Mallorca may be a modern tourist island off the coast of Spain, but its capital city, Palma, is awash with Jewish history
EXTRAVAGANT BEAUTY When my plane flew into Mallorca the previous afternoon I couldn’t help but gasp at the lush almost extravagant beauty of this small island: miles of pristine beaches hills that become mountains dotted with waterfalls a climate that is mild in the winter and warm in the summer
“C onstitution Day today” the taxi driver announces as we meander through the narrow streets of Palma town center and see closed stores and a dearth of people. “No Franco. Franco gone” he explains referring to the military dictator who ruled Spain from 1939 until his death in 1975. “Everyone wake up. Late. They’ll all have party.”
When we turn into the main street of Mallorca’s capital a carnival atmosphere already reigns. One man has spray-painted himself silver. He stands on a pedestal a human statue and I have to look twice to see that he is not iron but flesh and blood — even his eyes don’t move. A woman is dressed in traditional flounced Spanish dress. A jazz band sets feet tapping; the musicians grin as coppers are tossed into a battered hat. Men jump half to their feet as they offer to paint the portraits of passersby. An old man with teeth missing shows off the little models he has fashioned out of knotted reeds.
The exuberance on the island carries undertones of relief. While the reigns of Hitler and Mussolini ended with the Allied victory in World War II Franco’s military dictatorship extended its grasp for nearly four decades. Many Spaniards can remember him. And says our taxi driver “There are still people in the mainland who think he was a good man.”
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