The Crown of Aragon: this is the shared history of centuries that the president of the Balearic Government, Marga Prohens, reclaimed last October 15th, when the board of the Poblet monastery met for the first time in fifteen years, shared with Catalonia, the Valencian Country, and Aragon, and responsible for the management of this space, a pantheon of the common sovereigns. Well, yes. Or no? The truth is that the Balearic Islands were systematically sidelined –what a surprise!– throughout their membership in this confederation, practically during all the time they were part of it.

Falsification of electoral records? Alteration of the census? Bribery or pressure on voters? Dubious results? Over the centuries, shenanigans have been a constant in elections for public office in the Balearic Islands, not much different from the rest of the State and the surrounding area. We review this wide collection of irregularities, tricks, and manipulations, at a time when some voices, in the purest Trumpian style, have cast surreal suspicions on the elections that are to be held on November 29th.

He is a benchmark for the Catalan language in the Balearic Islands. An expert in sociolinguistics and language models, before retiring Joan Melià Garí (Porreres, 1954) was a teacher at secondary schools and at the University of the Balearic Islands, where he held the positions of associate vice-rector for Linguistic Normalization and director of the Linguistic Service. He has also been the director general of Linguistic Policy for the Government of the Balearic Islands. In 2023, he published with the publisher Lleonard Muntaner Smiling with grammar, and now he brings to light, under the same imprint, Exemplary lives, his first foray into fiction literature, a collection of thirteen stories. He acknowledges the influence of authors such as Quim Monzó and, above all, Pere Calders, to whom he pays tribute in one of the stories. On Saturday, October 17th, at 7:30 PM, he will present the book at the Cultural Association of Porreres, accompanied by Cesca Roig and Maria Muntaner.

With an archaeological excavation, the remains of James IV, titular king of Mallorca, have been sought in Soria. In principle, it seems disconcerting that the bones of a sovereign of the Islands, even though he never managed to take possession of the crown, are found lost in the world. But this is just one more case of the strange adventures, after death, of those who in life were monarchs of the 'kingdom in the middle of the sea', between the 13th and 14th centuries: transfers, disappearances, a tomb with two heads and another with a strange object inside. Just as if they were victims of some kind of curse or, at the very least, of colossal bad luck.

Seven and a half centuries ago, languages were not learned for tourism, much less to attend to tourists who might show up. No one traveled unless they had no other choice. The Majorcan philosopher Ramon Llull conceived a school to learn Arabic, in order to convert Muslims to Christianity, and thus was born, in the current municipality of Valldemossa, Miramar, a brief experience, but with a lasting imprint. Its foundation was confirmed by a papal bull on October 17, 1276, 750 years ago now.

The diagnosis is practically unanimous: there has been an extraordinary advance in the professionalization of culture creators in the Balearic Islands in this 21st century, but there is still much to be done. The improvement of working conditions, the support of institutions, and the adaptation to technical transformations are among the challenges faced by art professionals in the Archipelago.

‘Catalan’ is the scientific name of the language spoken in the Balearic Islands. This is established by the Statute of Autonomy, although, colloquially, the demonym of each island is used, and ‘pagès’ in Formentera. However, over the centuries, many denominations have been used to refer to it: ‘our language’, ‘vernacular’, ‘mother tongue’, ‘own’, ‘regional’, etc. Often, so as not to have to say ‘Catalan’, because it was understood –and is still understood– that whoever speaks Catalan might be Catalan, and some did not want –do not want– to fall into this identification. We remember the range of synonyms when the European Day of Languages (September 26) is celebrated.

A dozen book novelties by authors from the Balearic Islands, most of them also from publishing labels of the Islands, make up this selection of titles for the new season. We present them to you just as the editions of the two major annual gatherings dedicated to books in Catalan are about to take place: the Barcelona Week, between the 18th and 27th, which will have an island presence, and the Palma Week, from the 24th to the 27th, in the Misericòrdia gardens. These are some of the books that readers will be able to find at both events, and also in the bookstores of the Islands: dystopian, historical, and intrigue narrative; essays on characters and traditions; poetry with disturbing contents; theater of diverse signs, and a combination of images and science.

Yes, you read that right: James I, the champion of Christendom, who drove Islam out of Mallorca and the Pityusic Islands, provided valuable aid to the Moroccans when they wanted to invade Ceuta. It is true that, at the time, Ceuta was part of another Islamic domain. This is one of many episodes in a long history of complicated relations between neighbors. So long, in fact, that it has reached the present day.

He was born in Barcelona, of French and Cuban origin, raised in the Philippines, emigrated to Sweden, acquired Swedish nationality, and, by his own wish, was buried in Mallorca. Ernest Dethorey was, in the Balearic Islands a century ago, the chronicler of culture and also of the then-incipient tourism. We remember him as 125 years have passed since his birth, on September 13, 1901.

He is known as the ‘wise and good king’ and, periodically, current political leaders pay tribute to him at his tomb in the Cathedral of Mallorca, in commemoration of September 12th (a date established as the new Day of Mallorca), the day he swore to uphold the island's liberties and franchises. Was he really that good, the good King James II? This is the question we ask ourselves as 750 years have passed since his coronation, around September 1276.

To be scorned, insulted, or even attacked; this is what the Xuetes endured for three centuries, the bearers of the fifteen surnames pointed out by the rest of the Majorcans as the sole descendants of Jews converted to Christianity. They did not always endure it stoically: two of them, Gabriel Fuster and Ignasi Forteza, expelled from a ball, took their discrimination to court and won the lawsuit, called 'of Cartagena' due to the jurisdiction that took charge of it. 175 years ago, on September 1, 1851, the defendants decided to appoint a representative to pursue that case.

The reader who has passed through what is now the Parliament can imagine it, when it was the headquarters of the Círculo Mallorquín, as a kind of those British clubs from novels and films, where distinguished gentlemen share conversation, while having a coffee, smoking a cigar, and playing cards. Certainly, it resembled it quite a bit. But the Círculo, founded on August 25, 1851 (175 years ago), was much more than that: a venue for balls and parties, a hub for cultural initiatives, a meeting place for personalities, and, above all, an essential reference for the island's high society, for decades.

They are two towers, like the title of Tolkien's novel of the trilogy The Lord of the Rings: one Islamic; the other, from after the conquest. Two towers, with a central body added in the 19th century. They are known as the towers of the Temple or Almudaina de Gumara. Their origin is, of course, defensive. But Gumara will no longer fight: the Palma City Council plans to open them to the public to be a museum space. They will do so, the officials assure, once the rehabilitation works are completed, in 2027, twenty years after acquiring the building.

“Speak to me, O Muse, of the man of many turns, who wandered far...”. No one would ever have thought that the Odyssey, a 2,700-year-old classic, would unleash heated controversies on social media, as it is doing, thanks to Christopher Nolan's recent film adaptation. For the islanders, there is still another point of interest in Homer's story: whether its hero, Odysseus – or Ulysses – passed through any of the Balearic Islands, during his decade of journeys across the Mediterranean, after the Trojan War – ten more years – to return to his home island, Ithaca. Perhaps he did?

Expectation? People coming from abroad to witness a very infrequent phenomenon? Nothing new. Another August, but this one 121 years ago, Mallorca became an international focus of attraction for a total solar eclipse, with the presence of six scientific collectives from four countries and three hundred Italian tourists who traveled expressly to the island to witness this exceptional phenomenon. It was August 30, 1905, at noon.

Two members of the family of the princes of Monaco were allies of James III in his frustrated attempt to recover lost Mallorca. And another became lord of Carlat, an enclave that had been part of the ‘kingdom in the middle of the sea’. A few Grimaldis, for that is their lineage, have visited the island until recent times. Let's review the links between these two corners of the Mediterranean; Monaco and Mallorca, taking as a motif that the Club de Mar in Palma hosts, until August 6, an exhibition on the connections between that territory and the Spanish monarchy.

The 16th Atlàntida Mallorca Film Fest (AMFF) takes place in Palma from July 24 to August 2, with over a hundred premieres, concerts, and international guests such as Gael García Bernal and Alexandre Desplat. In contrast, the online edition on the Filmin platform extends until August 24. Below, we highlight some of the most notable proposals of this edition of the AMFF.

The Atlàntida Film Fest reaches its sixteenth edition with an intense trajectory, which has taken it from being a pioneering and unusual experience, an online film showcase, to becoming one of the benchmark events in the country: first position among festivals held in the summer, second best-rated among all events, according to data from the Ministry of Culture. Like any relevant film festival, a good number of stars have walked through its openings and closings: Liv Ullmann, Michael Douglas, Judi Dench, Vanessa Redgrave, Isabelle Huppert, Joseph Fiennes, Britt Ekland… This year, Gael García Bernal, Javier and Carlos Bardem, Fernando Trueba, Jaime Chávarri, Rodrigo Sorogoyen and the Mallorcan actress Victoria Luengo, among others.

No other monarch has been so mythologized, idealized, and glorified as James I the Conqueror –well, perhaps the emeritus king, in his good times–: knight king, warrior, valiant, sensible, wise, generous, good Christian... Of course, of all this, half of half, and more in reference to women, whom he used and abandoned when they no longer served his interests. We recall the private life of James I as the 750th anniversary of his death, in 1276, is being commemorated – on July 27th.