Rapper's Delete

I can't be certain but I wouldn't be at all surprised were Josep Miquel Arenas, aka Josemy Valtonyc Marx Beltrán (Es Rapero Pagés - Marxista Leninista) to receive a visit from someone in the near future. Who is Josemy Valtonyc etc.? He is a 17-year-old rapper and he is not happy with, variously: the King and the royal family; Jorge Campos, the founder of the Círculo Balear; the mayor of Sineu; and the president of Nuevas Generaciones in Sineu.

Referred to as the rapper from Sa Pobla, despite a connection with Sineu (he went to school there and has, you might have noticed, got problems with some people from Sineu), Valtonyc has been creating a right old rapping rumpus. Via his poetry, he has nominated the King for assassination, Jorge Campos for death, and both Pere Joan Jaume, the mayor, and Laura Montenegro, of Nuevas Generaciones, for the receipt of a silver bullet, presumably from the barrel of a gun and not in a velvet-lined presentation box.

In case you are not quite up to speed with some of this, Campos' Círculo Balear is a sort of Catalan anti-Christ, while Nuevas Generaciones are like the Young Conservatives but without the Harris tweeds. Given his various targets, you can conclude that Valtonyc is not exactly a monarchist, not exactly a great admirer of Castellano and not exactly a supporter of the Partido Popular. The "Marxista Leninista", which is how he describes himself on his Facebook page, is a bit of a giveaway, after all. His revolutionary tendencies extend to his also describing himself as an "independentista", which is not a type of orthodontics, but a declaration of support for an independent Mallorca or Balearics or Catalan Lands or probably all three.

Rap is prone to the use of extreme lyrics, but going around suggesting that the King should be assassinated is not likely to be dismissed as rapping poetic licence. It's why I fancy that Valtonyc might just find himself in a spot of bother. One of his latest outpourings is unlikely to endear him to the good people of Sineu either. "Sineu Will Be Afghanistan" is its title, which will come as a shock to the residents of the town though not as much of a shock as to the mayor who is now also being lined up for the guillotine.

While Valtonyc's extremism probably won't be overlooked, might it be better if it were? Is he just an angry young teenager who has found he has a talent (at least one presumes this to be the case) for rap and poetry and has a lot to get off his chest? It might, therefore, be wiser to ignore him rather than fuel his extremism with the publicity of martyrdom that could yet come his way.

Does, however, Valtonyc represent an undercurrent of belief among Mallorcan youth? Mallorca has historically not been especially radical. Quite the contrary, it is an essentially conservative society. But such an undercurrent does exist and not only among the youth.

There is an event called the "Acampallengua". It is held annually and is a youth festival that celebrates Catalan language and culture. During the 2009 event in Sa Pobla, a spokesperson from the Obra Cultural Balear (OCB), an organisation that is the complete opposite to the Círculo Balear, delivered a speech in which it was stated that "we will not take a step backwards in the struggle for our language". At the time, I asked whether the Acampallengua might just contribute to a radicalisation of youth. During this year's event in Manacor, there was a performance by ... you've guessed it, Valtonyc.

It would be quite wrong to suggest that all those who attend these events are either radical or are prone to being radicalised or that they have any sympathy for Valtonyc's lyrics. But there will be some, and the organisers of the events, a group called Mallorcan Youths for the Language, have as a key sponsor the OCB. And the OCB promotes independence, just like Valtonyc.

It would be interesting to know what the OCB thinks of Valtonyc's death threats. Chances are that they would be put down to teenage angst and the excesses of rap culture. And to be honest, this is probably what they should be put down to.

Nevertheless, there is an uneasy sense that Valtonyc is tapping into a growth of what I discerned in 2009, a time when there wasn't a ruling political party that took a negative view of Catalan, a time also when economic crisis hadn't caused the decimation it since has.

Will the rapper of Sa Pobla just be ignored or will he join the ranks of the new Catalan martyrs? It won't be the former. Jorge Campos has denounced him.


Any comments to andrew@thealcudiaguide.com please.