"Mallorca seems like a safari": the song about mass tourism in the Balearic Islands

PalmaThe music scene of the Balearic Islands has also raised its voice against the tourist overcrowding experienced in the Archipelago, and more and more groups and artists are dedicating songs to denounce the saturation and how residents have been relegated to being practically second-class citizens to the detriment of tourists. The latest to do so have been the Mallorcan artists Amulet and Xisk, who have released the track In Paradise, a new criticism of tourist overcrowding and the current model of the Balearic Islands. In the song, they ironically and poignantly review the problems that this saturation derives from and how the Archipelago has become a theme park where residents are the last. In fact, the first line of the song already makes this message clear: "I come from a land that no longer wants me. Theme park, next to Hong Kong".

In the song's music video, the two artists symbolize being two tourists who stroll along the beach on a four-person tandem (an image that perfectly defines the life of tourists in Mallorca) while denouncing that when residents complain, the Government's response is always the same, to attack them to protect the tourists: "There have been no doubts for a long time, there are so many and so many that they block our light. Na Prohens takes our teeth out, always resistant".

At another point in the song, mixing languages, they synthesize what leisure and business offerings have become in the Balearic Islands. "Paella sangria, welcome New York. Mariachi rumba, everything very cool. In paradise. Low cost planes, postcard palm trees, continental breakfast, bread with oil to go. Resort with sea views", sing Amulet and Xisk, clearly reflecting that nothing seeks the attention or tastes of residents anymore, but rather the only objective is to attract more and more tourists.

Another of the themes they talk about in the song is the freedom that tourists have to do what they want without any consequence and how, thanks to the indolence of institutions and security forces, they have become the untouchable owners of the Balearic Islands. Xisk, who sings this part of the song, denounces that "they act like the bosses of the Islands, doing burnouts with Ferraris". "Now this island looks more like your safari," he sentences.

An increasingly active music scene

In the last year, many artists have released songs denouncing the situation experienced by the residents of the Archipelago due to mass tourism: Júlia Colom, Maria Jaume, Fades... A few months ago, the Mallorcan music group The Deaf Buffalos released a new song, which is a frontal and direct attack on Airbnb and its consequences for the island of Mallorca and its people. Titled God Bless Airbnb, the group leaves phrases and verses like "don't go to the beach, let the foreigner go, he is the king of the island, who gives us bread", which refers to tourist rentals and the idea that Mallorcans no longer have the right, not even, to enjoy their own homes.

On the other hand, just over a year ago, top artists from Menorca united to create Convindria, a song denouncing the tourist overcrowding on the island: "There is no more capacity / in Menorca people live". The song has direct lyrics, with a very clear message: it is advisable to set limits on tourism because the lives of residents have become unsustainable. "We will say no to the season / if it is this saturated / there is no more capacity / in Menorca people live" is one of the verses that can be heard throughout a song that points to the problems of housing, overcrowding, loss of local trade, the gentrification of towns, degradation of the landscape and scarcity of resources; in general, collapse.