Toni Gomila: "Mallorcans go to bars where we know the owner."

ManacorToni Gomila (Manacor, 1973) has always been an actor. Vocational, if we want to dress it up; vital, if we do, terrifying. In any case, her presence and name have long been enough to attract spectators to the theater. Now the association that brings together small businesses in Mallorca, Pimeco, has chosen her again to unite culture and local economy.

Thus, for every expense that any small business customer in Manacor, Porreres, Llucmajor, or Palma makes during these days (in the municipality of Manacor any amount in women's rights, in Porreres, for example, for every 20 euros) they will receive a ticket that they can exchange for a ticket to go seeLive Mallorcanly, the play that Gomila will perform in each of these towns during the month of September.

In total, starting this week, Pimeco is distributing nearly 2,000 tickets to shops, bakeries, and neighborhood establishments of all kinds, "with the aim of uniting the culture of theater with proximity, with the human touch that still represents us," said the president of Pime this Tuesday in Manacor.

A project already launched in 2023, now being repeated, seeks to unite, at least mentally, the concepts of Mallorcan roots with traditional commerce. But... are art and economics truly friends, even if in a small format and with a neighborhood spirit?

"We go where we know the owner"

"We tend to think that an artist, just because he is one, must dedicate his talent to art and essay, and that he cannot do directly commercial things. I think that in cases like this it means amplifying the cultural reach, in this case of theater," Gomila reflects onLive Mallorcanly, the work that proposes, based on an ironic monologue and with audiovisuals by Joan Miquel Artigues, a text about the economic evolution of a territory, now somewhat disseminated by large stores and digital purchases.

"It's a piece linked to commercial activity, yes, but without losing the artistic interest or causing the artist to lose dignity," adds the actor, while thinking for a few seconds: "In the end, we end up in the bars where we know the owner; there's a big difference between those who sell it and those who know the trade."

"What identifies a town can never be a franchise. The same happens with the representative food of each place. Neighborhood shops are closing, and there are only four traditional bakeries left. It's a defeat, really, but they're still there."

"Now I'll hit another corner; why are there no more examples of the collaborative economy? How come there are no more neighborhood grocery stores, where neighbors pay a fee and can benefit from purchases at better prices? Because it's much easier for the State to have everything be companies that want to make a profit. You can see it... marketing to make money."