Aena is today the villain of the movie. Even worse: it is that secondary character in a gangster film, with a scar on his face and a defiant look, that no one wants to have nearby. Right now, no Ibizan politician in their right mind would want to take a photo with an Aena representative by their side. The truth is that the airport operator has earned it: a terminal sold to nightclubs, repeated polluting spills in Ses Salines, and boundless greed. That is how Aena has become the catalyst for popular indignation over a whole variety of problems, from housing prices to tourist saturation; at the 20-S demonstration in Ibiza –five thousand people according to the Government Delegation–, the most abundant protest sign was the cardboard silhouette of an airplane. Yes: a simple silhouette of an aircraft has become the symbol of the protest. That is enough, no slogan is needed: how do tourists arrive, if not by plane?

The goal is to give a strong wake-up call to the administrations, a big one, that cannot be ignored or disregarded. "We are expecting thousands of people," asserts the president of Joves d’Eivissa, Marga Torres. The demonstration will depart on Sunday at 6 PM from Vara de Rey and, with a route of a little over a kilometer, it will pass in front of the Council and end at Reina Sofia park, where a manifesto will be read. The diffusion on social media has been very intense in recent days, carried out in coordination with the platforms against the expansion of the airports in Barcelona and Mallorca. "It was when we learned that a call was going to be made against the expansion of El Prat that we decided it was the moment; afterwards, Mallorca joined in," explains Marga Torres. "I believe there is a favorable social context and that the people of the Pityusic Islands clearly reject the airport expansion," reasons the president.

“New York, New York!”, sang Frank Sinatra with his bass-baritone voice and exultant enthusiasm. With the same joy, or more, the news of the new direct flight between El Codolar and New York, specifically with Newark airport, about 24 kilometers from the city, has been received by the Ibizan tourism sector. “Great news for Ibiza”, said the Ibizan Council; a valuation that has been replicated by the Tourism Board, hoteliers, and travel agencies. It is certainly a remarkable fact that an airport named after a pebble beach connects directly with a city of 8.8 million inhabitants, one of the cultural capitals of the world; about 22 million people live in the New York metropolitan area, a figure that helps us calibrate the potential of the destination. The new route will begin in June 2027 with four weekly flights; tickets can already be purchased on the United Airlines website starting at 587 euros, prices that quickly climb towards 1,000 euros or more as the season progresses.

Raquel Guasch Ferrer has been the State's island director in Ibiza and Formentera since 2024. She is the first person from Formentera to hold the position. Her term will be marked by the management of the migration route from North Africa, which has the Pityusic Islands, and especially Formentera, as a preferred point of arrival, and which has caused recurrent political disputes between administrations. Since Pedro Sánchez revealed in Congress (last September 3rd) that there had been a “routine report” on “the Balearic Islands and the Peninsula” that warned of a high probability of migrant arrivals, the political storm has not ceased in the Islands. The State has been accused from Ibiza, Formentera and Palma of not informing about this hypothetical massive arrival of small boats. In this interview, we try to find out what is true, and what is false, in the controversy, and how the State handles the arrival of thousands of migrants each year to the Balearic Islands.

The Egyptian party in Sant Antoni de Portmany, including a 170-ton water pool, has turned out to be the news story of August in Ibiza. Rarely has a matter of such little depth—hydrological depth, that is, because it certainly has political depth—caused such a commotion. The Egyptian kitsch for 350 exclusive guests, authorized at the Can Coix quarry, is costing the Portmany City Council, held by the PP, unprecedented wear and tear, and has provided the PSOE with political ammunition they weren't even expecting.

They call themselves Joves d’Eivissa and they presented themselves to society last January; in their short history they have already managed to raise certain expectations; it had been a long time since, in Ibiza, a collective of young people with the intention of organizing themselves and influencing political and social life had been seen. They want to do so from an identity-based project and critical of the economic model that prevails in the Balearic Islands. We have spoken with two of the members of the association, Sílvia Ramón Torres (21 years old, social educator) and Marc Serra Ramis (22 years old, video game development student). It has been said that members of Generation Z demonstrate a deeper social commitment than previous generations, at least on issues such as diversity, inclusion, and equality. May this interview serve as proof.

Pau Arbona (Palma, 1986) is the director of the Parador d’Eivissa, the first to be built in the Balearic Islands and the 99th in the extensive network that makes up Paradors Nacionals. Surely, no parador has had such a tortuous history, from its construction decision in 2004 to its opening this March. During construction, the past of the dead and the projects of the living have clashed on more than one occasion: beneath the current building lies the long history of the city of Eivissa, since the first Phoenicians founded Ibosim about 2,600 years ago. Now, some of the archaeological remains found are on display and can be visited freely. Before receiving the commission to launch the Eivissa parador, Arbona has worked at the paradors of Benicarló, la Seu d’Urgell, and Plasència. Besides being a hotelier, he is a musician: a violinist and a specialist in traditional Balearic instruments. He is sure he will be able to fine-tune the Parador's operation until it is welcomed by both tourists and residents.

Like the Spanish national team, at the last minute. The thousands of people who chose the Variades area, in Sant Antoni de Portmany, this Wednesday to watch the eclipse, feared for twenty long minutes that the clouds would spoil the experience. Even some of the frustrated attendees began to whistle, following the logic of someone who would also applaud a sunset, as if the Sun could do anything about it. But just at the last second, the mixture of haze and clouds dissipated and at least the climax of the astronomical phenomenon could be contemplated: the 'diamond ring' effect just before the complete occultation; the halo of light when the Moon completely covers the Sun... A magical moment, even disturbing, if it weren't for the inevitable Ibizan soundtrack that accompanied it. And at full volume. The disco house that a DJ was playing at Café Mambo could be clearly heard from a good 400 meters away.

It turns out that the influencer Mercè Molinas arrived at Ibiza airport one day in July and found a DJ playing in the middle of the duty free. Since she is an influencer and does this, influencing, the girl made a video that has gone viral and has accumulated more than 210,000 views on her Instagram account alone (@mercemolinas). The publication is from last July 13th. This DJ thing has stirred up some dust. Ibiza airport has been sold to nightclubs in the form of advertising for days now – if you think I'm exaggerating, visit the arrivals or baggage claim area – but to put a DJ there on top of it!... I want to assume that the event will have caused some perplexity, discomfort if nothing else, among the politicians and Ibizan prominent figures who, just a couple of days before, were receiving Aena's explanations about the Codolar expansion; a project that, virtually, could almost double the airport's capacity.

Let's start with the conclusion: the protection of the Balearic lizard has failed; the snake invasion – first detected in Ibiza in 2003 – has been fatal for the most emblematic animal species of the Pitiusas Islands. In Ibiza, the lizard has disappeared from 90% of the territory; it has "two or three years left", according to Dr. Antònia Maria Cirer, a pioneer in the study of this reptile and a leading critic of the protection policies adopted by the Government. On the International Union for Conservation of Nature's Red List, the Balearic lizard currently appears as a species "in danger of extinction" and in rapid decline, with a "marginal" and "fragmented" population distribution. On the ground, almost any farmer in Ibiza will tell you that for years they haven't seen any of the lizards that, in the past, populated the traditional dry stone walls, a centuries-old symbiosis between humans and these animals.

They say that the devil, when he is old, knows more from experience than from advice. This is not the case in Ibiza; here the devil is equally evil, but quite young. The group of devils Es Mals Esperits was born 20 years ago within the Association 8 d'agost, created in the main Pitiusa island to promote popular culture, with a sense of identity and among the younger public. Last Saint John's Eve, in the municipality of Cubells – the same day and place where they had premiered in 2006 – the Ibizan devils celebrated their two decades. One of the godfathers of the creature, who still collaborates, is Pep Prats, a professor at the IES of Sant Agustí. “At that time we set up a summer school, a music festival was organized from which Projecte Mut and Quin delibat! emerged, we made some giants… And one of the things we thought would most engage young people was a group of devils. I recruited a few students from my institute and things just took off on their own,” recounts Pep Prats.

Llucia Serra Ferre (Eivissa, 1992) has just won the Ciutat de Manacor poetry prize with Et dibuix un portal in media something (i tu t’hi ajoques). Living in Mallorca since her adolescence, she is a philologist, a high school teacher in Son Servera, and runs a board game publishing company in Catalan, Dino Ludens. So that the reader can get an idea of her writing, in Et dibuix un portal..., she quotes and paraphrases a poem by Antonina Canyelles that says: “You can say my boat, but the sails are always the wind’s”. Llucia Serra’s version is as follows: “You can say my house / but the lands / are always the bank’s”. The poem is titled ‘Idealista’.

In Formentera, calm seas provoke unease. A strange feeling in a sun and beach destination. The same anticyclone that encourages the arrival of tourists and recreational boats fuels the arrival of dinghies. And more and more are arriving. The figures confirm it: in the last weekend of May alone, 15 boats with 236 people on board arrived at the southern Pitiusa island, 17 of whom were minors. Data from the Government Delegation in the Balearic Islands confirms the trend: by May 31, 63 dinghies with 1,056 people had arrived in Formentera, 49% more than in 2025. Another 156 people arrived in Ibiza. There is no one left who disputes the facts: the route between Algeria and the Balearic Islands – and especially Formentera – is a massive and consolidated migratory route. Less than a year ago, the Spanish government was not so clear about it.

The sofrit pagès suffers like never before. Yes: it's a very bad pun. The situation of Pitiüsan gastronomy is also not good. Sofrit and other Ibizan specialities are drowning amidst an avalanche of pizzas, tacos, sushi, chicken tikka masala and spring rolls. Not to mention the competition from Michelin-starred restaurants, establishments by famous chefs and fast food franchises. It's an unequal fight. A quick search on Google Maps reveals the difference in forces: in the capital of the main Pitiüsa island alone, the search engine offers 23 Japanese restaurants, 16 Chinese restaurants, 24 restaurants classified as Italian cuisine, 21 pizza-only places, and 23 Mediterranean cuisine. There isn't a specific tab for local cuisine, but we must assume it's included in the 'Mediterranean cuisine' category. Without even going online, any Ibizan knows they will have plenty of options if they want to eat sushi or pizza, and practically none if they fancy a sofrit pagès, the main meat dish of traditional Ibizan cuisine.But the sofrit is no longer alone. Last week, the Academy of Balearic Islands Cuisine was presented to the public in an event at the Consell d’Eivissa; this organization, for the first time, has four members from the Pitiüsa Islands, three from Ibiza and one from Formentera. A kind of Pitiüsan resistance against culinary globalization. There was talk of "defending our own" and the "danger of extinction" of local cuisine. It is still relatively easy to find the famous fish stew (bullit de peix) on the menus of Pitiüsan beach restaurants – another matter is whether the fish used is truly Pitiüsan – alongside international cuisine dishes. It is much more difficult to find less popular preparations, such as sofrit and borrida de ratjada. The same applies to desserts; beyond flaó on some menus and perhaps greixonera, it will be almost impossible for you to find any other.

El Molí Rocks is not what a tourist expects from Ibiza. The setting, in effect, is postcard-perfect: the Molí point, in the bay of Sant Antoni de Portmany, an idyllic place for the longest day of the year – the festival takes place on June 20th. But the music is not chill at all. If the hardest thing you've ever heard in your life is an Aerosmith ballad, this might take you by surprise. The audience at Molí Rocks also doesn't resemble the average clubber or tourist at all; they tend to wear black, have long hair, and wear t-shirts with names as optimistic as Sepultura, Black Sabbath, and Megadeth. The audience reacts to the music in two ways: either they headbang (shake their heads up and down to the rhythm of the music) or they pogo, a much more animated form of dancing than waltzing, common at rock or punk concerts, which consists – very briefly – of pushing each other in a group.

Ibiza constitutes a tourist offering without competition. It sounds exaggerated but it is not. What makes the difference are the discotheques, the best in the world, as recognized by several awards in the last couple of years (the Golden Moon Awards and the annual DJ Mag ranking). Clubs have always been the distinctive Ibizan element, but their weight in the overall offering has skyrocketed since the Matutes Group entered the business with three large venues: Ushuaïa, Hï, and for two seasons now, UNVRS. Right now in Ibiza you can party at night or during the day, under the stroboscopic lights of a club or on a beach, it doesn't matter.

Politics has become a risky activity in Spain, a permanent race to sustain improbable majorities, a task more suited to acrobats and movie stuntmen. People who wouldn't suffer from vascular problems under any circumstances. Even in Andalusia, the PP's majority has not withstood the wear and tear. Anxiety and balancing acts: this is also the general situation in the Balearic Islands. Except in Ibiza. On the most turbulent island in the Mediterranean, as modern as it is feverish, politicians live in a beneficial oasis: it is the magic of absolute majority. There is one year left until the next local and regional elections (the last ones were on May 28, 2023) and not a leaf stirs on a tree here. Certainly, in recent weeks Aena has livened things up a bit with its delirious proposal to expand the airport. But hey! We know what we're about here; in a couple of days, no one will remember Aena and its megalomaniacal dreams – which I have no doubt will be executed to a high percentage. The season is starting, and we have to make money for the whole year.

Aena has its own plans for the Eivissa airport and they are not what the Eivissa residents would want. At least, they are not what the Eivissa Council would want, which officially defends that the island has already reached its peak in terms of visitors. So much so that, in Eivissa, just like in Formentera, the number of vehicles that can access it by sea during the summer is limited and regulated. But in Eivissa, visitors arrive mainly by air. And many arrive. Only until April, 1,374,000 passengers have already passed through the Codolar airport. Almost triple those who have passed through Menorca in the same period; let this comparison serve to give an idea of the impact of the Eivissa airport. And the peak season has not yet begun, at the end of the year there will surely be more than 9 million.

Twenty years ago, in Ibiza, it was a topic of debate what is or is not a motorway. And not just a debate: a discussion, a fierce dispute. The macro-project to widen the roads to the airport and to Sant Antoni, which Jaume Matas promoted in his second term in the Balearic Government (2003-2007), managed to make us Ibizans experts in mobility, roads, and the environment. It also managed to get more than 20,000 people to take to the streets on February 17, 2006, against the macro-project. Now, twenty years later, clubbers and residents cross the blue motorways that Matas commissioned (or dual carriageways or widenings or expanded roads, whatever you want to call them) to get equally stuck at the entrance to Vila. Now, twenty years later, hardly anyone remembers the 'anti-motorway' activists. Almost. By chance or destiny, the playwright and philologist Carme Planells has won the La Carrova theatre prize (awarded outside the Balearic borders, in Amposta) with the play Enlloc, a piece of documentary theatre that pays homage to the historic Ibizan mobilization between 2003 and 2006. The mobilization did not stop the motorways, but it did have political consequences: in 2007, both Jaume Matas and Pere Palau (who was then president of the Consell d’Eivissa) lost the elections.

Not only lizards are becoming extinct in Ibiza. The family, as a basic unit of tourist consumption, is also rapidly being replaced on the largest of the Pitiusas by groups of clubbers and the 'real rich'. Within the real rich there are also families, it is true – not infrequent are the