Ca na Beatriu: The future interpretation center of the Albufera Natural Park

It was the gateway to paradise. Fresh, crystalline water, all shades of green, and fruit trees of every kind. It was, and is, right next to the Estella canal and the Company road. They called it Ca na Beatriu. The young couple spent their summers there, too hot in the city and in sa Pobla. In the summer house, one could hear the waves of the sea, of that immense, blue bay. The first tree they planted there was a cherry tree, as a symbol of purity –for its white blossom– and of love and fertility –for its intense red fruit. They had recently married in London, after meeting at the theatre owned by Mr. Aubyn, at 15 Bedford Row. In the fertile, black lands of l'Albufera, a cherry tree suggested the longed-for paradise or the desired reward. At Ca na Beatriu, the lady –as the Company laborers called her– commanded the ancient rhythm of the sleeping water.

The couple married in the summer of 1884 in London. Beatriu Alexandra Flanagan, a maiden, was twenty years old and a young theatre actress, ambitious and particularly intelligent. Lee La Trobe Bateman was the youngest son of Lord John F. La Trobe Bateman, the man who had come to Mallorca in 1862 to drain and cherish the Albufera wetlands. Lee was twenty-five years old and a young man with many ideas. He was looking for his place within the family; he enjoyed the art of dramatic writing, photography, and painting. Above all else, he needed to be seen, valued, and accepted for who he was. The learning of gardening techniques and land cultivation would come with the years... but, alas! always looking at plants and greenery with a creative, and not very commercial, dimension. The gain of profitability would be forbidden to him for life.

this article would not have been possible without the complicity and help of Francesc Lillo and Biel Perelló. Surrounding that greenery – where herons, foxes and some kestrels provided the background music – there were wild fig trees, but what especially beautified the place were the hundreds and hundreds of mulberry trees. Their flavorful and opulent leaves fed, in the old houses of the estate and the Quartera, thousands and thousands of silkworms. Silk was very prized and expensive at that time.

Paradises are not eternal, nothing is; however, they are intense. And we arrive at the present day, the present time. We set aside the dream and land in the present. The lands and houses of Ca na Beatriu were segregated from the large estate in the eighties of the 20th century, and subsequently also from the Park. The passage of time has done its work, inexorably. What remains are the ruins, the memory, the smells.

Ca na Beatriu, the name is still very much alive today. The house is located right next to the Hospital of Muro, close to the Ma-3433 road. A space, a place close to people, to visitors. A perfect gateway to an interpretation center that invites a special journey to explain, make understand, and value a beautiful and fragile territory, heritage, and ecosystem. A center to translate nature and history.

We know that the Government views this project favorably. They are aware of the need for a new space where fauna, flora, history, and heritage can find their place. So that people of the 21st century can see and understand the models, audiovisuals, and didactic tools. Because Sa Roca is no longer a suitable or updated space for educational and outreach activities, to welcome visitors and provide them with the precise information they need. We urgently need a new intellectual and emotional gateway to nature and the Albufera landscape. And this is where Ca na Beatriu comes into play.

We have always believed that the Albufera must not only be protected, but also explained and lived. With an important axis that is research, outreach, and historical memory: drainage, agriculture, and tourism. We cannot waste any more time. Councillor: we are at a turning point where, if we do not improve environmental awareness, manage visitor flow, reinforce local identity, and offer quality educational activity, the future will be sad and bleak. The Park needs, almost a third of the way into the 21st century, more economic resources, greater vision, and more ambition, and logically, Ca na Beatriu.

Now that we are in the days of Passion and sacred liturgies, when the panades and rubiols evoke the scents of our grandmothers' and mothers' kitchens, these are the best days to visit the Albufera and walk along the reed paths, those of deep roots. Early in the morning, when the mist rises over the canals and the first rays of light illuminate the highest branches of the tamarisks, those that act as discreet guardians between fresh water and brackishness. The youthful loves of na Beatriu and en Lee endure. As does the dream of the old and missed J. F. La Trobe Bateman. When you go there, listen to the reeds, which, within a constant murmur of drums and processions, breathe as if paradise had its own voice.

Note: this article would not have been possible without the complicity and help of Francesc Lillo and Biel Perelló.