Joan Alcover: Maura's friend who switched to Catalan nationalism
The poet, whose centenary is being commemorated, was a deputy in Madrid, but became disillusioned and opted for the vindication of the common language as a sign of identity.
PalmPoet, author of the poem The BalangueraJoan Alcover, whose song would become the anthem of Mallorca, was the host and driving force behind the prestigious gatherings held every Sunday at his home, Can Alcover, in Palma, with the most prominent figures of Mallorcan culture at the time. An art theorist, a man who suffered the loss of his first wife and four of his five children... Joan Alcover is widely remembered on the centenary of his death on February 25, 1926. Perhaps less well known, however, is his political side, the one that led him to become a member of parliament in Madrid and a champion of Catalan nationalism, with language as the unifying element of what we now call the Catalan Countries.
The paths of Joan Alcover and Antoni Maura ran largely parallel. Both were born in Palma, exactly one year apart: Maura on May 2, 1853, and Alcover on May 3, 1854—both under the same astrological sign, Taurus. They came from relatively well-to-do families. Maura was the son of a small businessman; Alcover, the son of a high-ranking official in the Royal Court. Their families were wealthy enough to afford to send their sons to study law on the Spanish mainland, as university education in Mallorca had recently been abolished. This represented a considerable expense.
They were classmates at the Institut Balear in Palma, where a lifelong friendship was likely forged. They died just two months apart—Maura on December 13, 1925, and Alcover the following February. Maura went to study in Madrid. There, he was ridiculed by the other students for his strong Mallorcan accent, and his reaction was to adopt Castilian Spanish, eventually becoming director of the Royal Spanish Academy. Alcover, on the other hand, chose Barcelona, where he attended the gatherings of Mariano Aguiló, a Mallorcan and staunch defender of the common language. This was perhaps a crucial turning point. It was through this friendship that a young Joan Alcover joined the ranks of the Liberal Party, as Maura was then a leader. At just 25 years old, he was elected councilor of Palma in 1879. He then became a member of the Provincial Council—curiously, representing Manacor—between 1883 and 1886.
A poem against Alfonso XIII
Alcover was a very eloquent speaker. His friend Maura said of him that he was "the foremost orator in Spain." Back then, speaking well was an important requirement for being in politics. Not like now, when people express themselves any old way... In 1906, his speeches at the Congress of the Catalan Language in Barcelona were an overwhelming success: "He revealed himself as an orator, greatly admired by all," recounted Miquel Costa i Llobera. In 1893, Joan Alcover reached the pinnacle of his political career as a member of parliament in the Valencian Parliament (Les Corts) in Madrid. And there ended that promising trajectory. Alcover was there for a very short time, attended a few packed sessions, didn't utter a word during his time in parliament, and returned to Mallorca. He would continue practicing law, eventually becoming a magistrate of the Provincial Court.
Why? Many years later, Josep Pla – a journalist, after all – tried to get the reason for that withdrawal out of him when they met in Palma: "He made a gesture with his arm as if he wanted to turn away something repellent from his gaze and said to me slowly: 'It's not worth it.'" On the other hand, Alcover was characterized by sincerity and by the absolute lack of 'showmanship', and perhaps these were not the most suitable qualities for succeeding in politics.
However, Alcover maintained personal loyalty to his friend, who in 1902 joined the Conservative Party, with which he would become president of the state government five times. Even in 1913, when it seemed that Antoni Maura would retire to hand over the reins to his son Gabriel, Alcover offered him his support: "With the same resolute will that I followed the father, I will stand by the sons."
Alcover dedicated some of his poems to his friend, such as The juniperTo another, AbigailIt seems to identify Maura with none other than the biblical King David. However, We want a king –Ignasi Moreta points out– it is "a genuine anti-monarchist argument": the intended recipient would be Alfonso XIII, most likely because of his behavior towards Maura, whom he tried to impose appointments on and whom he abandoned when the Tragic Week in Barcelona stirred up almost unanimous animosity against the then president, under the
Now, personal loyalty was one thing, and ideological adherence another. Around 1920, Alcover confided in Miquel Ferrà: "You will have noticed that barely a trace of my 'Maurism' remains," adding that Maura himself surely suspected as much. "That's why I've resolved not to ask him for anything at all, especially for my sake and that of my family." This was what everyone did if a friend became a 'thing'.
Against the death penalty
The evolution of Joan Alcover was, as Josep Maria Llompart wrote, "the story of a conversion." From writing sometimes in Spanish and sometimes in Catalan, he went, by personal choice, to writing only in his own language. "The Catalan language is among us the only possible expression of the writer," he affirmed at the Barcelona congress of 1906. He pointed to the common language as an essential mark of identity for those peoples who speak it: it is the "living blood of the homeland." And he emphasized the shared identity of all the territories: "The voice of blood begins to proclaim that we are all one."
That same year, 1906, Gaietà Alcover, the poet's son, carried the flag of Mallorca to the rally of Solidaritat Catalana, the broad coalition that had been formed in response to attacks on the supposed separatism of this people. From a poem by Joan Alcover, The sparkIts name was given in 1909 to a Mallorcan group advocating for autonomy.
By then, it was logical that Joan Alcover felt more comfortable with the Catalan Regionalist League than with Maurism. He became the trusted man in Mallorca of Enric Prat de la Riba, the first president of the Catalan Commonwealth: a decentralizing entity, short-lived. His successor, Josep Puig i Cadafalch, entrusted him with a delicate mission: to reconcile the philologist Antoni Maria Alcover with the Institut d'Estudis Catalans, with which he had broken due to its Barcelona-centric approach. Without success.
It seemed that Joan Alcover would be overjoyed with the collaboration between Maura's faction and the League, given that the League's Cambó was joining a government presided over by his old friend. But the former liberal, now a Catalan nationalist, wasn't entirely convinced: "Do you mean that Maura is moving closer to Catalan nationalism or that Cambó is veering off course?" he wrote to Ferrà. Ah, that sincerity of his...
Other aspects of Alcover diverge from the label of conservative bourgeois and landscape writer that is often attached to him. In his key lecture, Humanization of artHis work from 1904 championed a "utilitarian" poetry in the best sense: "For the benefit of the people." He seemed a precursor to the so-called 'social poetry' that would erupt throughout the country in the mid-20th century.
Of course, calling Alcover a feminist would be a blatant anachronism. But in her poem Fancy It is a woman who guides the protagonist on a journey, an empowered woman, as we would call her today. The pedestrian As Moreta emphasizes, it is "a resounding argument against the death penalty." EnochHe questions inequality and even private property as evils of humanity. Yes, perhaps we still have much to discover about Alcover. Perhaps now, on his centenary, is the time.
Right in the heart of the city, at the Born headland, stands the monument dedicated to Joan Alcover, surrounded by a small garden. The sculpture, La Serra , the title of one of his most famous poems, is the work of Esteve Monegal, and the fountain was designed by the prominent architect—and pro-autonomy politician—Guillem Forteza. The restoration work on this ensemble, carried out by the Palma City Council, was completed a few days ago.
Alcover was still alive when, around the autumn of 1920, at the initiative of a group of young poets, the City Council decided to erect a monument to him. With his characteristic desire to remain inconspicuous, the poet, who had learned of the proposal through the press, expressed his complete opposition.
According to Antoni Comas, that project was one of the causes of the break with the other Alcover, Antoni Maria, who had been a regular attendee at the gatherings at his house. Father Alcover was a kind soul, but with a fiery temper, and he described the poet as a "dedicated Maurist," "with one foot in the Liberal Party," a " sui generis Catalanist," and a "young member of the Catalan Regionalist League."
Did Joan Alcover really not want that monument? In *Humanization of Art*, he had remarked: "If I were doubly fortunate enough to be an illustrious man and to witness my immortality, and were given the choice of monument, I would say: let it be a place for human habitation (...) that at least a public fountain flows and the neighbors chat at dusk while the spray from the corner flows." The current monument closely resembles that dream: a small oasis of peace in a city center teeming with visitors.
The respect and admiration for Alcover is well demonstrated by the fact that this monument was funded by public subscription. Of course, since this is the island of tranquility, things were delayed, and it wasn't until eight years later, in March 1928, that construction began. This time, however, it was completed, as it was inaugurated that same year. By then, Alcover was already dead and did not live to see his dream fulfilled.
When Franco's regime came to power, the name of the poet in the dedication on the statue's pedestal was changed from 'Joan' to 'Juan' – in Castilian Spanish! We are in Spain, after all! Currently, it bears the original expression: "To Joan Alcover" and the dates of his birth and death.
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Information prepared from texts by María Antònia Perelló, Josep Pla, Antoni Comas, Ignacio Moreta, Josep Maria Llompart, Mª Magdalena Brotons, Miguel Ángel Casasnovas, Màrius Verdaguer and José Manuel Cuenca.