Catalan Countries, capital... Barcelona? This would perhaps be the most obvious answer. However, 50 years ago, in January 1976, the epicenter of Catalan-speaking politics was a corner of Mallorca with Lullian resonances: the sanctuary of Cura, on Mount Randa, where parties and unity groups from Catalonia, the Valencian Country, and the Balearic Islands met, by consensus, as they put it, for a 'democratic break' with the dictatorship, amnesty for political prisoners, and the right to self-determination.

"It's such luck that they've put the ball back up because I left the house just now and I couldn't find Cura." A resident of Algaida, taking advantage of the pleasant morning weather for a walk up to Mount Randa, was perhaps ironically commenting on the absence of an element that has defined the silhouette of the Pla de Mallorca since its installation in the early 1990s. In fact, the "mysterious disappearance" of the ball from the region was first reported on October 25th.