'La Balanguera' makes us Mallorcan

PalmaMallorcans do not know our anthem. In our country, unless you are from Sóller or a slightly eccentric person, you do not know how to sing La Balanguera. And by knowing how to sing it, I mean the whole song, not just the chorus, and with the emotion it requires.

Humans need symbols to coordinate ourselves and generate social harmony: flags, coats of arms, historical narratives, or even football teams. What may seem a bit old-fashioned is necessary, it connects us to the world around us and helps us give meaning and solidity to our existence. It contributes to making us part of the community. And songs are fundamental for this, especially when they have such a great political weight in the case of national anthems. And don't let them fool you, just as it is necessary, it is inevitable. There is no symbolic 'void', just as there is no void of national belonging. If you are not there, there will be someone else.

What kind of country can we Mallorcans be if we don't even know how to sing a song of brotherhood, all as one, uniting people of all political sensitivities. And popular songs like the goigs of Sant Antoni and Sor Tomasseta, which have an enormous power to generate feelings of belonging, but are normally local and difficult to politicize, are not valid here. We need an anthem to unite us all and allow us to recognize ourselves as part of the same people.

All this is both the consequence of an inability and the cause of many deficiencies. The inability of Mallorcanism has been not to popularize the anthem and make it loved beyond the circles of literati and fervent nationalists. Was it so difficult to get all children to learn it in school? We have the competence to create the school curriculum, or at least a part of it. Why haven't we used the little we have? I see neglect here.

Perhaps the children and young people, thanks to the initiative of the singing and the sessions they have had to dedicate to it in class, will one day sing Fortunately, we still have the Obra Cultural Balear, which not only almost single-handedly keeps the flame of our national tradition alive (perhaps it is more of a small flame). It also has the intelligence to understand the importance for the country of something seemingly as trivial as singing La Balanguera throughout Mallorca, involving everyone, including educational centers.

Perhaps children and young people, thanks to the initiative of singing and the sessions they have had to dedicate to it in class, will one day sing La Balanguera in the demonstrations that are distilled in their time. This will make them stronger and all of us.

May 29 is a good time to meet and review the lyrics of our anthem. May it be full of Majorcans who, despite particular differences and unequal tuning abilities, manage to make the "choir effect" turn the whole into a single voice that does not go out of tune.