Stranger In Town

Alcúdia has more residents of foreign origin than of those born in the Balearics. Of a total population of 20,395, 7,847 come from outside Spain, 80 more than those from the islands (the missing four and a half thousand or so come from the mainland).

What do we make of these figures? Anything? There will probably be those who want to make quite a bit of them, minded if they are to bewail an undermining of traditional Mallorca or Alcúdia. A related issue is that it is not unreasonable to assume that Catalan is not the majority language. Most but not all those native to the Balearics will use it as a first language. Most of those from elsewhere will speak Castilian (if they speak anything other than their original language), unless they are from Catalonia. The largest single foreign grouping is the Argentinians - more than a thousand; the British represent nearly a thousand, itself an advance of over 100 since the last figures were issued. Just on this, I recently sent an email to the organisers of the "Trobada de Músics per la Llengua", the Catalan music event in Pollensa. I apologised for using Castilian and received a perfectly helpful response - in Catalan. There is an increasing number of the locally born who pointedly refuse to use anything other than Catalan. That's their legitimate choice, but to not use Catalan does - sometimes - make one feel as though offence is being caused.

This locally born often comprises younger Mallorcans, those who are involved in the organisation of events that are thoroughly commendable, such as the "Trobada". There is a confidence and a degree of defiance in their insistence on Catalan. It makes one a little uneasy. There is an element of the locally born young that favours a back to the future policy in terms of language, tourism restriction and also a constraint as to the number of incomers. It's all perfectly understandable and idealistic, if not totally pragmatic.

A more assertive Catalanism may well represent a reaction to the shifting demographics of a town like Alcúdia. It's the sort of assertiveness that has spawned the likes of the "Trobada" and the "Acampallengua", alongside the at-times dogmatic refusal by local authorities to use anything other than Catalan (they are meant to use both languages for official documents). There is an impression that there is a lack of concession made to the increased cosmopolitanism, while other manifestations of Catalan promotion, such as its use in the public sector, reflects a determination to hold on to the cultural emblem that is the language.

Yet there is no denying the cosmopolitan nature of even relatively small towns such as Alcúdia. There is also no turning the clock back; no back to the future. But there is a growing sense of polarism, not just in terms of language but also in political and societal attitudes, the latter being reflected in a possible radicalisation of the locally born young. If indeed it is the case that Catalan speakers are in a minority, one fancies that there will be those who are minded as to its implications.


QUIZ
Today's title - a '60s American singer, whose biography used this minor hit as its title. Think runaway.

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