Manel Santana: “In Manacor, we can still recognize ourselves as Manacorians, Mallorcans, and Catalan speakers.”

ManacorManel Santana Morro (Consell, 1972) has lived in Manacor since 2012, a year after he started working (after passing the exams and securing a permanent position) at the Mossèn Alcover secondary school. We reviewed the state of social and linguistic well-being in the municipality, as seen by a teacher.

He arrived in the city in 2011 but didn't stay. Why?

— At first, I was in Palma, yes. I came and went. The intention was to stay at the secondary school only for the first two years, as the Department of Education requires that students be in their first destination before requesting a transfer. And then I wanted to get a place at a secondary school in the city. However, after the first year, everything changed.

What made you change your mind?

— Manacor is a small city with a very interesting cultural scene. The good atmosphere I found at high school meant I never left; I wanted to stay there. My second year, I rented a house on Carrer del Pou Fondo. So, I had been renting for years until I had the opportunity to buy this apartment in Manacor in 2018 [she says while walking through the house on one of Manacor's high-rise buildings].

Why so high?

— The original idea was to buy a ground-floor apartment, but I couldn't afford it, although given the amount of books I have, it would have been more interesting. This apartment came about by chance. It was a career and intellectual choice because of Manacor. I think I've become very involved in Manacor's cultural life. I feel very valued as a writer and very welcomed as a teacher.

Culturally and linguistically, do we resist?

— Manacor is still different. I remember that when I arrived in 2011, the first bar I went to was in Berlin… I made a huge sandwich! It's clear that it's grown again. But a friend of mine, David Ginard, a doctor in Contemporary History, always tells me that I live and work in Asterix Village. There has been a progressive loss of importance of the Catalan language, in all its identity aspects, it's true. I've never heard so little Catalan on the street or in school since 2011.

Is the environment more complicated now?

— We live in an intolerant environment, toward Catalans and immigrants, especially North Africans. But, curiously, my North African students are the ones who make the greatest efforts to adapt. There's a lot of work to be done in terms of tolerance and integration. It's like when people talk about how dirty the town is and try to attribute it to one part of society. I refuse to attribute all the dirt to a single group; we here are dirty too.

What do we do?

— First, we should be able to achieve access to housing with sensible urban planning. Make the entire city center pedestrian-friendly. On the economic front, continue to insist that Manacor be a city for its residents, find a way to do it. Insist on maintenance and cleanliness, and be firm with those who are uncivilized. If we let it deteriorate, we will lose public spaces for coexistence, such as Plaza de la Industria and Plaza de Ramon Llull.

Can this social decline of Catalan still be corrected in Manacor?

— I don't think Manacor is at a point of no return, as I suspect in Palma. There are still attitudes of respect toward teachers, for example; families respond. Manacor is a city where we can still recognize ourselves as Manacor residents, Mallorcans, and Catalan speakers, although social spaces, like some bars, have disappeared. In Palma, it's worse; none remain... only Can Vinagre or Bar España.