The Mallorcan urban music group Fades inaugurated this Friday the 44th edition of the Palma Book Fair with a markedly vindictive opening speech in defense of the Catalan language, local culture, and the role of young creators. The trio, formed by Àngel Exojo, Ferran Pi, and Vicenç Calafell, took advantage of the inaugural event to demand more institutional support for culture made in Catalan and to denounce policies that, in their opinion, contribute to weakening its public presence.

The Mallorcan group Fades will be in charge of giving the opening speech for the 44th edition of the Palma Book Fair on May 29th in Plaça d'Espanya. The trio, formed by Vicenç Calafell, Ferran Pi, and Àngel Exojo, will officially inaugurate the event with a ceremony hosted by journalist Margalida Mateu at 6:30 PM.

"The specter of fascism has returned to our institutions. We read a headline: The PP and Vox agree to repeal the Historical Memory Law. But it's not just that: Spanish is being spoken again in the Parliament, the exclusivity of Catalan in the Ciutat de Palma awards is being eliminated, and there are attempts to impose Spanish in schools. And all of this is also being broadcast on IB3: Mallorca is not an ensaimada, nor is it a sobrasada. Mallorca is all of us, those who go out to defend our language and our culture." This was just part of Fades' speech upon receiving the Enderrock Balearic Music Critics' Award for best urban music album for Metallixan award they also received from the public vote. They weren't the only ones recognized for the group, which also won the award for best song as voted by the public for Mon Cheri Go Home, performed jointly with Maria Jaume. "And a message for all young people: go out into the streets, get angry, get indignant, but go out!", they said to conclude their first speech.