George Mathias
A FESTIVAL which promotes Catalan language is to return to Mallorca this summer after a nine-year hiatus on the penultimate weekend of April.
The event, known as correllengua criss-crosses 25 municipalities across Mallorca with a symbolic torch passed between some 5,000 participants over a stretch of 200km.
President of Joves de Mallorca per la Llengua, Pau Emili Muñoz said: “We call on all Mallorcans to take up the ‘flame’ and run in favor of our language, so that it continues to be present in all areas of daily life.”
The event begins on April 22 with an opening ceremony in Palma’s Plaza de Cort.
A host of high-ranking public officials will open the ceremony, including president of the Consell de Mallorca, Catalina Cladera, the mayor of Palma, Jose Hila and the rector of the university of the Balaerics, Jaume Carot.
Afterwards, a torch which represents ‘the vitality of the Catalan language’ will begin its journey, passing from volunteer to volunteer.
Photo: creative commons licence.
On the first day, the torch will travel through Marratxi, Santa Maria, Consell, Alaro, Binissalem, Lloseta, Inca, Campanet and Sa Pobla, where there will be a concert and a correfoc (fire run). On April 23, it will be passed from Pollenca to Alcudia, Alaro, Llubi, Maria de la Salut, Petra, Sant Joan, Montuïri finally arriving in Algaida, where a fiesta will be held.
The event was first held in 1995 but has not taken place since 2013 due to lack of government support.
The Catalan language has become a political flashpoint in recent years, last month the government of Mallorca signed into law a controversial new decree which allows for schools to have greater autonomy over which language of instruction they use.
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