Maite Salord, according to her sister: "At six years old we saw that she wrote very well"

PalmThe year is 1965. Sunday, October 10th. It's a radiant, sunny autumn day. And their joy is complete when the Salord and Ripoll family, from Ciutadella, receives the news that the youngest of five siblings has arrived: the now well-known writer Maite Salord and Ripoll. The little girl came just as her eldest brother, Pedro, 17 years her junior, was leaving the island to study in Barcelona. Fina Salord, the middle sister, 10 years her junior and with whom she shares a passion for literature and philology, tells us about the youngest member of the family's childhood.

"Pere had left and we were all a bit shaken. But Maite brought so much joy; her personality made everything so easy. For years I've described Maite with one word: 'liveliness.' She was calm and smiling, and she had an intense sense of exploration." Regarding the smile, Fina explains that in the photo accompanying the text, taken on Saint John's Saturday in 1971, Maite isn't laughing. "I asked her why she wasn't smiling, since it's not typical. We remember it was before we went down to the Caracol del Born, and she was still too young to be taken near the horses. She wasn't laughing because she already knew we'd be leaving her at home and the rest of us would go down to the festival."

From Maite's more adventurous side, Fina remembers that she sometimes gave them a scare; like when, at six years old, she disappeared with a little boy. "We were scared because we didn't know where they were, and we found them on top of the cliffs, about to go down to the port. The explorers!"

Exploration also found its way into her reading. My mother was very fond of reading. And regarding this passion for literature, there's another memory that Maite's older sister still vividly recalls: "I was giving Latin lessons to a little girl, and Maite was constantly coming and going. One day, to get her off my back and keep her occupied, I asked her to write something down. I was so touched that I ran to show my mother. I said, 'Look how well she writes!'

Books are part of Maite's very being, but so is the experience of a very family-oriented and community-driven life. They would have vermouth, they had a vegetable garden, there was usually music playing at home, and they enjoyed spending time outdoors with their neighbors. "In a way, it's the childhood she has recreated in her latest novel, The inhabited time (2024). Music was also key in her life. She studied guitar, solfège, and traveled to Barcelona to take exams at the Liceu. When she had to choose whether to dedicate herself fully to music or follow another path, she chose to study philology. "Of course, there were musicians she introduced me to:

Maite has always been 'very balanced, with a great sense of beauty and responsibility,' says her sister. She demonstrated this by putting politics first, making a painful sacrifice (of writing), but one she embraced with conviction."

Today, according to Fina, her sister retains 'that natural joy and vivacity, an openness and quick reflexes that come from within; it's the same with writing, with organization and good taste, with keeping the house clean and beautiful, or with cooking deliciously.' As if Maite is endowed with a kind of intuition that is difficult to explain.