Culture In The Round

This evening in Alcúdia town there is going to be some culture. A goodly amount of it. All 360 degrees of it. Culture in the round. When someone asked me what this entailed, I could discern the lowering of eyelids and the stifling of a yawn. "Literature" was clearly not a good starting-point for the explanation of the 360 degrees night of culture.

It was understandable. I can't say that I would be overly excited by some poet breaking out into Catalan verse, whether he is bathed in floodlights at the San Sebastian gate in the town's walls or not. To be honest, I'm not sure I'm that excited by the orchestra from the town's municipal school of music screeching in a violin-style in the Constitution Square either. But then, who am I?

It's not all dull and worthy. At midnight come the magnificently named DJs Two Many Cifres, a name clearly borrowed from 2 Many DJs and given a healthy dose of local humour - there simply are too many Cifres.

But is it otherwise all dull but worthy? It's unfair to describe it thus. Unfair because the night of culture does at least represent an attempt to do something a bit different. I hope it succeeds, though I for one will not be staying up till quarter to three to see the demons.

There is a stirring in Alcúdia, if only in the old town. Yet, it is significant that this stirring should occur there. In tourism terms, the old towns tend to be sideshows, certainly in the evenings. For most tourists, an old town, such as Alcúdia's, means the market. Alcúdia does have its Roman remains, but how much of an impression these make over and above the dismissive comment I once read that "there are some bits of old ruin" is hard to say.

Undeterred or perhaps aware that the old town is a sideshow, there is to also be a regular "spectacular" in the bullring during the summer. It is positive that, for once, this prime real estate is being given over to something more than just a couple of bullfights. The spectacular is one dedicated to flamenco dance.

The old towns are the repositories of culture in ways that the resorts aren't. For all this and for all the desire to place culture to the fore of the alternatives to sun and beach, the "pueblos" are off the tourist's regular beaten track. And it is precisely because they are cultural repositories that they are neglected in favour of a resort's evening bar crawl, karaoke and entertainment.

Tourism in Mallorca generally misunderstands the role of its own culture and misunderstands how it should be presented. There is much interest among tourists, but culture, as it is normally portrayed, is something to be endured, something that it is felt should be done rather than positively enjoyed.

Culture resides, for the most part, in static formats, such as museums, or within unimaginative minds that fail to inspire more than a shrug of tourist acknowledgement and a dash back to the nearest beach or bar. But there is plenty of culture in Mallorca which is anything but uninspiring. Fiestas, in particular those which dabble with the vibrant street theatre of demons or Moors and Christians, are worth far more than any number of Abba-esque playback shows.

Culture needs to come alive or be made to come alive. Odd though it is that Alcúdia should opt for a flamenco spectacular when flamenco has, in cultural terms, nothing whatsoever to do with the town or Mallorca, it does at least show willing and a wish to attract people into the old town. And it's not as though there aren't and haven't been other attempts. Alcúdia stages its Via Fora during the summer, a sort of guided tour of the town's history through drama.

This is all very fine (in fact it is fine), but could it not be on an altogether grander scale? Spectaculars for the ordinary tourist Joe and his family mean those of the entertainment auditoriums of the island's south, none of them with cultural resonance. But why not? Why not make a virtue of the local culture and put it on in a spectacular fashion? Aspects of the Via Fora, such as the war between Aragon and Castille in the fourteenth century may not strike a chord with most visitors, but stage it with full theatrical and special effect and it would. You could probably find the odd pirate to chuck in to the mix as well.

Put it all on in the bullring, replete with bangs, crashes, light shows, whatever, and you would have yourself a show. For money. Moreover, with the terracing encircling the arena, you would have culture in the round.


Any comments to andrew@thealcudiaguide.com please.