Jaime de Juan, one of the first great entrepreneurs of Balearic tourism, dies.

PalmHotelier Jaime de Juan y Pons has passed away at the age of 85. Remembered for his strength and desire to enjoy life, De Juan, born in Sóller but adopted by Silloter, was one of the great entrepreneurs of the tourist island that began in the 1960s. Despite life's obstacles, he always continued to move forward with determination.

The wake will be on Sunday, September 14, from 4:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. at the Parque del Alba funeral home in Manacor, where family and friends will gather to say goodbye and pay tribute to him.

Born in Sóller, he lived his early years in Palma and also in Peguera, and in the early 1960s he moved to a fledgling island where everything was still to be done.

There he built the Playa Moreya hotel, which was the center of his life and passion. He was one of the pioneers of tourism in Mallorca. He spoke six languages, founded the Mallorca Hotel Federation, and was president and founder of the Islote-Cala Moreya Hotel Association. He was the promoter and organizer of the event where the world's largest tortilla was made on the Islote, as well as bread and ensaimada.

Throughout his life, he collaborated on the magazinePearls and Caves, among other publications; he directed and participated in television and radio programs, and was president of sports clubs such as CE Manacor, among many other activities.

He was also the author of the book The dead that I have lived, a compilation of articles that appeared in the magazinePearls and Caves In the late 1990s, Jaime de Juan was the living memory of the Islet and tourism in Mallorca. The magazine's director, Antoni Ferrer Vallespir, wrote his biography, which, with more than a hundred photographs, captures the experiences of this peculiar, self-made man, whose interesting and anything but monotonous life.