“We do not hide the contradictions of Magaluf”

ManacorThe Magaluf Expanded Literature Festival takes place on a contradiction that is difficult to avoid. For four days, books occupy one of the great epicenters of mass tourism and binge drinking in Mallorca. They do so hand in hand with the hotel chain Melià, a company that is an exponent of 'balearization,' the export of the intensive tourism model first implemented in the Archipelago and transferred all over the world.

This tension has accompanied the FLEM since it was born in 2021. Before the first edition, it was already accused of culturewashing, using culture to whitewash hotel activity and the touristification of Magaluf. Six editions later, the director, Miquel Ferrer, considers that reaction to have been hasty. “It was a surprising criticism because it was made before the festival even took place. What should be judged is the proposal,” he defends.

He rejects the idea that the FLEM wants to replace the narrative of excesses with a cultural postcard free of conflict. “We have never tried to hide what Magaluf is or what its contradictions are,” he assures. He exemplifies this with historical routes and conversations about literature and tourism. “It is not about hiding Magaluf, but about showing that it is much more and opening up the debate.”

Historian Tomeu Canyelles, co-author of Magaluf, beyond the myth, introduces a note of caution. The imaginary of the center was built over decades by the private sector and cannot be separated from the economic dependence on tourism. When it became stigmatized, the rehabilitation of buildings, beautification, and increased surveillance arrived. But one must ask whether the renewal of the image has been accompanied by an equivalent transformation of the offer. “In some respects, the result is Lampedusian: changing everything so that nothing changes.”

The route that Canyelles and Biel Vives conduct at the FLEM explains the history of Magaluf, the economic model, the territorial and social impacts, and the role of the media in the stigmatization. A territory marked by the excesses that Llorenç Villalonga and Guillem Frontera already incorporated into literature, and where Antònia Vicens worked.

Sebastià Portell admits the “moral dilemma” of participating in a festival promoted by a large hotel chain. “The predatory tourism model is part of the problem, but it is also positive that they contribute to this culture. These are spaces we cannot renounce,” he states. He assures that he has always felt free to question tourism there.

“The FLEM brings thousands of Majorcans to Magaluf who normally wouldn't go there. Who would have told us ten years ago that Magaluf would be associated with a novel prize or that Siri Hustvedt would visit?”, poses Ferrer. For Canyelles, returning to this part expelled from the island’s mental map allows for the revision of prejudices. The contradiction remains open: the FLEM disputes the narrative of Magaluf from within the structure that contributed to building it and turning it into the wounded and dishonored territory we know today.