The cultural sector is between surprise and doubt regarding Palma's bid for European Capital.

PalmMore than a year and a half after the mayor of Palma announced his intention to opt for the title of European Capital of Culture – which he had already announced during the election campaign – and when it has passed one month from the official presentation of the candidacy, this Tuesday, July 8th, a first meeting was held with the cultural sector. Held at the Mar i Terra Theater, this meeting served to highlight the lack of communication that exists between the different cultural stakeholders of Ciutat, as one of the attendees pointed out. "We are all fragmented and there is no communication between the public and private sectors, nor between ourselves," stated Javier Pachón, director of CineCiutat, in his speech. A particularly worrying diagnosis in this context, given that there are just over three months left to shape the first version of a candidacy project that those responsible have described on more than one occasion as "embryonic."

Among the seventy attendees who responded to the City Council's call were gallery managers such as Xavier Fiol, Pep Llabrés, and Antoni Ferrer; the director of the Atlántida Film Fest, Jaume Ripoll, and the managers of the Auditorium, Pep Ferragut, and Es Gremi, Pep Bauzà. The latter took advantage of his speaking time to question the manifesto handed out to attendees. "Does the first point talk about promoting culture and art in public spaces, and that forces me to ask you, where do we, the private sector, fit in? Aren't we part of the project right now? Are we excluded?" he asserted, confirming that as a representative of live music venues, he had no plans to sign the manifesto.

150,000 euros until December

However, he was not the only one who was critical of today's presentation, which was almost identical to the one that took place just over a month ago at the Fundació Miró Mallorca. While on that occasion it was Jaime Martínez himself who was in charge of reviewing the main points of the candidacy—the deadlines, the motto, and the ideological axes, the latter being particularly abstract—this Tuesday it was the turn of Javier Bonet, the Cort's Councilor for Culture. Bonet began the event with a speech that was practically indistinguishable from Martínez's at the beginning of June, with no specific details being given beyond the budget allocated until December to develop the candidacy: 150,000 euros. Aside from this, Bonet was in charge of explaining the theory surrounding this project, which aims to "transform the city through culture" and that "it does not seek to attract more tourists, no matter how much some would like to claim it." "It is not just a candidacy, it is a collective opportunity," he argued shortly before presenting the members of the artistic table that must shape the project and who have accompanied her on stage, leaving an image that has also been commented on among those in attendance. of men. And I am very concerned because all of us here know that there is an equality plan and it is no longer just about making things visible and leaving things written in the manifesto. Please take all this into account when the same institutions demand it from cultural projects. Culture cannot be just a consumer good; citizens must also have the right to create it. And this right, the right to creation, should be an essential part of the candidacy," he suggested. Corte's general coordinator of Culture and Tourism, Fernando Gómez de la Cuesta, has assured that this is merely a first meeting with the sector, with many more to come. He wanted to make it clear that the intention of this initial meeting was to share impressions in order to carry out the development with all. What we wanted was for them to meet the people who will receive the incentives that will allow us to carry out this project."

Among them was the actor and producer Toni Gomila, one of the members of the artistic panel and who was in charge of bringing the meeting to a close with a presentation of the city. "Culture, isn't this what all of us here want?" Gomila began. "We live in an environment where cultural initiatives have always been personal. We have a Symphony Orchestra because two people started it, and we have a splendid hall on the Paseo Marítimo because Marc Ferragut decided to do this instead of an actor. "It's clear that what we can contribute can make little difference, given how much it's going on outside of here. But beyond whether we get the title or not, isn't it a good idea to ask ourselves? What do we think we can do?"

It will be in February of next year when we will know which three of the 11 candidate cities in Spain are vying for recognition as European Capital of Culture in 2031. The first official project document, 60 pages long, is expected to be completed a few months before then, by the end of October. And although those responsible have reiterated that they don't want to reveal all their cards, the final impression left by the meeting is that it's unlikely to have been hidden.