Manacor becomes a twin city with Girona to promote cultural collaboration

PalmThe Manacor City Council approved this Monday the start of the process to formalize a twinning agreement with the city of Girona. This alliance was born from the desire to deepen the cultural and cooperative ties between the two municipalities, which, despite their differences in size, share a central role in the cultural and economic development of their territories.

The twinning agreement between Manacor and Girona aims to be based on the exchange of experiences and the mutual reinforcement of cultural and social initiatives, as well as the promotion of their respective local identities. The objective is to establish links that allow for joint growth, exporting their own models and ways of doing things, while importing new ones that enrich the Manacor reality.

The mayor of Manacor, Miquel Oliver, will chair the twinning committee responsible for drafting the protocol agreement together with the Girona City Council. This committee will include representatives of local institutions and cultural entities, with equal membership. The event will include the 4th Deputy Mayor and Culture Delegate, Ferran Montero; the 5th Deputy Mayor and Language Policy Delegate, Sebastià Llodrà; the director of the municipal school of Mallorcan, Margalida Rosselló; the manager of the public institution Antoni Maria Alcover, Amàlia Salas; the manager of the Manacor Theatre and Auditorium, Tomeu Amengual; as well as representatives of the Sant Domingo cultural association and the Giants' Group (Joana Maria Oliver) and the Es Mostrador Association (Maria Magdalena Vives).

Cultural Cooperation

Although the final agreement will be finalized in the coming months, the twinning proposal is based on the recognition of a vibrant, active cultural fabric with commonalities between Girona and Manacor: the language and cultural dissemination work of the Majorcan school is mirrored in the promotion of Girona; the performing arts initiatives of the Manacor theater connect with the programming of the Temporada Alta festival; and the work of centers such as the public institution Antoni Maria Alcover, the Manacor History Museum, and the School of Music and Dance connect with spaces such as Bòlit, the Casa de Cultura, and the Girona School of Modern Music.

Furthermore, projects such as El animal a sus espaldas, led by Manacor native Pep Ramis, and the La Fornal venue represent creative connections that have generated ties and performing complicity between the two territories.

"This twinning agreement will allow us to better understand other realities, share lessons learned, and assert who we are: a city that believes in culture as a driving force for transformation and social cohesion," said Mayor Miquel Oliver, who also highlighted Manacor's "genuine, pioneering, and uninhibited character."

"Today we begin the twinning agreement with Manacor, which will allow us to strengthen the ties that unite us and make culture a central axis and driving force of relations between the two cities," remarked the Mayor of Girona, Lluc Salellas.

Shared cultural capital

Manacor City Council sees this twinning agreement as a tool to promote the city and its cultural ecosystem, while also establishing a permanent channel for collaboration, allowing for the organization of meetings, exchanges, and joint activities in areas such as popular culture, the performing arts, arts education, music, and heritage.

The proposal is based on a clear idea: culture creates community, and alliances between cities with similar values and trajectories allow for the consolidation of shared leadership beyond the major capitals.

With the approval of this initial agreement, Manacor and Girona take a firm step toward a future of mutual collaboration, sharing identity, commitment, and an outward-looking outlook.

Girona will be the second municipality twinned with Manacor, after Manacor City Council approved the twinning agreement with the Italian municipality of Castel Sant'Elia in March 2024.