Joan Carbonell 'Menescalet' gives 70 years of photographic memory to Maria de la Salut
The documentary collection will become the graphic testimony of the evolution of the town, of its festivals, of its urban changes and of its people
The graphic history of Maria de la Salut is about to experience a before and after. Joan Carbonell Estelrich, Menescalet, has donated his personal photographic archive to the City Council. It is a collection of great value that brings together thousands of images captured over more than seventy years of dedication behind the lens.
This documentary collection will become the graphic testimony of the town's evolution, its festivals, its urban changes, and, above all, its people. Thanks to Carbonell's eye, entire generations of mariandos and mariandes will see how their daily history comes to light in an organized manner.
Managing such a large volume of images requires expert hands. For this reason, the Council is already working hand in hand with Bartomeu Pastor, who will be responsible for selecting and classifying the photographs and putting them in order.
According to the mayor of Maria de la Salut, Jaume Ferriol, the project to recover this archive will consist of two main phases. The first will be to select the most emblematic images to be printed and thus ensure their physical conservation for use in future exhibitions. Likewise, there is an intention to upload all the photographs to the official website of the Maria de la Salut City Council to ensure that any resident, researcher, or curious person can access them freely from anywhere.
At the same time, the City Council has wanted to convey a profound public thank you to Joan Carbonell and his entire family. "This gesture is an unequivocal demonstration of the affection, generosity, and commitment that the Menescalet family maintains with the town of Maria."
With this donation, Joan Carbonell's legacy is not only protected but becomes part of the collective heritage and identity of all mariandos.
Sineu
We must remember that just over a year ago, Joan Carbonell himself already ceded photographic material to the Sineu City Council. Carbonell was the head farrier of the Sineu market. In the town, they remember him as a person with a "vocation for public service" and who supported farmers, and who contributed to making the market recognized as one of the island's reference livestock events.
The photographic archive ceded to Sineu includes images from the 80s and 90s of the last century of the weekly market.
