Neighbours enjoy having bragging rights over one another. They are nowadays more commonly voiced by the ordinary citizen than by officialdom. Town halls search for cooperation whereas once they were only too willing to attempt to get one over their neighbours.
In the case of Inca and Sineu, it's not been much of a contest for years. Inca, built on leather and in a more strategic location, courtesy of being to Sineu's left, grew to what it is, one of the small number of municipalities in Mallorca that might vaguely fall into the category of being large (all things being relative). Sineu, more easterly, had no such strategic place in the scheme of things. Moreover, it retained an essentially agrarian economy, lacking what ultimately became Inca's diversification into the high end of the leather trade and its export.
The two towns do, though, share a common heritage: that of the fair. In bygone times, the fourteenth century, they acquired a duopoly over fairs in the "part forana" (anywhere but Palma, then known as Ciutat de Mallorca). They guarded this duopoly jealously, while at the same time being rivals in claiming which town had the better fair. Quite some time later, Inca triumphed. It would have been called it earlier, but 1807 provided the first record of its Thursday fair in autumn being "Bo". Sineu didn't have such goodness to brag about.
Nevertheless, and because it suited the two towns to have done so, they sought to maintain their duopoly against a new rival - new in the sixteenth century, that is. Llucmajor wanted a fair of its own. The town was to entreat the Holy Roman Emperor, Carlos V, to grant it one. Inca and Sineu consulted their lawyers, thus proving that the current-day dominance of the judiciary being required to arbitrate on absolutely everything in Mallorca, was an already well-established process getting on for five hundred years ago.
Despite the lawyers, Carlos sided with Llucmajor. Holy Roman Emperors were not for crossing. Carlos never set foot on the island. His troops did this for him on the rare occasions when the Empire remembered that Mallorca was a component, such as - and most notably - when the imperial forces crushed the Germanies uprising. Llucmajor thus got its fair, and the town has, for the past 474 years, being telling anyone who cares to listen about its victory: its own bragging rights.
Before Llucmajor muscled in on the fairs' scene, Inca and Sineu had been attracting the island's farmers and artisans to its grand fairs - basically, markets that were bigger than normal. And it is the longevity of the fairs which still arouses some rivalry. Which of the two towns stole a march over the other?
Sineu's fair took place yesterday. It is considered to be the older of the two. The town can point to documentary evidence that 1318 was the year when it started. But in a sense, it's all a question of definition. Inca can demonstrate that its market was earlier than Sineu's - by around forty years. Market? Fair? They were essentially the same insofar as they were occasions for trading.
Eventually, Inca was to allow Sineu to stamp its own mark over the May fair. At the start of the last century, Inca's Dijous Gros was dropped: it was revived a few years ago. The autumn Dijous Bo had become the pre-eminent fair in the calendar, and Inca let everyone know that it was, including Sineu. What one can probably say with certainty, therefore, is that Sineu's is the oldest, uninterrupted May fair. It will be 700 years in 2018. The ballyhoo will be significant.
The two May fairs, somewhat inadvertently, contributed to a legend assigned to another neighbour of Inca's, the small village of Búger. It own fair was also yesterday. It is not on the scale of Sineu or Inca's Dijous Gros (which is this Thursday), but then you wouldn't expect it to be. Sineu may only have a population some 2,500 or so greater than Búger, but those 2,500 make a hell of a lot of difference in fair terms, plus Sineu has all that history on its side.
The Búger fair is the Jai, meaning old person but specifically the figure of a grandfather. The Jai of the modern day appears on a cart and dispenses sweets to the village children. Back in the day, though, the Jai (and Mrs. Jai) would return to the village with their cart full of goods from the Sineu and Inca fairs, and supreme among the goodies were shoes for the kiddies. So the two fairs contributed to the story of the Jai. A question is, though, which fair provided more shoes? Aren't they Inca's bragging rights ... ?
Showing posts with label Búger. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Búger. Show all posts
Monday, May 08, 2017
Friday, February 15, 2013
The Rudest Town In Mallorca
Has a small town in Mallorca been thrown an unexpected means of becoming internationally famous and of developing its own tourism? It would take some doing admittedly, but were a globetrotting tourist of a mind to travel to all parts of the globe, he or she could do so on the basis of visiting places that boast (if this is the right word) vaguely rude names. Or names that aren't vaguely rude but are in fact extraordinarily rude.
All of which brings us to a small town in Mallorca with slightly more than 1,000 inhabitants and barely a whiff of tourism. It is the only town on the island, the only town in the Balearics and only one of three in the whole of Spain which has been nominated by a Mr. Gary Gale as having a sufficiently rude name to qualify it for inclusion in Mr. Gale's masterwork of a world map with rude place names. The town is? You might have guessed it already. It is of course Búger.
If I were the councillor at Búger town hall (and there is a town hall, despite the town's small size) who is responsible for tourism, then I would be setting in motion a publicity campaign to attract tourists to the only town in Mallorca with a rude name. Tourism can always benefit from uniqueness, and Búger can genuinely claim to be unique - in Mallorca at any rate. Of course, there may not be a councillor responsible for tourism in Búger. As there isn't any obvious tourism, then why would there be? But now there is a very good reason for there to be. Forget the promotion of rural Mallorca, here comes rude Mallorca. And it's only to be found in Búger.
There is a slight drawback with all this, one of which Mr. Gale may be unaware, and that is the pronunciation. It isn't as he might think it is. Or indeed as mostly every tourist who passes a road sign with Búger thinks it is. But now, thanks to Mr. Gale, that the town has been put on the map (or a map), consideration should be given to amending the pronunciation and possibly also the spelling. A second "g" would certainly help things along.
Another slight drawback is that, were Búger to attempt to cash in on its new-found fame, it wouldn't exactly have a great deal to offer. This is probably why it doesn't already boast a thriving tourism industry. Anyone going there takes one look, which requires all of about a couple of minutes, and says, "well, bugger me, is that all there is to it?", assuming they are an English-speaker of course.
And this leads to yet another slight drawback. True international fame would only be possible were the name understandable, in its full rudeness, to those from other nations. The Germans, for example, would be unmoved by the name, though it would appear, if one can believe Google Translate (always a dangerous thing to do), that the Danes and the Norwegians would be moved. Perhaps a Dane or a Norwegian can confirm this.
Spain performs pretty badly when it comes to rude place names, so all the more reason for Búger to draw attention to some rare Spanish rudeness. The two other places on the rude map are both in Asturias. Poo and Pis, neither of which, I confess, I had ever heard of before. But Asturias can claim to be the rudest region of Spain, so it needs to get cracking on its own tourism marketing.
If the globetrotting tourist preferred to stay at home (home being Britain), then there are innumerable places for him or her to visit. Bell End, Brown Willy, Shyte Brook. How evocative they all sound. I seem to recall having been to Lord Herefords Knob in Powys, though I can't say I remember much about it, but I've never been to Andrews Knob in Cheshire. But then I wouldn't, would I. And this same tourist could always nip across the Irish Sea to take in a few places of rude note. I am pleased to see that the home town of one of Alcúdia's more famous Irishmen and partner in a well-known excursions operator is featured on Mr. Gale's map. Muff.
Mallorca's alternative tourism, as in tourism which isn't sun and beach, has overlooked tourism based on rude or stupid names or a name that has been taken from a Blue Peter dog. (And it isn't Shep.) There must be some others, but for now Búger can hold its head up high, proud in the knowledge that it is Mallorca's rudest place.
To see the map, go to: http://maps.geotastic.org/rude/
Any comments to andrew@thealcudiaguide.com please.
All of which brings us to a small town in Mallorca with slightly more than 1,000 inhabitants and barely a whiff of tourism. It is the only town on the island, the only town in the Balearics and only one of three in the whole of Spain which has been nominated by a Mr. Gary Gale as having a sufficiently rude name to qualify it for inclusion in Mr. Gale's masterwork of a world map with rude place names. The town is? You might have guessed it already. It is of course Búger.
If I were the councillor at Búger town hall (and there is a town hall, despite the town's small size) who is responsible for tourism, then I would be setting in motion a publicity campaign to attract tourists to the only town in Mallorca with a rude name. Tourism can always benefit from uniqueness, and Búger can genuinely claim to be unique - in Mallorca at any rate. Of course, there may not be a councillor responsible for tourism in Búger. As there isn't any obvious tourism, then why would there be? But now there is a very good reason for there to be. Forget the promotion of rural Mallorca, here comes rude Mallorca. And it's only to be found in Búger.
There is a slight drawback with all this, one of which Mr. Gale may be unaware, and that is the pronunciation. It isn't as he might think it is. Or indeed as mostly every tourist who passes a road sign with Búger thinks it is. But now, thanks to Mr. Gale, that the town has been put on the map (or a map), consideration should be given to amending the pronunciation and possibly also the spelling. A second "g" would certainly help things along.
Another slight drawback is that, were Búger to attempt to cash in on its new-found fame, it wouldn't exactly have a great deal to offer. This is probably why it doesn't already boast a thriving tourism industry. Anyone going there takes one look, which requires all of about a couple of minutes, and says, "well, bugger me, is that all there is to it?", assuming they are an English-speaker of course.
And this leads to yet another slight drawback. True international fame would only be possible were the name understandable, in its full rudeness, to those from other nations. The Germans, for example, would be unmoved by the name, though it would appear, if one can believe Google Translate (always a dangerous thing to do), that the Danes and the Norwegians would be moved. Perhaps a Dane or a Norwegian can confirm this.
Spain performs pretty badly when it comes to rude place names, so all the more reason for Búger to draw attention to some rare Spanish rudeness. The two other places on the rude map are both in Asturias. Poo and Pis, neither of which, I confess, I had ever heard of before. But Asturias can claim to be the rudest region of Spain, so it needs to get cracking on its own tourism marketing.
If the globetrotting tourist preferred to stay at home (home being Britain), then there are innumerable places for him or her to visit. Bell End, Brown Willy, Shyte Brook. How evocative they all sound. I seem to recall having been to Lord Herefords Knob in Powys, though I can't say I remember much about it, but I've never been to Andrews Knob in Cheshire. But then I wouldn't, would I. And this same tourist could always nip across the Irish Sea to take in a few places of rude note. I am pleased to see that the home town of one of Alcúdia's more famous Irishmen and partner in a well-known excursions operator is featured on Mr. Gale's map. Muff.
Mallorca's alternative tourism, as in tourism which isn't sun and beach, has overlooked tourism based on rude or stupid names or a name that has been taken from a Blue Peter dog. (And it isn't Shep.) There must be some others, but for now Búger can hold its head up high, proud in the knowledge that it is Mallorca's rudest place.
To see the map, go to: http://maps.geotastic.org/rude/
Any comments to andrew@thealcudiaguide.com please.
Monday, April 30, 2012
The 1812 Overture: Búger
An overture is not just an orchestral work, it is also a proposal. In 1812, the overture in the tiny village of Búger was such that its proposal to be an independent administration was accepted. It seceded from the union with its neighbour Campanet, and so became what it is today, the smallest - by size - municipality in Mallorca.
Búger is one of those places in Mallorca that might as well, as far as the rest of the island is concerned, not exist. It isn't known for anything and has no claim to fame, other than its smallness (just over eight square kilometres) and, where English speakers are concerned, a name with an unfortunate propensity for lewdness.
Búger's 1812 overture was in effect more a case of unilaterally declaring independence. Thanks to the constitution agreed by the parliament in Cádiz in that year, places that didn't have councils were allowed to have them. If you have ever wondered why there are so many town halls and so many tiny municipalities, then you need look no further than the 1812 declaration for the answer. Two hundred years on, Búger has been celebrating its anniversary and everyone else has been arguing that it is a nonsense that there should be a town hall for such a small place and for many, many other small places in Mallorca and in Spain.
Recently, the UPyD party advanced the case for merging municipalities. It is far from alone in making such a case. The municipalities are on the lowest rung of the ladder of Spain's system of public administration, a system which, because of the cascade from the national centre to the regions, to the provinces, to the islands and then on to the municipalities, costs an absolute fortune to maintain.
It is too simplistic and convenient, however, to believe that municipalities could be merged or local government rationalised by merely sweeping them away. In believing this, one is confronted by at least 200 years of history (more in fact in the case of other towns). One is also confronted by a principle of localism enshrined in the Cádiz declaration. This principle had been borrowed from the French and the "commune", established early on during the French Revolution as the lowest level of public administration.
In September 2007, the one-time editor of "The Times", Simon Jenkins, wrote a passionate defence of localism in which he made reference to the French commune. His point, or one of them, was that, through decentralisation to even the tiniest of administrations (and some French communes are miniscule by comparison with the likes of Búger), local issues were resolved that much more satisfactorily. The main point was that such localism is the best form of democracy because citizen involvement is devolved to the smallest possible unit.
Jenkins drew a comparison between these small units and the smallest unit of democratic administration in Britain which covers an average of 118,000 people. Búger has a population of just over 1,000 people. In terms of inhabitants, it isn't the smallest municipality; Escorca with under 300 people is. The contrast with what, on average, are far larger administrative units in Britain is stark. But this contrast is not solely one of size, it is also one of mentality and identity.
In Britain, the loss of a sense of community is something that is often bemoaned, and successive reorganisations of local government have helped to reinforce this loss and to also make the principle of highly localised government seem anachronistic. The British mentality veers towards the pragmatic, but pragmatism is hard to establish in local administration when there are barriers of local identity and centuries of history.
Britain's insular mentality is, like its system of local government, on nothing like the scale of typical Mallorcan insularity. For many Mallorcans, this insularity is not the island but the village, the family and the network. And for these many Mallorcans, their identity is threatened not just by arguments that would see their councils and mayors abandoned but also by an attack on their language. It is not untypical, especially in times of crisis, such as at present, for there to be a retrenchment into the comfort of identity, and this means the local community. Disruption of this comfort leads to social dislocation and/or dissent. It is disruption that can come at a price.
Jenkins' view of localism can be criticised for being overly romantic. The system doesn't, for all manner of reasons, work satisfactorily in Mallorca. But it is one with which people identify. It is not pragmatic, it is anachronistic, it is hugely expensive, but in 200 years time will Búger be celebrating its four hundredth anniversary of independence?
Any comments to andrew@thealcudiaguide.com please.
Index for April 2012
Argentina: Repsol nationalisation - 19 April 2012
Attractions and all-inclusives - 24 April 2012
Balearic Symphony Orchestra - 6 April 2012
Búger: 200 years of independence - 30 April 2012
Charity and expats - 15 April 2012
Coast law reform - 13 April 2012
Culture: shows and presentation - 27 April 2012
Drunken tourism: tackling - 9 April 2012
Eden Hotels - 21 April 2012
English-speaking radio - 14 April 2012
Es Trenc beach - 4 April 2012
Expat division on social lines - 2 April 2012
Freedom of information: Spain - 8 April 2012
Hotel conversion and town halls - 10 April 2012
IVA increase in 2013 - 28 April 2012
Jumeirah Port Sóller Hotel & Spa - 29 April 2012
King Juan Carlos' apology - 20 April 2012
Palma Sunday trading - 18 April 2012
Palma's logo and slogan - 5 April 2012
Partido Popular: Pastor will not stand - 25 April 2012
Pollensa blue flags - 22 April 2012
Pollensa military theme park (April Fool) - 1 April 2012
Puerto Alcúdia boat and cuttlefish fair - 23 April 2012
Puerto Alcúdia market - 7 April 2012
Republicanism - 16 April 2012
Sa Pobla Jazz Festival - 17 April 2012
Tourism law: hotels and secondary activities - 12 April 2012
Tourism law: slowness in legislation - 26 April 2012
Tourist tax - 3 April 2012
Town hall mergers - 11 April 2012
Búger is one of those places in Mallorca that might as well, as far as the rest of the island is concerned, not exist. It isn't known for anything and has no claim to fame, other than its smallness (just over eight square kilometres) and, where English speakers are concerned, a name with an unfortunate propensity for lewdness.
Búger's 1812 overture was in effect more a case of unilaterally declaring independence. Thanks to the constitution agreed by the parliament in Cádiz in that year, places that didn't have councils were allowed to have them. If you have ever wondered why there are so many town halls and so many tiny municipalities, then you need look no further than the 1812 declaration for the answer. Two hundred years on, Búger has been celebrating its anniversary and everyone else has been arguing that it is a nonsense that there should be a town hall for such a small place and for many, many other small places in Mallorca and in Spain.
Recently, the UPyD party advanced the case for merging municipalities. It is far from alone in making such a case. The municipalities are on the lowest rung of the ladder of Spain's system of public administration, a system which, because of the cascade from the national centre to the regions, to the provinces, to the islands and then on to the municipalities, costs an absolute fortune to maintain.
It is too simplistic and convenient, however, to believe that municipalities could be merged or local government rationalised by merely sweeping them away. In believing this, one is confronted by at least 200 years of history (more in fact in the case of other towns). One is also confronted by a principle of localism enshrined in the Cádiz declaration. This principle had been borrowed from the French and the "commune", established early on during the French Revolution as the lowest level of public administration.
In September 2007, the one-time editor of "The Times", Simon Jenkins, wrote a passionate defence of localism in which he made reference to the French commune. His point, or one of them, was that, through decentralisation to even the tiniest of administrations (and some French communes are miniscule by comparison with the likes of Búger), local issues were resolved that much more satisfactorily. The main point was that such localism is the best form of democracy because citizen involvement is devolved to the smallest possible unit.
Jenkins drew a comparison between these small units and the smallest unit of democratic administration in Britain which covers an average of 118,000 people. Búger has a population of just over 1,000 people. In terms of inhabitants, it isn't the smallest municipality; Escorca with under 300 people is. The contrast with what, on average, are far larger administrative units in Britain is stark. But this contrast is not solely one of size, it is also one of mentality and identity.
In Britain, the loss of a sense of community is something that is often bemoaned, and successive reorganisations of local government have helped to reinforce this loss and to also make the principle of highly localised government seem anachronistic. The British mentality veers towards the pragmatic, but pragmatism is hard to establish in local administration when there are barriers of local identity and centuries of history.
Britain's insular mentality is, like its system of local government, on nothing like the scale of typical Mallorcan insularity. For many Mallorcans, this insularity is not the island but the village, the family and the network. And for these many Mallorcans, their identity is threatened not just by arguments that would see their councils and mayors abandoned but also by an attack on their language. It is not untypical, especially in times of crisis, such as at present, for there to be a retrenchment into the comfort of identity, and this means the local community. Disruption of this comfort leads to social dislocation and/or dissent. It is disruption that can come at a price.
Jenkins' view of localism can be criticised for being overly romantic. The system doesn't, for all manner of reasons, work satisfactorily in Mallorca. But it is one with which people identify. It is not pragmatic, it is anachronistic, it is hugely expensive, but in 200 years time will Búger be celebrating its four hundredth anniversary of independence?
Any comments to andrew@thealcudiaguide.com please.
Index for April 2012
Argentina: Repsol nationalisation - 19 April 2012
Attractions and all-inclusives - 24 April 2012
Balearic Symphony Orchestra - 6 April 2012
Búger: 200 years of independence - 30 April 2012
Charity and expats - 15 April 2012
Coast law reform - 13 April 2012
Culture: shows and presentation - 27 April 2012
Drunken tourism: tackling - 9 April 2012
Eden Hotels - 21 April 2012
English-speaking radio - 14 April 2012
Es Trenc beach - 4 April 2012
Expat division on social lines - 2 April 2012
Freedom of information: Spain - 8 April 2012
Hotel conversion and town halls - 10 April 2012
IVA increase in 2013 - 28 April 2012
Jumeirah Port Sóller Hotel & Spa - 29 April 2012
King Juan Carlos' apology - 20 April 2012
Palma Sunday trading - 18 April 2012
Palma's logo and slogan - 5 April 2012
Partido Popular: Pastor will not stand - 25 April 2012
Pollensa blue flags - 22 April 2012
Pollensa military theme park (April Fool) - 1 April 2012
Puerto Alcúdia boat and cuttlefish fair - 23 April 2012
Puerto Alcúdia market - 7 April 2012
Republicanism - 16 April 2012
Sa Pobla Jazz Festival - 17 April 2012
Tourism law: hotels and secondary activities - 12 April 2012
Tourism law: slowness in legislation - 26 April 2012
Tourist tax - 3 April 2012
Town hall mergers - 11 April 2012
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