One hundred years after the death of Joan Alcover, Mallorca has once again sung in unison La Balanguera, the island's official anthem. Thousands of people gathered in Plaça Major in Palma, while dozens of municipalities simultaneously replicated the same scene in a mobilization promoted by Obra Cultural Balear (OCB), a historic entity in defense of the Catalan language and culture. It was also heard in educational centers and Eroski supermarkets.

This is how it is: this Friday, May 29, at 8 p.m., a popular, multitudinous, and simultaneous singing of La Balanguera will be celebrated in all the towns and cities of Mallorca, called by the Obra Cultural Balear (OCB). More than 250 educational centers and all the municipalities on the island will participate. In this way, the centenary of this song will be celebrated, a poem published by Joan Alcover in 1903 to which maestro Amadeu Vives set music in 1926, the year in which the song was performed in public for the first time, at the Palau de la Música Catalana. It is also the round anniversary – thirty years – of its declaration as the official anthem of Mallorca by the Consell de Mallorca, in 1996.Today's great cantada, however, has an objective that goes beyond mere commemoration. In the words of the president of the OCB, Antoni Llabrés: “In a situation of a de-structured society with problems of social cohesion, such as Mallorca's in this third decade of the 21st century, we need to seek shared references.” He adds: “Our intention is for us to experience an act of affirmation of who we are and what we want to continue to be. An act of Mallorcan affirmation.” Certainly, de-structuring and the loss of internal cohesion are characteristics of current Western societies, but on an island like Mallorca, which has experienced disproportionate population growth in two and a half decades and is subjected to economic dependence on mass tourism and luxury tourism, and to the very strong pressure of real estate speculation by vulture funds and large German, Swedish, or British investors, these phenomena only worsen.Going out into the street to sing La Balanguera (a hymn that does not sing of epic deeds, but of the passage of time, death and life, the succession of generations, "of childhood climbing up, / of old age going away") may seem to some an almost naive gesture in the face of the avalanche of noise and fury that falls upon us every day. Quite the contrary: it is a bold and intelligent gesture, a civilizing expression. A way of saying that all of us who live in Mallorca are, can be, Mallorcans: wherever we come from, whatever our skin color. A few months ago, on the occasion of the Chinese New Year, the Chinese community in Pere Garau, Palma, organized their own rendition of La Balanguera, accompanied by the dragon that stars in this celebration (which, for the occasion, was named Pep) and by human tower groups: this is a good example of the way forward. Is it arduous? Absolutely. But it is the way of bringing together people from all over the world in the native language of the Balearic Islands, Catalan, and with cultural references that are shared and dialogue with those contributed by immigrants settling in Mallorca.From Joan Alcover, one of the great poets of Catalan literature and one of the leaders of the Mallorcan School, you can read his Poesies in the critical, sound, and rigorous edition that Ignasi Moreta has made of it, recently published by Edicions 62. You can search for the text of La Balanguera and sing it, if you wish.

The dark side of Mallorca's sun and beach tourism. This is what Mallorcan producer Luis Ortas wanted to explore when he launched the project Mallorca Confidential, the criminal thriller directed by David Ilundain, which premieres this Friday with a superb Lolita playing the matriarch of a clan of drug traffickers from a gypsy settlement in Mallorca. Around this multi-layered character, who establishes herself as the leader of the settlement but has her own agenda of interests, the film depicts the ecosystem of police, business, and political corruption that sustains drug trafficking, but above all, a family story of sacrifice and betrayal in which a young gypsy woman (Asia Ortega), the matriarch's niece, must decide her loyalties.

Every winter, the city of Girona reconnects with the deep-rooted pulse of fire. The Foguerons de Sant Antoni arrive in the capital of Girona as a ritual that evokes memory, gathering, and community. This festival finds its symbolic reference in Sant Antoni Abat – patron saint of animals, farmers, and the rural world. His presence transcends mere devotion, conjuring a bond between people and their land.

Even Dmitrovic, who delivered one of his best performances in a Espanyol shirt, couldn't secure their first win of the year. Although they've deserved it for weeks, the Pericos haven't won in 83 days, eleven matchdays. Today they lost again (2-1), largely because they were reduced to ten men at the start of the second half when Pickel, who scored the opening goal, was sent off for a very harsh and unnecessary tackle in midfield. And because referee De Burgos Bengoetxea allowed a clearly illegal goal by Pablo Torre, preceded by a foul on Urko González. Samu Costa completed the comeback late in the game. It's the second consecutive year of controversial refereeing decisions at Son Moix for the Pericos, who have had everything go against them since the start of the year.

Looking at the scoreboard and seeing that Barça has beaten Mallorca 3-0 might suggest an easy match. Nothing could be further from the truth. The Blaugrana had to dig deep and shift their mindset to secure the three points and maintain their firm grip on first place in La Liga. Mallorca put the pressure on a struggling Barça side, who, thanks to Rashford, finally found the right path out of the labyrinth. Goals from Lewandowski, Lamine Yamal, and Marc Bernal confirmed this.

In his first year in the top flight, Jan Virgili (Vilassar de Mar, 2006) has made a name for himself among the league's most outstanding footballers. His speed and ability to unbalance defenses have earned him a place in Mallorca's starting eleven at just 19 years old. This Saturday, Barça will host Mallorca (4:15 pm), Virgili's team, where he will fulfill one of his dreams: playing at the Camp Nou. He won't be wearing the Barça jersey, but he wants to continue proving he's ready for La Liga. "He's matured as a player each season and has reached the point of understanding that he wanted to be a professional and truly reach his full potential," explains Àlex Accensi, who coached him in Nàstic's youth academy, his stepping stone before joining Barça. This ability to make the leap and adapt as if he'd been at the highest level for many years is precisely what stands out most about Virgili on the island. "What he's doing now in La Liga, he was already doing in his youth days. He's a player who needs to be in constant contact with the ball. When he was at Nàstic, you could already see that if he wanted it and had a bit of luck, he could become a professional footballer," Accensi acknowledges. In twenty matches with Mallorca – thirteen of them as a starter – he has provided four assists and won two penalties. However, he has yet to score.

Gabriel Janer Manila He has reached the age of 85 with a brand new book fresh off the press, Gallery of Solitudes (New Moll Publishing House, 2025), and several projects in mind. The career of the Mallorcan writer, born in Algaida on November 1, 1940, has been one of the most prolific and recognized of his generation, and he has received awards such as the Josep Pla Prize (in 1971 with The alicorns), the San Juan (The rivers of Babylon, 1984), Charlemagne (The Burned Gardens, 1997) and Ramon Llull (Tigers, 2007).

Every year, good intentions emerge. Some resolve to join a gym, others vow to quit smoking this time, and some even promise to save money. Girona, however, wants to win matches. They want to turn things around because it's essential if they hope to stay in La Liga. They achieved this in their opening match of 2026 in Mallorca, thanks to the Ukrainian duo of Tsygankov and Vanat (1-2). Their goals lifted Girona out of the relegation zone.

To his many reasons for concern, Pedro Sánchez can add another: the Palma City Council has just declared him persona non grata in the city. It has been done by the governing majority, made up of the PP and Vox, and at the initiative –of course– of Abascal's party.

A large cruise ship, the MSC SplendidaOn Sunday afternoon, near Cabrera Island, in southern Mallorca, the 19 occupants of a drifting boat were rescued. They included sixteen men, a woman, and two children, who were taken to the port of Barcelona, ​​where the ship was heading. One of the children had to be immediately transferred to the Hospital del Mar because he had a fever due to contact with the cold water. Two other people who required medical attention were also taken, but the rest were taken to the Verneda detention center.

All lives have, in childhood or early youth, founding episodes that are not erased no matter how long ago they occurred. They are impactful and formative episodes that forge a personality because they help you define a conception of life and a vision of the world, to discover good and evil (to define the meaning of what is just and what is unjust), and also to become familiar with a perplexity pierced by anxieties and wonders that no longer exists. The Mallorcan poet and translator Miquel Àngel Llauger (Palma, 1963) has taken two of these episodes and transformed them into literature in his new book, Whale diptych.

This Espanyol is capable of anything. After 40 very good minutes against a Mallorca side with water up to their necks, and going 2-0 up on the scoreboard, two decisions by referee Hernández Hernández turned the dynamics of a match that seemed over for the revelation team of the season. But neither the controversial expulsion of Pere Milla before the break nor the 2-2 draw by Muriqi could stop Manolo González's team, who with a man less and in a brutal exercise of resistance found the 3-2, Kike Garcia's penalty, to establish themselves in third place and equal on points with FC Barcelona. Madrid, with two more, are the leaders and the next opponents of the blue and whites, at the Bernabéu.

In Take up your cross, new collection of poems byAntonia Vicens (Santanyí, 1941), "echoes of a bloody battle are felt everywhere," tanks advance with solitary executioners inside, and birds of prey "tear out the eyes of combatants" to make their nests. The omnipresence of struggle, blood, and war coexists with the human spirit of survival and the vindication of words like "redemption" and "memory." Once again, the Mallorcan author manages to move the reader with a compact and dense collection of verses published by LaBreu, as well as All the horses (2017) and Father, what do we do with the dead mother? (2020).

After twenty-five years working as a publicist, Gloria de Castro (Caldes de Montbui, 1974) moved from Madrid to Llubí (Mallorca), where she dedicates herself, in turn, to writing, her family and to Brut, a restaurant founded by her partner, chef Eduardo Martínez. De Castro, who won the Llibreter award in 2022 for The moment before impact, published his second novel in June, The solemn temples (Periscope, 2025).

The title of this piece isn't misleading at all. I called a Mallorcan friend of ours, the writer Sebastià Alzamora, and asked him where he would take me to eat if I were in Mallorca and felt like eating Mallorcan frita, arroz sucio, or roast porcella. And he didn't hesitate for a moment to make me a succulent list to dip bread in. So we're making it public in case you visit Mallorca, go often, or, even better, are Mallorcan.

Restaurant and hospitality entrepreneurs in Mallorca are laying off workers in the middle of the tourist season. They try to justify this with the argument that there are fewer tourists this year, something that no one can believe because data from Ibestat and the INE clearly show that the summer of 2025 will follow the same trend as 2024; that is, all tourism records will be shattered. In fact, this year, spending is growing even more than the number of tourists. Specifically, and in Mallorca alone, between January and June, almost six million tourists arrived on the island (3.7% more than last year), spending €6.712 billion, a figure that represents a 6.7% increase compared to the previous year.

All the Mallorcan parties have voted in favor of maintaining subsidies for businesses to label in CatalanExcept for Vox, which hasn't set foot in Barcelona for a while, or it would know, by now, that this is, above all, a way to avoid everything being in English. Toni Gili, the spokesperson, used a flowery and revealing phrase: "It's as immoral for the PSOE to spend money on whores and cocaine as it is for you to vote in favor of these subsidies." Let's leave aside the fact that this sentence contains two levels of language. I would recommend, if I were to give you a speech, that it should be said either "whores and lines" or "prostitutes and cocaine." Podemos reproached him for being a partner in the company Terracor, which apparently received aid for labeling in the devil's language. I find, in short, that this detail is an act of coherence.

At the summer reception for the King and Queen of Spain at Marivent Palace in Mallorca (a social event we don't have the space or talent to praise adequately), Gabriel Le Senne shared with King Felipe VI his concern about the low birth rate in the Balearic Islands: "We Mallorcans are heading for extinction," he said, first before the world. For readers who aren't familiar with the matter, Le Senne is the president of the island's Parliament and was also recently appointed president of Vox in the Balearic Islands, so he tried to debut in his new role with statesmanlike conversation. He is also awaiting trial for a hate crime, following the famous tantrum in which he tore down the photo of Aurora Picornell and the Rojas del Molinar, communists and trade unionists murdered by fascism during the Civil War. Le Senne believes we Mallorcans are becoming extinct because Mallorcan women have few children, yet many immigrants arrive. But the reality is that we'll be in danger of becoming extinct if his party gains more power than it already has. And some of us will become extinct sooner than others.

It's mid-May and Mallorca is already showing clear signs of overcrowding and saturation. Last April, the residents of the beautiful town of Sóller, in the Tramuntana Mountains, launched a campaign, Welcome to Sollerland, which has been joined by a dozen other municipalities, all with the same problem: the massive influx of tourists (not immigrants, but tourists) prevents residents from leading normal lives, to the point that moving around is impossible. These are Valldemossa, Santanyí, Artà, Inca, Alcudia, Caimari, Campanet, Pollença, and Banyalbufar, as reported by RTVE in the Balearic Islands. The campaigns add the suffix land behind the name of the municipality and spread images created with artificial intelligence in which we see places saturated with tourists whose aboriginal holds a cardboard sign like those of beggars in front of his chest: "I used to come here to have a coffee", "I used to be able to come and buy at that market", "I used to be able to do it at that market".