Curator’s memories of a deserted Calvia

RENOWNED curator and resident of Palmanova, Calvia, Ferran Cano, is well known for his role with gallery ‘4 Gats’ in Palma and Barcelona.

Now, he has spoken to a Spanish newspaper about his memories of the town which is a mecca for holidaymakers and party goers from across Europe: “The first time I came was when I was seven or eight-years-old. There were no paved roads, no highways. There was a pier used for fishing. It was idyllic. As the largest beach in Santa Ponsa, it was all pine forest.”

Today, more than 50,000 people live in Calvia but when Cano first visited there few houses had no proper electricity supply: “Despite all, it was a paradise. It was elitist. But not in the sense that millionaires live. What happens is that there was no mass tourism. There were very few tourists then.”

He recalled how mass tourism began in the 1970’s in Calvia and Magaluf with the creation of hotels: “I remember with sadness, but also with unconsciousness. There was a view that tourism was going to save everyone. Do not forget that Mallorca was poor.”