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Ca’n Oms
Palma de Mallorca is a city of patios (inner courtyards). All courtyards were open to the street until the beginning of mass tourism in the second half of the twentieth century. Passers-by in the...
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The Cinema and the Rise in Value Added Tax
Mallorca’s cinefile community is delighted about the erstwhile Cinema Renoir reopening last weekend as a citizens’ cooperative. The new venture took over the Renoir’s premises as well as all fixtures...
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The Sad and Cruel Fate of Chuetas in Mallorca
For centuries, Jews, Muslims and Christians were living together in peace and harmony in Spain, and here in Mallorca, pursuing their cultures, customs and religions. Their coexistence is said to have...
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Jaume el Conquistador
Jaime I de Aragón el Conquistador died 736 years ago today (July 27th, 1276). He led the Catalan conquest in 1229 when he was only 21 years old, taking Mallorca from the hands of Arabs or rather, the...
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The Other Half
The other day, a commemorative act was held in Portocolom to mark the 90th anniversary of the foundation of Spain’s first civil school for amphibian planes, the Escuela de Hidroaviación Civil. The...
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The Bench of the Lazybones
Outside Palma’s Cort building (Ajuntament de Palma; Palma town hall) there is a beautiful hard stone bench inviting passers-by (and tourists) to sit down and have a break from the rushing around, or...
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Pneumatic Rubbish Collection in Palma
A pneumatic rubbish collection was installed in Palma some ten years ago at a cost of 23,000,000 Euros. Subterranean tunnels would normally suck the waste to central collection points from where the...
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Till Death Us Do Part
Death comes to all, but now, at a price. The recently announced hike in the rate of Spanish IVA (Value Added Tax) will affect some more than others. School books in Spain, for instance, were taxed,...
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The Port Authority in Mallorca
Ports in Spain and the Merchant Marine are managed by state-owned institutions called port authorities, ultimately a section of the Ministerio del Interior in Madrid and the Spanish government,...
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The Fortification At Es Fortí de Cala Llonga
When I last visited the cliff top fortification at Es Fortí de Cala Llonga in Cala d’Or, some twenty years ago or even longer, it was in a pretty bad shape; one might have called it a ruin. The...
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The Balearic Constitution Day
Spain is politically organized into a total of 17 comunidades autónomas (autonomous communities), plus 2 ciudades autónomas (autonomous cities), Ceuta and Melilla. The Balearic Islands are one of the...
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