Bauzá as leader of the Partido Popular was another. If he dares to bring back TIL (trilingual teaching), there'll be a missile heading his way. Other subjects were school bullying and housing: the dogs at the Son Reus pound have better lives than people who live in cold conditions at this time of the year in Palma's worst neighbourhoods.
There were invited amateurs, as there always are. One was the former tourism minister and potential rival to Bauzá as PP leader, Jaime Martínez, who uttered the words: "The government tells you 'no' ... what part of the 'no' do you not understand?" At least and for once, a politician wasn't taking himself too seriously.
This is a time of the year, because of the Adoration, the demons and glosadors of Sant Antoni, and Carnival in a few weeks time, when satire is at its height. And it isn't only apparent with the performances. Look out as well for the bonfires for Sant Antoni and Sant Sebastià. In Pollensa, where Sant Antoni has additional meaning because of its pine climb, political parties make a habit of using their bonfires to convey a message. There was one a few years ago that was a pyramid of 500 euro notes which represented the auditorium project that finally was never pursued, perhaps proving that satire and its criticism can sometimes be effective.
Sunday, January 08, 2017
MALLORCA TODAY - Weather Alcúdia and Pollensa 8 January 2017
Morning high (7.52am): 10.5C
Forecast high: 15C; UV: 1
Three-day forecast: 9 January - Cloud, sun, 13C; 10 January - Cloud, 15C; 11 January - Cloud, sun, wind, 13C.
Sea conditions (northern Mallorca; Alcúdia and Pollensa bays to 20.00): North 3 backing Northwest 4 to 5 during the morning. Swells of a metre.
Big difference in temperatures early on. Quite mild by the coast but down below two degrees in parts of the interior. Should be fairly sunny today as well as breezy. Outlook for the week: some rain around, falling as snow to 900 metres.
Evening update (19.15): Some nice warm sun - high of 17.6C.
Forecast high: 15C; UV: 1
Three-day forecast: 9 January - Cloud, sun, 13C; 10 January - Cloud, 15C; 11 January - Cloud, sun, wind, 13C.
Sea conditions (northern Mallorca; Alcúdia and Pollensa bays to 20.00): North 3 backing Northwest 4 to 5 during the morning. Swells of a metre.
Big difference in temperatures early on. Quite mild by the coast but down below two degrees in parts of the interior. Should be fairly sunny today as well as breezy. Outlook for the week: some rain around, falling as snow to 900 metres.
Evening update (19.15): Some nice warm sun - high of 17.6C.
Bruisers Without Guarantees
In the distant days of student politics it was common for the ranks of the dominant drunken, doped-up, hirsute, Marx/Trotsky/Mao-quoting brigades to be joined by hardened unionists. These were mature students, often very mature, as in old. They wore donkey jackets, generally eschewed beards in favour of ragged stubble, stamped around in heavy boots, drank brown ale and could devour vast plates of steak and kidney pie and cabbage. They were, to use the vernacular, bruisers, who were held in high reverence by the comrades on account of being the real thing. They were agitators from the coal face, and occasionally the mine itself.
One is reminded of those glorious days by the antics of one Joan Canyelles, whose appearance suggests a certain bruiser quality. He was until the other day the legal secretary of the Podemos Balearics committee for democratic guarantees: a Mr. Enforcer among other enforcers, having no truck with revisionist tendencies and adhering strictly to party lines determined by the Madrid politburo.
It is eminently possible that we would have been none the wiser of Joan's existence, if it had not been for last week's revelations. Joan, who does have a beard, is one of the Podemos cadre who only come into the public eye when things go awry. Would we have ever been aware of Montse Seijas, if she hadn't been expelled by High Command? I would suggest that we wouldn't have been.
"El Mundo", not - it is fair to say - naturally sympathetic to Podemos, got hold of a recording which revealed Joan's bruiser qualities. Its contents have been described as blackmail in seeking to silence any revisionism and thus criticism of party direction and of Balearic leader, Alberto Jarabo.
Specifically, he had told a member of the Balearic citizen's council - someone else we would never have heard of, Carmen Azpelicueta - to basically not attend meetings of the council. If she was a "good girl", then "we will look for a job for you". Apart from anything else, the reference to "good girl" did not reflect well on Podemos feminism. There again, the traditional bruiser from years gone by found contending with feminism a mite difficult. Joan appeared to have been cut from the same donkey jacket cloth.
Once exposed, Joan resigned, saying that he had acted totally independently and accepting that he had used "incorrect language" in having transmitted "manifestly imprecise information". Podemos then let it be known that disciplinary proceedings had been taken against Carmen for having attempted to defraud voting for the primaries to be on the list of candidates for election to the Council of Mallorca.
Joan's resignation left the committee of democratic guarantees so short of enforcers that Podemos have had to dissolve it. Guarantees cannot be guaranteed. Madrid's High Command will be doing the guaranteeing, at least for now. Meanwhile, questions were being asked as to quite how independently Joan had acted. The recording was styled with the use of the first person plural, i.e. "we", and inferred that Jarabo was aware of the so-called blackmail.
One of the remaining enforcers, the altogether less scary-looking Alejandro López, wondered why the recording had come to light. It was, after all, made a fair time ago. Insisting that Jarabo knew nothing, he suggested that the recording had been leaked in order to damage the image of the party, as if its image needs any more damage being inflicted. Which brings us of course to what is likely to happen tomorrow - the dismissal of Xelo Huertas as president (speaker) of parliament.
Into all this has stepped a Podemos within Podemos, a group known as "the Podemos that we want", which has armed itself with its so-called Manifesto of Sineu. It is demanding the immediate cessation of the party leadership and a review of the expulsions of Huertas and others. It then goes on to charge the leadership with indulging in "McCarthyist persecution", of surrounding itself with "henchmen who execute unspeakable deeds" and of having a "mafia-style conception" of its role.
The bruisers of 1970s' student politics would have relished such intrigue. Infiltrators, which they were and were duly noted as such by the university's administration, their role was partly (mainly) to foment greater agitation. Yet for all the direction that may have been coming from outside forces, typically the Communist Party, university politics never rose above a state of being unreal. Podemos, the bruisers and others, are for real, and they determine the direction of the Balearic government.
One is reminded of those glorious days by the antics of one Joan Canyelles, whose appearance suggests a certain bruiser quality. He was until the other day the legal secretary of the Podemos Balearics committee for democratic guarantees: a Mr. Enforcer among other enforcers, having no truck with revisionist tendencies and adhering strictly to party lines determined by the Madrid politburo.
It is eminently possible that we would have been none the wiser of Joan's existence, if it had not been for last week's revelations. Joan, who does have a beard, is one of the Podemos cadre who only come into the public eye when things go awry. Would we have ever been aware of Montse Seijas, if she hadn't been expelled by High Command? I would suggest that we wouldn't have been.
"El Mundo", not - it is fair to say - naturally sympathetic to Podemos, got hold of a recording which revealed Joan's bruiser qualities. Its contents have been described as blackmail in seeking to silence any revisionism and thus criticism of party direction and of Balearic leader, Alberto Jarabo.
Specifically, he had told a member of the Balearic citizen's council - someone else we would never have heard of, Carmen Azpelicueta - to basically not attend meetings of the council. If she was a "good girl", then "we will look for a job for you". Apart from anything else, the reference to "good girl" did not reflect well on Podemos feminism. There again, the traditional bruiser from years gone by found contending with feminism a mite difficult. Joan appeared to have been cut from the same donkey jacket cloth.
Once exposed, Joan resigned, saying that he had acted totally independently and accepting that he had used "incorrect language" in having transmitted "manifestly imprecise information". Podemos then let it be known that disciplinary proceedings had been taken against Carmen for having attempted to defraud voting for the primaries to be on the list of candidates for election to the Council of Mallorca.
Joan's resignation left the committee of democratic guarantees so short of enforcers that Podemos have had to dissolve it. Guarantees cannot be guaranteed. Madrid's High Command will be doing the guaranteeing, at least for now. Meanwhile, questions were being asked as to quite how independently Joan had acted. The recording was styled with the use of the first person plural, i.e. "we", and inferred that Jarabo was aware of the so-called blackmail.
One of the remaining enforcers, the altogether less scary-looking Alejandro López, wondered why the recording had come to light. It was, after all, made a fair time ago. Insisting that Jarabo knew nothing, he suggested that the recording had been leaked in order to damage the image of the party, as if its image needs any more damage being inflicted. Which brings us of course to what is likely to happen tomorrow - the dismissal of Xelo Huertas as president (speaker) of parliament.
Into all this has stepped a Podemos within Podemos, a group known as "the Podemos that we want", which has armed itself with its so-called Manifesto of Sineu. It is demanding the immediate cessation of the party leadership and a review of the expulsions of Huertas and others. It then goes on to charge the leadership with indulging in "McCarthyist persecution", of surrounding itself with "henchmen who execute unspeakable deeds" and of having a "mafia-style conception" of its role.
The bruisers of 1970s' student politics would have relished such intrigue. Infiltrators, which they were and were duly noted as such by the university's administration, their role was partly (mainly) to foment greater agitation. Yet for all the direction that may have been coming from outside forces, typically the Communist Party, university politics never rose above a state of being unreal. Podemos, the bruisers and others, are for real, and they determine the direction of the Balearic government.
Saturday, January 07, 2017
MALLORCA TODAY - Weather Alcúdia and Pollensa 7 January 2017
Morning high (7.44am): 3C
Forecast high: 15C; UV: 1
Three-day forecast: 8 January - Sun, 15C; 9 January - Cloud, 14C; 10 January - Cloud, 14C.
Sea conditions (northern Mallorca; Alcúdia and Pollensa bays to 20.00): North 3 to 4.
Cold morning, just above freezing in parts. Due to be reasonably sunny.
Evening update (20.15): Warmed up reasonably well. A high of 16.7C.
Forecast high: 15C; UV: 1
Three-day forecast: 8 January - Sun, 15C; 9 January - Cloud, 14C; 10 January - Cloud, 14C.
Sea conditions (northern Mallorca; Alcúdia and Pollensa bays to 20.00): North 3 to 4.
Cold morning, just above freezing in parts. Due to be reasonably sunny.
Evening update (20.15): Warmed up reasonably well. A high of 16.7C.
Julian And The Cossiers Of Campos
One Saint Julian, there's only one Saint Julian. If only there were. There are Julians aplenty and the legacies of no fewer than eight of them are celebrated during January. However, there is only Saint Julian in the town of Campos. Sant Julià is its patron, assisted to a degree by Santa Basilisa, who was his wife.
Tradition, aka legend, has it that Julià and Basilisa met their maker in the year 304 in Antioch. Or possibly Antinopolis. History is vague on the matter to the extent that the rival places of death are in different countries (Turkey and Egypt) and are divided by some considerable distance. What is certain, insofar as there can be any certainty, is that they were victims of Diocletian, the Roman emperor who made a habit of creating martyrs.
According to legend, neither Julià nor Basilisa was minded to getting married. Julià had vowed chastity. Basilisa was determined to maintain her virginity. Coercive parents insisted otherwise, though history is silent on the question of marital consummation. He founded a monastery, she a convent, and together they established a hospital, which is a reason why the Campos Julià is often confused with one of the several other Julians - the Hospitaller.
Whether they really did have a hospital is open to doubt. History, lacking firm information (if any) about either of them, has been forced to bow to legend and storytelling. It is possible that they did exist, unlike some saints who were total fabrications. But real or not real, their place in the saintly hierarchy is nowadays a fairly lowly one when compared with more famed saints of whom there are serious question marks concerning their existence, such as Valentine.
They did, once upon a time, command higher status. From the eighth century they were accorded great veneration, but their demotion may well have owed something to the way in which their liturgical celebration was moved around. Even now, there are four competing dates - sixth, seventh, eighth and ninth of January. The most recent reform of the Martyrology applied the first of these dates. In Campos, they've stuck with the ninth.
Basilisa, strictly speaking a joint patron the town, is generally disregarded in all the celebrations. The town's church is Sant Julià, the fiestas are Sant Julià. But they reside next to each other in the splendidly massive neoclassical church that dates from the nineteenth century.
The fiestas, it's fair to say, do tend to be rather overlooked. It's Julià's misfortune to have at least one of his competing dates clash with Epiphany. The ninth of January falls close to the Kings and also to Anthony and Sebastian, the two saints among the saints of a Mallorcan January. Another obscure saint, Honorat of Algaida, likewise goes to the back of the queue; his day runs up against Sant Antoni Eve, so there's little contest.
Mindful perhaps of all the fiesta competition, a new ingredient was added five years ago. Following a hiatus of some one hundred years, the cossiers of Campos made a comeback. Promoted by a local association, Pinyol Vermell, the folk dancers emerged after mass on the evening of 9 January. There was at least one problem with this revival: making the cossiers as authentic as possible with their ancestors. There was firm evidence of the cossiers' past - the Archduke Louis Salvador had noted their existence in his epic "Die Balearen" - but of images there were none. In the end, Pinyol Vermell borrowed from styles that were current in towns where the cossiers had endured and adopted the siurell figure for the demon of the dances.
Despite the Archduke's records, the church (Sant Julià) was unable to provide much by way of archive material. It was able to confirm that the church had once upon a time paid a small sum to the cossiers to dance. It has been suggested that they weren't therefore from Campos, and it's possible they were not. There were, after all, any number of cossier performances in villages and towns where they have long ceased to be staged. These cossiers may well have been itinerant performers.
But now they are definitely Campos's own. The fiestas are a further example of tradition that has been revived, and so the cossiers dance for Sant Julià (and Santa Basilisa). The only slight further issue with this is that no one knows the exact date when they used to dance over a century ago. A bit like the exact date of Julià's fiesta then.
Tradition, aka legend, has it that Julià and Basilisa met their maker in the year 304 in Antioch. Or possibly Antinopolis. History is vague on the matter to the extent that the rival places of death are in different countries (Turkey and Egypt) and are divided by some considerable distance. What is certain, insofar as there can be any certainty, is that they were victims of Diocletian, the Roman emperor who made a habit of creating martyrs.
According to legend, neither Julià nor Basilisa was minded to getting married. Julià had vowed chastity. Basilisa was determined to maintain her virginity. Coercive parents insisted otherwise, though history is silent on the question of marital consummation. He founded a monastery, she a convent, and together they established a hospital, which is a reason why the Campos Julià is often confused with one of the several other Julians - the Hospitaller.
Whether they really did have a hospital is open to doubt. History, lacking firm information (if any) about either of them, has been forced to bow to legend and storytelling. It is possible that they did exist, unlike some saints who were total fabrications. But real or not real, their place in the saintly hierarchy is nowadays a fairly lowly one when compared with more famed saints of whom there are serious question marks concerning their existence, such as Valentine.
They did, once upon a time, command higher status. From the eighth century they were accorded great veneration, but their demotion may well have owed something to the way in which their liturgical celebration was moved around. Even now, there are four competing dates - sixth, seventh, eighth and ninth of January. The most recent reform of the Martyrology applied the first of these dates. In Campos, they've stuck with the ninth.
Basilisa, strictly speaking a joint patron the town, is generally disregarded in all the celebrations. The town's church is Sant Julià, the fiestas are Sant Julià. But they reside next to each other in the splendidly massive neoclassical church that dates from the nineteenth century.
The fiestas, it's fair to say, do tend to be rather overlooked. It's Julià's misfortune to have at least one of his competing dates clash with Epiphany. The ninth of January falls close to the Kings and also to Anthony and Sebastian, the two saints among the saints of a Mallorcan January. Another obscure saint, Honorat of Algaida, likewise goes to the back of the queue; his day runs up against Sant Antoni Eve, so there's little contest.
Mindful perhaps of all the fiesta competition, a new ingredient was added five years ago. Following a hiatus of some one hundred years, the cossiers of Campos made a comeback. Promoted by a local association, Pinyol Vermell, the folk dancers emerged after mass on the evening of 9 January. There was at least one problem with this revival: making the cossiers as authentic as possible with their ancestors. There was firm evidence of the cossiers' past - the Archduke Louis Salvador had noted their existence in his epic "Die Balearen" - but of images there were none. In the end, Pinyol Vermell borrowed from styles that were current in towns where the cossiers had endured and adopted the siurell figure for the demon of the dances.
Despite the Archduke's records, the church (Sant Julià) was unable to provide much by way of archive material. It was able to confirm that the church had once upon a time paid a small sum to the cossiers to dance. It has been suggested that they weren't therefore from Campos, and it's possible they were not. There were, after all, any number of cossier performances in villages and towns where they have long ceased to be staged. These cossiers may well have been itinerant performers.
But now they are definitely Campos's own. The fiestas are a further example of tradition that has been revived, and so the cossiers dance for Sant Julià (and Santa Basilisa). The only slight further issue with this is that no one knows the exact date when they used to dance over a century ago. A bit like the exact date of Julià's fiesta then.
Friday, January 06, 2017
MALLORCA TODAY - Weather Alcúdia and Pollensa 6 January 2017
Morning high (7.55am): 10.7C
Forecast high: 12C; UV: 1
Three-day forecast: 7 January - Cloud, sun, 15C; 8 January - Sun, 15C; 9 January - Cloud, sun, 14C.
Sea conditions (northern Mallorca; Alcúdia and Pollensa bays to 20.00): North 6 to 7 easing 4 to 5 around midday. Waves of four metres decreasing.
Blustery with some heavy cloud first thing. Due to get brighter. Not warm, though the northerly is set to ease.
Evening update (20.45): Sunny for a time. Chilly though. High of 12.3C.
Forecast high: 12C; UV: 1
Three-day forecast: 7 January - Cloud, sun, 15C; 8 January - Sun, 15C; 9 January - Cloud, sun, 14C.
Sea conditions (northern Mallorca; Alcúdia and Pollensa bays to 20.00): North 6 to 7 easing 4 to 5 around midday. Waves of four metres decreasing.
Blustery with some heavy cloud first thing. Due to get brighter. Not warm, though the northerly is set to ease.
Evening update (20.45): Sunny for a time. Chilly though. High of 12.3C.
The Legal Nightmare Of Holiday Rentals
Have there ever been two pieces of legislation more complicated than those for the Balearics tourist tax and holiday rentals? Quite probably, but for the most part they do not pass into the popular consciousness. These legislative initiatives most certainly do, and they are of course linked.
The most complicated aspect of the tax is the way in which the spending decisions are being made. With holiday rentals it is the implementation, which no one ever said was going to be easy but which has all the potential of tangling the government in knots that courts will be only too willing to attempt to unravel.
The zoning concept for accommodation places to be permitted as holiday rentals in theory has some merit, but it will be the practice which decides how meritorious. A lack of clarity is emanating from the tourism ministry and the Council of Mallorca (the latter charged with determining the zoning, except in Palma, which is its own zone) with regard to what impact the zoning may have on existing legal rentals. Biel Barceló has intimated that some of these could be "de-registered". If so, then it would be an outrage.
An indication of the complexity of what is being envisaged can be found in the way that Palma is proceeding. The legislation has yet to be approved, but the town hall is pre-emptively studying the zones within the city. Assisted by the university, it is considering - neighbourhood by neighbourhood - how authorisation is to be granted for rentals in apartment buildings. A key element of this is to ensure that certain areas - the old town most obviously - are not turned into tourist accommodation "theme parks". The guiding principle is that there should be a mix of uses so that blanket authorisations (or prohibitions) will not apply anywhere.
The federation of residents' associations, which seemingly can't keep quiet for a minute just at present, has railed against the legislation, the potential for communities to be taken over by holiday rentals and the speculative nature of property acquisition with rentals in mind. The federation has a legitimate point, but the Palma study - what one can make of it - may well end up spoiling the ambitions of speculators. If it were to do so, then the government can anticipate seeking to make nice returns on the fines. The illegal supply will not magically evaporate, and one only needs to look at the situation in Barcelona to know that it will not.
Palma's approach may well act as a template for the Council to consider, but it has an even more complex task, given that the nine zones involve different municipalities, some which have tourist resorts and some which most certainly do not. Then one comes to how many properties will end up being authorised. The 43,000 places imply some 10,000 (possibly fewer), which doesn't seem like an awful lot for the whole of the Balearics. Ibiza will probably reject any, as the council there doesn't want them, whereas Menorca is keen, but divvying them up according to the zones (and Palma) sounds an administrative (and potentially legal) nightmare.
The government, apart from anything else, wants these places authorised so that it can add to the tourist tax kitty. Yet Barceló has been saying that regardless of a rental's legality or not, the tax will apply. This therefore includes rentals under the tenancy act. Legally, it is hard to see how this can be done, given the non-touristic definition that can be permitted under the tenancy act. It may yet be, though, that the Balearic government (and others) can persuade Madrid to amend the tenancy act and impose a minimum of a month on tenancy agreements, which is what Barceló is wanting.
We should have an initial idea of what Palma is proposing by the middle of the month, around the time that the period of submissions for the rentals' legislation comes to an end. Greater clarity may then begin to emerge. Or will it?
The most complicated aspect of the tax is the way in which the spending decisions are being made. With holiday rentals it is the implementation, which no one ever said was going to be easy but which has all the potential of tangling the government in knots that courts will be only too willing to attempt to unravel.
The zoning concept for accommodation places to be permitted as holiday rentals in theory has some merit, but it will be the practice which decides how meritorious. A lack of clarity is emanating from the tourism ministry and the Council of Mallorca (the latter charged with determining the zoning, except in Palma, which is its own zone) with regard to what impact the zoning may have on existing legal rentals. Biel Barceló has intimated that some of these could be "de-registered". If so, then it would be an outrage.
An indication of the complexity of what is being envisaged can be found in the way that Palma is proceeding. The legislation has yet to be approved, but the town hall is pre-emptively studying the zones within the city. Assisted by the university, it is considering - neighbourhood by neighbourhood - how authorisation is to be granted for rentals in apartment buildings. A key element of this is to ensure that certain areas - the old town most obviously - are not turned into tourist accommodation "theme parks". The guiding principle is that there should be a mix of uses so that blanket authorisations (or prohibitions) will not apply anywhere.
The federation of residents' associations, which seemingly can't keep quiet for a minute just at present, has railed against the legislation, the potential for communities to be taken over by holiday rentals and the speculative nature of property acquisition with rentals in mind. The federation has a legitimate point, but the Palma study - what one can make of it - may well end up spoiling the ambitions of speculators. If it were to do so, then the government can anticipate seeking to make nice returns on the fines. The illegal supply will not magically evaporate, and one only needs to look at the situation in Barcelona to know that it will not.
Palma's approach may well act as a template for the Council to consider, but it has an even more complex task, given that the nine zones involve different municipalities, some which have tourist resorts and some which most certainly do not. Then one comes to how many properties will end up being authorised. The 43,000 places imply some 10,000 (possibly fewer), which doesn't seem like an awful lot for the whole of the Balearics. Ibiza will probably reject any, as the council there doesn't want them, whereas Menorca is keen, but divvying them up according to the zones (and Palma) sounds an administrative (and potentially legal) nightmare.
The government, apart from anything else, wants these places authorised so that it can add to the tourist tax kitty. Yet Barceló has been saying that regardless of a rental's legality or not, the tax will apply. This therefore includes rentals under the tenancy act. Legally, it is hard to see how this can be done, given the non-touristic definition that can be permitted under the tenancy act. It may yet be, though, that the Balearic government (and others) can persuade Madrid to amend the tenancy act and impose a minimum of a month on tenancy agreements, which is what Barceló is wanting.
We should have an initial idea of what Palma is proposing by the middle of the month, around the time that the period of submissions for the rentals' legislation comes to an end. Greater clarity may then begin to emerge. Or will it?
Thursday, January 05, 2017
MALLORCA TODAY - Weather Alcúdia and Pollensa 5 January 2017
Morning high (7.21am): 12.8C
Forecast high: 14C; UV: 2
Three-day forecast: 6 January - Sun, cloud, wind, 12C; 7 January - Cloud, sun, 15C; 8 January - Sun, 16C.
Sea conditions (northern Mallorca; Alcúdia and Pollensa bays to 20.00): North 6 to 7. Waves of three to four metres in areas.
A windy day in prospect but quite sunny. There is an amber alert for coastal conditions, which are likely to make the landings of the Kings in various places a touch rough.
Evening update (19.30): The sun didn't really come out. Windy and a high of just 13.3C.
Forecast high: 14C; UV: 2
Three-day forecast: 6 January - Sun, cloud, wind, 12C; 7 January - Cloud, sun, 15C; 8 January - Sun, 16C.
Sea conditions (northern Mallorca; Alcúdia and Pollensa bays to 20.00): North 6 to 7. Waves of three to four metres in areas.
A windy day in prospect but quite sunny. There is an amber alert for coastal conditions, which are likely to make the landings of the Kings in various places a touch rough.
Evening update (19.30): The sun didn't really come out. Windy and a high of just 13.3C.
Debating Sant Antoni
They like their debates in Sa Pobla. The citizens have, for example, been invited to debate the town's touristic future. As it has no obvious touristic past, they have been debating from a more or less blank sheet of paper. Yet there is one aspect of the town's past - from a very long time ago - that has entered into this all but non-existent touristic past: the legendary Sant Antoni.
They were debating the Egyptian ancient himself the other evening. A group of youths - a mistranslation if there ever was one, given that "jóvenes" (aka "joves") can be applied to anyone up to roughly the age of thirty or even older - had organised a gathering during which one of the hottest topics for discussion was what type of dress should be worn for the Sant Antoni fiestas. It wasn't what they had in mind, but dress code advice might be said to be very simple - something warm.
The debate was otherwise under the broad title of "where's the fiesta going". In order to answer this, it was important to know where it had been, which of course takes one way back when - to the fourteenth century way back when. Following an explanation of this, there was a roundtable debate (another one) featuring eminent figures such as the mayor.
And what did they conclude? Well, nothing really, and it was unlikely that they would have arrived at anything dramatically different, given that the Obreria de Sant Antoni (represented at the roundtable) pretty much dictates what goes on. If the demons don't watch their demonic protocols, for example, they can find themselves on the wrong end of an obreria ticking-off. Which they have in the past.
Sant Antoni, in a Sa Pobla style - and it is the most important of the Antoni styles - starts as soon as the Kings are done and dusted. On Saturday, they drag the old boy out of storage for another year and hit the Antoni trail, one of the most significant rituals being the election of the "clamater" by the group of notables known as "La Prohomenia". The clamater is the one charged with leading the cry of "Visca Sant Antoni" during the Compline. The "jóvenes" would be well advised to not consider any tampering with this ritual, given that it was only restored in 2002 after a hiatus of some eighty years because someone had decreed that this shouting was all rather unseemly for a church service.
Mayor Ferragut reflects that the Sant Antoni fiesta has withstood revolutions, wars and periods of famine. Despite all of these, it has always gone ahead, albeit it is hard to know how he can say this with absolute certainty. But the roots of the fiesta are strong and profound. All the ancestry provides a form of substrate, the environment in which the organism of the people lives. Or something like that.
The mayor is therefore not for any change; not radical anyway. The fiesta has remained largely intact since time immemorial and will doubtless remain intact until hell freezes over and the demons are no more. Nevertheless, there is (and was) some sense in having a debate as to the fiesta's future. Partly that is because fiestas don't stand still. There is plenty of evidence which demonstrates how the "jóvenes" of other towns have shown a way forward and breathed new life into the same procedure as every year. They have created traditions for contemporary times, such as with the Much of Sineu, itself based on a traditional folk tale.
A further reason is tourism. The two debates thus collide, if there is a genuine wish that they should. One of the strange things about Sant Antoni - and there is a great deal which is strange - is that it has been a fiesta in the national touristic interest since the mid-1960s, a declaration which had virtually no impact and hasn't had. It's as if nowadays they've forgotten that the declaration was made. Perhaps it needs reviving, rather like the clamater was.
Or is there something lurking in the mayoral substrate which would prefer that the declaration hadn't been made? After all, it is from a time when you know who was in charge, and the Francoists did make something of a habit of attaching themselves to certain traditions and attempting to pass them off as being "Spanish". Where Sant Antoni is concerned, that would never do. His existence in Sa Pobla and Mallorca owes everything to his cult having been shipped across the sea by the various Jaumes.
But if this town is to ever be serious about its tourism debate - and they do wish to place an emphasis on the local culture - then it has this great fiesta advantage, one stronger and more profound than any largesse which might be bestowed on it courtesy of holiday rentals' legislation. Visca Sant Antoni. Visca turisme?
They were debating the Egyptian ancient himself the other evening. A group of youths - a mistranslation if there ever was one, given that "jóvenes" (aka "joves") can be applied to anyone up to roughly the age of thirty or even older - had organised a gathering during which one of the hottest topics for discussion was what type of dress should be worn for the Sant Antoni fiestas. It wasn't what they had in mind, but dress code advice might be said to be very simple - something warm.
The debate was otherwise under the broad title of "where's the fiesta going". In order to answer this, it was important to know where it had been, which of course takes one way back when - to the fourteenth century way back when. Following an explanation of this, there was a roundtable debate (another one) featuring eminent figures such as the mayor.
And what did they conclude? Well, nothing really, and it was unlikely that they would have arrived at anything dramatically different, given that the Obreria de Sant Antoni (represented at the roundtable) pretty much dictates what goes on. If the demons don't watch their demonic protocols, for example, they can find themselves on the wrong end of an obreria ticking-off. Which they have in the past.
Sant Antoni, in a Sa Pobla style - and it is the most important of the Antoni styles - starts as soon as the Kings are done and dusted. On Saturday, they drag the old boy out of storage for another year and hit the Antoni trail, one of the most significant rituals being the election of the "clamater" by the group of notables known as "La Prohomenia". The clamater is the one charged with leading the cry of "Visca Sant Antoni" during the Compline. The "jóvenes" would be well advised to not consider any tampering with this ritual, given that it was only restored in 2002 after a hiatus of some eighty years because someone had decreed that this shouting was all rather unseemly for a church service.
Mayor Ferragut reflects that the Sant Antoni fiesta has withstood revolutions, wars and periods of famine. Despite all of these, it has always gone ahead, albeit it is hard to know how he can say this with absolute certainty. But the roots of the fiesta are strong and profound. All the ancestry provides a form of substrate, the environment in which the organism of the people lives. Or something like that.
The mayor is therefore not for any change; not radical anyway. The fiesta has remained largely intact since time immemorial and will doubtless remain intact until hell freezes over and the demons are no more. Nevertheless, there is (and was) some sense in having a debate as to the fiesta's future. Partly that is because fiestas don't stand still. There is plenty of evidence which demonstrates how the "jóvenes" of other towns have shown a way forward and breathed new life into the same procedure as every year. They have created traditions for contemporary times, such as with the Much of Sineu, itself based on a traditional folk tale.
A further reason is tourism. The two debates thus collide, if there is a genuine wish that they should. One of the strange things about Sant Antoni - and there is a great deal which is strange - is that it has been a fiesta in the national touristic interest since the mid-1960s, a declaration which had virtually no impact and hasn't had. It's as if nowadays they've forgotten that the declaration was made. Perhaps it needs reviving, rather like the clamater was.
Or is there something lurking in the mayoral substrate which would prefer that the declaration hadn't been made? After all, it is from a time when you know who was in charge, and the Francoists did make something of a habit of attaching themselves to certain traditions and attempting to pass them off as being "Spanish". Where Sant Antoni is concerned, that would never do. His existence in Sa Pobla and Mallorca owes everything to his cult having been shipped across the sea by the various Jaumes.
But if this town is to ever be serious about its tourism debate - and they do wish to place an emphasis on the local culture - then it has this great fiesta advantage, one stronger and more profound than any largesse which might be bestowed on it courtesy of holiday rentals' legislation. Visca Sant Antoni. Visca turisme?
Wednesday, January 04, 2017
MALLORCA TODAY - Weather Alcúdia and Pollensa 4 January 2017
Morning high (7.58am): 7.8C
Forecast high: 16C; UV: 2
Three-day forecast: 5 January - Cloud, sun, wind, 14C; 6 January - Cloud, sun, wind, 12C; 7 January - Cloud, sun, 15C.
Sea conditions (northern Mallorca; Alcúdia and Pollensa bays to 20.00): North 3 backing West-Northwest 4 to 5 from midday.
Clear morning, and should be sunny once more. Temperatures dropping in the next couple of days.
Evening update (19.30): Clouded over early on and was distinctly nippy, but then the cloud lifted and all was fine. Wind starting to pick up now. A high of 19.3C.
Forecast high: 16C; UV: 2
Three-day forecast: 5 January - Cloud, sun, wind, 14C; 6 January - Cloud, sun, wind, 12C; 7 January - Cloud, sun, 15C.
Sea conditions (northern Mallorca; Alcúdia and Pollensa bays to 20.00): North 3 backing West-Northwest 4 to 5 from midday.
Clear morning, and should be sunny once more. Temperatures dropping in the next couple of days.
Evening update (19.30): Clouded over early on and was distinctly nippy, but then the cloud lifted and all was fine. Wind starting to pick up now. A high of 19.3C.
The Non-Tourism Tax
The vice-president of the Balearics and minister for tourism, innovation and research; the minister for the presidency; the finance minister; the employment, trade and industry minister; the minister for the environment; the director generals for tourism and budgeting; three representatives from both the CCOO and UGT unions; four representatives from CAEB, the Balearic confederation of business associations; two from Pimeb, the federation of small to medium-sized businesses; two from Felib, the federation of local authorities (town halls); two from environmentalists GOB; one from Friends of the Earth; one from the University of the Balearic Islands; one from Arca, the association for the protection of old urban centres; one from the agriculture council; one apiece from the four island councils; one from Palma town hall.
These are the 32 members of the committee for sustainable tourism impetus, the grand title given to the group which decides how tourist tax revenue is to be spent. How many of them are involved in tourism in a direct fashion? Very few. There is tourism minister Biel Barceló, who is the committee's president; Pilar Carbonell, the tourism director general; Inma Benito of the hoteliers via CAEB; Joana Maria Adrover, Palma's tourism councillor. One can make a case for, for instance, Cosme Bonet from the Council of Mallorca, but tourism isn't in his job title; it is buried inside his portfolio for economic affairs.
The representation reflects the pre-determined nature of sustainable tourism impetus; it owes very little - directly - to tourism as such. And the proposals for spending which have been presented to the committee reinforce this. There are 236 in all. Under ten per cent - 22 - fall under the broad "purpose" of tackling tourism seasonality, developing tourist products for the low season and promoting sustainable tourism. You may note something rather odd about this latter category. Is promoting sustainable tourism not the same as sustainable tourism impetus?
We did of course know that the annual plan for sustainable tourism impetus would give priority to water projects, a decision taken by the government (which is of course well represented on the committee). Its motivation, its impetus was the direct consequence of the drought. Needs must. And while there cannot be too much objection to this, it emphasises the unfocused nature of tourist tax revenue spending, if a crisis of Mother Nature can demand funding to compensate for previous failures of investment.
The committee has at its disposal the initial 30 million euros that were collected last year. In order to allocate funding from this pot, it has to whittle down the 236 proposals with a total value of 218.4 million euros. It will have more to play with from this year (at least double), but the comparatively small amounts in overall government budgetary terms raise the question as to why so many people are needed to oversee the spending. What other tax requires such a diverse committee? Spending decisions are otherwise made by smaller committees: parliament's and the government's.
There is much to be said for the committee's inclusiveness, but how consensual can it truly be when there is representation of polar opposites? I previously described it as a camel to decide on a camel of spending, and I see no reason to revise that opinion. The inclusiveness has been defined as participative, but is it little more than a grand PR stunt, one which has spread this participation through a cascade to spending committees set up by individual town halls? Ultimately, the cabinet has to approve the committee's decisions. The cabinet has five members on the committee.
The whole exercise gives the appearance of everyone wanting to play with a new toy, and a not very valuable one at that, given the number of projects. Barceló has said in the past that revenue will not go towards large and more expensive projects. One can perhaps therefore already rule out the purchase - for 12.1 million euros - of the Es Canons finca in Arta, which the town hall there has proposed. There are others which may naturally fall by the wayside because, even given the camel-like nature of the spending "purposes", they struggle to qualify. I give you, for instance, Petra town hall's project for three million euros to be spent on municipal facilities. Or what about Palma's 1.59 million for a cover to be put on one of its swimming pools?
Barceló has made much of the fact that tourists are used to paying taxes. While true, there is nowhere which makes such a fuss about its tax as is occurring in the Balearics. This is because most taxes are spent on general services. When, for instance, Rome introduced its tax, it was totally unabashed in saying that it was to help pay for the likes of cleaning and waste. Catalonia, oddly enough, spends the tax on tourism. In the Balearics, it's less than ten per cent. If that.
These are the 32 members of the committee for sustainable tourism impetus, the grand title given to the group which decides how tourist tax revenue is to be spent. How many of them are involved in tourism in a direct fashion? Very few. There is tourism minister Biel Barceló, who is the committee's president; Pilar Carbonell, the tourism director general; Inma Benito of the hoteliers via CAEB; Joana Maria Adrover, Palma's tourism councillor. One can make a case for, for instance, Cosme Bonet from the Council of Mallorca, but tourism isn't in his job title; it is buried inside his portfolio for economic affairs.
The representation reflects the pre-determined nature of sustainable tourism impetus; it owes very little - directly - to tourism as such. And the proposals for spending which have been presented to the committee reinforce this. There are 236 in all. Under ten per cent - 22 - fall under the broad "purpose" of tackling tourism seasonality, developing tourist products for the low season and promoting sustainable tourism. You may note something rather odd about this latter category. Is promoting sustainable tourism not the same as sustainable tourism impetus?
We did of course know that the annual plan for sustainable tourism impetus would give priority to water projects, a decision taken by the government (which is of course well represented on the committee). Its motivation, its impetus was the direct consequence of the drought. Needs must. And while there cannot be too much objection to this, it emphasises the unfocused nature of tourist tax revenue spending, if a crisis of Mother Nature can demand funding to compensate for previous failures of investment.
The committee has at its disposal the initial 30 million euros that were collected last year. In order to allocate funding from this pot, it has to whittle down the 236 proposals with a total value of 218.4 million euros. It will have more to play with from this year (at least double), but the comparatively small amounts in overall government budgetary terms raise the question as to why so many people are needed to oversee the spending. What other tax requires such a diverse committee? Spending decisions are otherwise made by smaller committees: parliament's and the government's.
There is much to be said for the committee's inclusiveness, but how consensual can it truly be when there is representation of polar opposites? I previously described it as a camel to decide on a camel of spending, and I see no reason to revise that opinion. The inclusiveness has been defined as participative, but is it little more than a grand PR stunt, one which has spread this participation through a cascade to spending committees set up by individual town halls? Ultimately, the cabinet has to approve the committee's decisions. The cabinet has five members on the committee.
The whole exercise gives the appearance of everyone wanting to play with a new toy, and a not very valuable one at that, given the number of projects. Barceló has said in the past that revenue will not go towards large and more expensive projects. One can perhaps therefore already rule out the purchase - for 12.1 million euros - of the Es Canons finca in Arta, which the town hall there has proposed. There are others which may naturally fall by the wayside because, even given the camel-like nature of the spending "purposes", they struggle to qualify. I give you, for instance, Petra town hall's project for three million euros to be spent on municipal facilities. Or what about Palma's 1.59 million for a cover to be put on one of its swimming pools?
Barceló has made much of the fact that tourists are used to paying taxes. While true, there is nowhere which makes such a fuss about its tax as is occurring in the Balearics. This is because most taxes are spent on general services. When, for instance, Rome introduced its tax, it was totally unabashed in saying that it was to help pay for the likes of cleaning and waste. Catalonia, oddly enough, spends the tax on tourism. In the Balearics, it's less than ten per cent. If that.
Tuesday, January 03, 2017
MALLORCA TODAY - Weather Alcúdia and Pollensa 3 January 2017
Morning high (6.35am): 11.2C
Forecast high: 15C; UV: 1
Three-day forecast: 4 January - Sun, cloud, 15C; 5 January - Sun, cloud, wind, 14C; 6 January - Cloud, sun, 14C.
Sea conditions (northern Mallorca; Alcúdia and Pollensa bays to 20.00): Northwest 2 to 3 veering Northeast in the afternoon.
A bright day with light northerlies. Looking ahead to the parades on Thursday, the Kings who arrive by sea may well be in for a rough time.
Evening update (22.15): High of 18C.
Forecast high: 15C; UV: 1
Three-day forecast: 4 January - Sun, cloud, 15C; 5 January - Sun, cloud, wind, 14C; 6 January - Cloud, sun, 14C.
Sea conditions (northern Mallorca; Alcúdia and Pollensa bays to 20.00): Northwest 2 to 3 veering Northeast in the afternoon.
A bright day with light northerlies. Looking ahead to the parades on Thursday, the Kings who arrive by sea may well be in for a rough time.
Evening update (22.15): High of 18C.
Rajoy: Close But No Cigar?
Mariano Rajoy will have been puffing on his New Year's havana with a degree of contentment. Back where he clearly believes he belongs - in perpetuity it can seem - the occupant of the Moncloa can blow calm smoke rings with the satisfaction of knowing that for all the trials of last year (and not just those to do with political uncertainty), no rival is hovering to dispossess him, while the poll rating continues to edge further upwards.
There was, however, an unwelcome piece of news to disturb him over Christmas. He received a phone call from Tony's little friend (the Tony being Blair and the friendship dating back to the Iraq War). The permanently jet-black-haired José María Aznar phoned Rajoy to tell him that he was relinquishing his post as honorary president of the Partido Popular. He will now only be like any other member of the party. Not that he can ever be that; he remains in the PP undergrowth, a diminutively towering presence, prepared at any moment to spring out and spray dye in casting doubts on the Rajoy way forward.
Aznar and Rajoy were once good friends. Wikileaks, though, showed that Aznar was not entirely convinced about Rajoy. This lack of conviction would seem to have lessened still over the years. The phone call would have come as a surprise. They have barely been on speaking terms. The PP hierarchy as a whole was surprised, but for a different reason. Aznar's decision hadn't been expected. But now that it has been delivered, Aznar and his foundation, which formally split from the PP in October, can act independently: a thorn in Rajoy's side, if Aznar so chooses.
Former and defeated leaders in Spain don't do the honourable thing and disappear. Felipe González was hardly a neutral figure in the moves which led to the purging of Pedro Sánchez as PSOE leader. Likewise, Aznar is there, forever lingering and lurking, his discontent with Rajoy seemingly more personal than based on pure politics or policies.
The breach might therefore not augur well for Rajoy, who has discovered - to everyone's lesser surprise than the Aznar manoeuvre - that PSOE is unwilling to give him a clear run with the 2017 budget. In fact, it is placing an enormous obstacle in the way and seems likely to present an amendment to the entire budget. Ultimately, this could mean yet another election.
So Rajoy may instead have been spluttering as he drew on his havana. If PSOE, emboldened despite its enfeebled state by having granted Rajoy licence to stay on as premier, now chooses to exploit this magnanimity and challenge the budget to the point of mortality, it will be a case of close but no cigar for the latest Rajoy project.
However, there is what the public thinks, and it is this which can allow Rajoy his moments of tranquil puffing. The latest poll by Sigma Dos for "El Mundo" shows the PP to still be in the ascendant. The rating, compared with the June election, has increased by 1.8% to 34.8%. It remains a distance away from what it was when Rajoy won in 2011, but the momentum upwards is not being interrupted.
As much as Rajoy can be satisfied with this rise, he can also take note of PSOE's further decline with satisfaction. The poll reveals a 3.3% drop since June: now only 19.4%, and Unidos Podemos, despite seemingly intent on splitting themselves asunder (the Podemos element, that is), have experienced their own increase to 22.5%. The poll's finding therefore makes the words of PSOE's Mario Jiménez sound foolhardy. He has been the one saying that the party will place the budget amendment. He has also said that if Rajoy does choose to call an election, he will "not catch PSOE off-guard". He might not, but PSOE being on-guard holds absolutely no guarantee of an improved electoral performance: quite the contrary in fact.
Then there is the Podemos question. Around the same time as the PP holds its congress next month (Aznar will not be attending), Podemos have theirs. The war between the Iglesias and Errejón factions will probably end in defeat for Errejón. Even if it were the other way (and Iglesias has said he will step down, if this is the result), what will happen? It's possible that nothing will, but the battle lines are entrenched. If Podemos were to split, then the left as a whole in Spain will be split more than it already is. This would only bolster Rajoy further, he - and the PP's poll rating - having gained as a result of the long hiatus before the October investiture; this hiatus having been partly the consequence of the left's inability to arrive at anything approaching consensus.
Aznar is an irritation. The budget issue is more of an aggravation. But even another election would see Rajoy secure. There's no one challenging him.
There was, however, an unwelcome piece of news to disturb him over Christmas. He received a phone call from Tony's little friend (the Tony being Blair and the friendship dating back to the Iraq War). The permanently jet-black-haired José María Aznar phoned Rajoy to tell him that he was relinquishing his post as honorary president of the Partido Popular. He will now only be like any other member of the party. Not that he can ever be that; he remains in the PP undergrowth, a diminutively towering presence, prepared at any moment to spring out and spray dye in casting doubts on the Rajoy way forward.
Aznar and Rajoy were once good friends. Wikileaks, though, showed that Aznar was not entirely convinced about Rajoy. This lack of conviction would seem to have lessened still over the years. The phone call would have come as a surprise. They have barely been on speaking terms. The PP hierarchy as a whole was surprised, but for a different reason. Aznar's decision hadn't been expected. But now that it has been delivered, Aznar and his foundation, which formally split from the PP in October, can act independently: a thorn in Rajoy's side, if Aznar so chooses.
Former and defeated leaders in Spain don't do the honourable thing and disappear. Felipe González was hardly a neutral figure in the moves which led to the purging of Pedro Sánchez as PSOE leader. Likewise, Aznar is there, forever lingering and lurking, his discontent with Rajoy seemingly more personal than based on pure politics or policies.
The breach might therefore not augur well for Rajoy, who has discovered - to everyone's lesser surprise than the Aznar manoeuvre - that PSOE is unwilling to give him a clear run with the 2017 budget. In fact, it is placing an enormous obstacle in the way and seems likely to present an amendment to the entire budget. Ultimately, this could mean yet another election.
So Rajoy may instead have been spluttering as he drew on his havana. If PSOE, emboldened despite its enfeebled state by having granted Rajoy licence to stay on as premier, now chooses to exploit this magnanimity and challenge the budget to the point of mortality, it will be a case of close but no cigar for the latest Rajoy project.
However, there is what the public thinks, and it is this which can allow Rajoy his moments of tranquil puffing. The latest poll by Sigma Dos for "El Mundo" shows the PP to still be in the ascendant. The rating, compared with the June election, has increased by 1.8% to 34.8%. It remains a distance away from what it was when Rajoy won in 2011, but the momentum upwards is not being interrupted.
As much as Rajoy can be satisfied with this rise, he can also take note of PSOE's further decline with satisfaction. The poll reveals a 3.3% drop since June: now only 19.4%, and Unidos Podemos, despite seemingly intent on splitting themselves asunder (the Podemos element, that is), have experienced their own increase to 22.5%. The poll's finding therefore makes the words of PSOE's Mario Jiménez sound foolhardy. He has been the one saying that the party will place the budget amendment. He has also said that if Rajoy does choose to call an election, he will "not catch PSOE off-guard". He might not, but PSOE being on-guard holds absolutely no guarantee of an improved electoral performance: quite the contrary in fact.
Then there is the Podemos question. Around the same time as the PP holds its congress next month (Aznar will not be attending), Podemos have theirs. The war between the Iglesias and Errejón factions will probably end in defeat for Errejón. Even if it were the other way (and Iglesias has said he will step down, if this is the result), what will happen? It's possible that nothing will, but the battle lines are entrenched. If Podemos were to split, then the left as a whole in Spain will be split more than it already is. This would only bolster Rajoy further, he - and the PP's poll rating - having gained as a result of the long hiatus before the October investiture; this hiatus having been partly the consequence of the left's inability to arrive at anything approaching consensus.
Aznar is an irritation. The budget issue is more of an aggravation. But even another election would see Rajoy secure. There's no one challenging him.
Monday, January 02, 2017
MALLORCA TODAY - Weather Alcúdia and Pollensa 2 January 2017
Morning high (7.32am): 10C
Forecast high: 17C; UV: 1
Three-day forecast: 3 January - Sun, cloud, 15C; 4 January - Sun, cloud, 16C; 5 January - Sun, cloud, wind, 14C.
Sea conditions (northern Mallorca; Alcúdia and Pollensa bays to 20.00): Southwest 3 increasing 4 at intervals.
Milder morning. Bank of cloud evident as the sun starts to rise over the bay. Another reasonable day of sun coming up, with a less chilly breeze as well.
Evening update (19.00): Rather more cloud than had been expected. A high of 18.5C.
Forecast high: 17C; UV: 1
Three-day forecast: 3 January - Sun, cloud, 15C; 4 January - Sun, cloud, 16C; 5 January - Sun, cloud, wind, 14C.
Sea conditions (northern Mallorca; Alcúdia and Pollensa bays to 20.00): Southwest 3 increasing 4 at intervals.
Milder morning. Bank of cloud evident as the sun starts to rise over the bay. Another reasonable day of sun coming up, with a less chilly breeze as well.
Evening update (19.00): Rather more cloud than had been expected. A high of 18.5C.
Illustrious Sons And Daughters
Palma has a new illustrious son. He is posthumously so, which is the case with many who have had illustriousness bestowed upon them. He was shot in 1937. His name was and is Alexandre Jaume i Rosselló, a one-time journalist and Palma councillor. A current councillor, Susanna Moll, said of him at the ceremony on New Year's Eve that he died because they (Franco's Nationalists) were afraid of him and wished to silence him. "However, the opposite has happened. Memory, justice and reparation is what we are giving in proclaiming him an illustrious son of the city."
Alongside Jaume in the cemetery in Palma on 24 February, 1937 was Emili Darder, the Republican mayor whose name is better known for having been a victim of the multiple execution that took place on that day. Eighty years on, and the Balearic parliament looks set to pass its new law for democratic memory to coincide with the executions. The eightieth anniversaries are clocking up. Last year it was the start of the Civil War. No one was celebrating. Instead they were looking for restoration. Of memory. The graves' act was passed just days before the date eighty years previously when the war had started.
The use of "memory" has greater relevance than simply remembering. What we are witnessing is a deepening of the resolve that the national government of José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero had initiated. The historical memory law and the current initiatives (with the Balearics very much to the fore) seek to reverse the years of amnesia. Some will question the sense of raking up the past and indeed digging it up where the exhumations are concerned. Others will say that it is long overdue.
Perhaps everyone should pause and reflect on some of the present madness descending on Europe at present. If they do, then they will surely appreciate the value in this restoration. The past should not be forgotten. Spain, despite its political uncertainties and years of austerity and crisis, is showing itself to be generally tolerant. It is understanding its past: the far right do not have a voice in this land.
Jaume joins a long list of illustrious sons and daughters in Palma. Darder is one of them, but it isn't a list devoted only to Republicans. There are monarchs, such as the four Jaumes from the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries, Ferdinand VII, Isabel II and Alfonso XIII.
Quite obviously none of the latter were supporters of Republicanism, while each has a history, regardless of monarchy, not in tune with current-day Palma political thinking: Ferdinand was mad, an absolutist and a traitor to liberalism; Isabel, Ferdinand's daughter, was overthrown during the Glorious Revolution, which ushered in the shortlived First Republic; Alfonso, her grandson, went into exile at the end of the Primo de Rivera dictatorship and at the start of the Second Republic.
Each, moreover, was a Bourbon, and the very mention of the name has Republicans and Catalanists reaching for the nearest lighter. "Revolutionary" elements, i.e. the youth organisation Arran, were responsible to setting fire to a picture of King Felipe on the evening of 30 December, when there normally always is trouble in Palma.
The illustrious ones from the past can therefore cause a bit of an issue in the present, and it isn't necessary for them to have been Bourbon monarchs. They can include, for instance, bankers or smugglers or spies, or all three in the case of Joan March Ordinas. His portrait is missing from a collection devoted to Santa Margalida's illustrious sons and it is unlikely to appear because, apart from the fact that he is generally reviled, no portrait was done. Indeed, it was only some three years ago that a discovery was made in the municipal archives which showed that March had been made an illustrious son in 1956.
The town has been wondering ever since if it can withdraw the recognition. It seems that it was kept quiet because it had been an attempt by the town hall to persuade March to part with some money to pay for buildings; March wasn't prepared to. When the discovery was made, the then mayor, Toni Reus, ordered a review of the town's illustrious sons. In his words: "We don't know how many illustrious sons Santa Margalida has."
And the town still doesn't. The new mayor, Joan Monjo, is asking for another review. There are portraits of people who seemingly were never officially named illustrious sons, while March is one of three whose portraits don't appear. Another is Miquel Ordinas Santandreu, March's secretary, who was declared an illustrious son in 1922. This was on account of benefits (buildings) for which he had been responsible. Unfortunately, these benefits would now be liable to court proceedings because of a trafficking of influence.
Which just goes to suggest that some illustrious sons of Mallorca's towns might be better recognised as infamous sons.
Alongside Jaume in the cemetery in Palma on 24 February, 1937 was Emili Darder, the Republican mayor whose name is better known for having been a victim of the multiple execution that took place on that day. Eighty years on, and the Balearic parliament looks set to pass its new law for democratic memory to coincide with the executions. The eightieth anniversaries are clocking up. Last year it was the start of the Civil War. No one was celebrating. Instead they were looking for restoration. Of memory. The graves' act was passed just days before the date eighty years previously when the war had started.
The use of "memory" has greater relevance than simply remembering. What we are witnessing is a deepening of the resolve that the national government of José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero had initiated. The historical memory law and the current initiatives (with the Balearics very much to the fore) seek to reverse the years of amnesia. Some will question the sense of raking up the past and indeed digging it up where the exhumations are concerned. Others will say that it is long overdue.
Perhaps everyone should pause and reflect on some of the present madness descending on Europe at present. If they do, then they will surely appreciate the value in this restoration. The past should not be forgotten. Spain, despite its political uncertainties and years of austerity and crisis, is showing itself to be generally tolerant. It is understanding its past: the far right do not have a voice in this land.
Jaume joins a long list of illustrious sons and daughters in Palma. Darder is one of them, but it isn't a list devoted only to Republicans. There are monarchs, such as the four Jaumes from the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries, Ferdinand VII, Isabel II and Alfonso XIII.
Quite obviously none of the latter were supporters of Republicanism, while each has a history, regardless of monarchy, not in tune with current-day Palma political thinking: Ferdinand was mad, an absolutist and a traitor to liberalism; Isabel, Ferdinand's daughter, was overthrown during the Glorious Revolution, which ushered in the shortlived First Republic; Alfonso, her grandson, went into exile at the end of the Primo de Rivera dictatorship and at the start of the Second Republic.
Each, moreover, was a Bourbon, and the very mention of the name has Republicans and Catalanists reaching for the nearest lighter. "Revolutionary" elements, i.e. the youth organisation Arran, were responsible to setting fire to a picture of King Felipe on the evening of 30 December, when there normally always is trouble in Palma.
The illustrious ones from the past can therefore cause a bit of an issue in the present, and it isn't necessary for them to have been Bourbon monarchs. They can include, for instance, bankers or smugglers or spies, or all three in the case of Joan March Ordinas. His portrait is missing from a collection devoted to Santa Margalida's illustrious sons and it is unlikely to appear because, apart from the fact that he is generally reviled, no portrait was done. Indeed, it was only some three years ago that a discovery was made in the municipal archives which showed that March had been made an illustrious son in 1956.
The town has been wondering ever since if it can withdraw the recognition. It seems that it was kept quiet because it had been an attempt by the town hall to persuade March to part with some money to pay for buildings; March wasn't prepared to. When the discovery was made, the then mayor, Toni Reus, ordered a review of the town's illustrious sons. In his words: "We don't know how many illustrious sons Santa Margalida has."
And the town still doesn't. The new mayor, Joan Monjo, is asking for another review. There are portraits of people who seemingly were never officially named illustrious sons, while March is one of three whose portraits don't appear. Another is Miquel Ordinas Santandreu, March's secretary, who was declared an illustrious son in 1922. This was on account of benefits (buildings) for which he had been responsible. Unfortunately, these benefits would now be liable to court proceedings because of a trafficking of influence.
Which just goes to suggest that some illustrious sons of Mallorca's towns might be better recognised as infamous sons.
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