'La Balanguera' and Rels B, the Council's attractions for the Mallorca Day

PalmaThe Council of Mallorca presented this Thursday the program of events to celebrate the Day of Mallorca, on September 12th. The institution led by Llorenç Galmés wants to take advantage of the anniversary to highlight the centenary of the song La Balanguera “to reclaim the identity and culture of the Mallorcan people”.

This will be the third consecutive year that the Day is officially celebrated on September 12th since the PP and Vox government recovered this date. The change, initially approved in December 2023 and definitively in March 2024, displaced December 31st from the Council's institutional calendar, with the opposing vote of PSIB, MÉS per Mallorca, and El Pi.

September 12th had been celebrated for the first time as the Day in 1997, under the presidency of Maria Antònia Munar, to commemorate the oath of the franchises and privileges of the Kingdom of Mallorca by James II in 1276. In 2016, the government of Miquel Ensenyat replaced this date with December 31st, coinciding with the feast of the Standard, which commemorates the conquest of Madina Mayurqa by the troops of James I in 1229. The recovery of September 12th by the PP and Vox reopened the debate on the historical and political meaning of the commemoration. The Council endorsed the change with favorable reports from historians Antonio Cañellas, Antonio Ortega, and Román Piña Homs.

Since then, Galmés has tried to boost the celebration with cultural programming and popular activities. This year, the island institution has scheduled more than fifty events between September 3rd and 19th and will once again distribute 40,000 flags of Mallorca through the island's press so that citizens can hang them on their balconies

'La Balanguera', at the center

The president highlighted that this Diada is "very special" because it is dedicated to La Balanguera, which he defined as "the great symbol of Mallorca's identity and the thread that unites the entire Mallorcan people in a single voice".

The commemoration coincides with three anniversaries: the centenary of the premiere of the musical version of the poem by Joan Alcover, a work by Amadeu Vives; the hundred years since the poet's death, which motivate the Alcover Year, and the thirty years since the declaration of La Balanguera as the official anthem of Mallorca, approved by the Council presided over by Munar in 1996.

The piece premiered on May 29, 1926, at the Palau de la Música Catalana in Barcelona. The centenary has already had other celebrations this year, including the simultaneous singing promoted by the Obra Cultural Balear in May in squares and educational centers of Mallorca.

Within the program of the Diada, on September 11, the Council Palace will host the exhibition of documents La Balanguera: origins of an anthem, by Eugènia Gallego. Two sessions of the theatrical route Amadeu, Eutèrpe i Rita: Balanguera, Musa i Dinamita have also been scheduled for the 6th and 13th.

Rels B, concert and distinction

One of the main attractions will be the free concert by Rels B, on September 11 at 9:30 PM at the Parc de la Mar in Palma. The following day, the musician, Daniel Heredia, will receive the title of Favorite Son of Mallorca at the Council's Awards, Honors and Distinctions ceremony at the Teatre Principal. The singer and songwriter Concha Buika will be distinguished as Favorite Daughter and the actor Michael Douglas, as Adoptive Son.

The program also includes children's activities, excursions, heritage visits, concerts, and exhibitions. On September 9, the Sant Carles castle in Palma will host the preview of the documentary A Kingdom Within the Sea, promoted by the Council and IB3 on the occasion of the 750th anniversary of the death of James I and the enthronement of James II.

The dawn of September 12 to 13 will see the 45th edition of the 'Pujada a Lluc a peu' (Pilgrimage to Lluc on foot) from the Part Forana. The event comes after criticism from the socialist group regarding the outsourcing of tasks traditionally assumed by the 'Antics Blavets' and volunteers. The Council took over its organization in 2025, after the entity announced it could no longer sustain it due to a lack of resources. This year, the institution maintains that its involvement guarantees the continuity of the walk.