Social life
Family and habitat.
As in Spain in general, the family is a very important concept in the archipelago. The children are the kings, but the elders, who are often highly respected, instil certain values in them. On the whole, the family structure is still traditional and it is not uncommon to see several generations living together under the same roof. Young people, even when they are working, sometimes stay with their parents until they get married (and then they get married). In many family businesses, everyone has a place, whether in service companies or restaurants. Skills are passed down from generation to generation, as are first names: the eldest child is usually given the name of the father or mother, or the grandparents. And if it is not directly taken from the family tree, as in mainland Spain, religion still has a great influence on the choice of names. There are many Maria, Jesús or Jose, although English-sounding names tend to multiply, and tourism is no doubt responsible for this.In the Balearic Islands, the typical accommodation is called a finca. It is generally made of very thick walls to avoid too much heat in summer and to protect against the winter cold. The finca
is traditionally organised around the main room, housing a fireplace that was once also used as an oven and was placed right next to the sink. The roof remains flat, which allows the construction of new rooms in case of births. Mostly located in the countryside, more and more owners have recently transformed their traditional dwellings into charming agrotourism hotels.The place of women in Balearic society. Along with the great political and cultural revolution of the post-dictatorship period, the situation of women has changed considerably. Before the fall of Franco's regime, women were assigned to the three C's: the kitchen, the kids
and the priest. Nowadays, most of them live relatively late with their parents, are much better educated than their mothers and therefore marry later (the average age of first marriage has risen from 24 to 30 in one generation). As childcare facilities and family support policies are still almost non-existent today, women are much less likely to be found in the highest professional positions. Their activity rate is nevertheless increasing by an average of one point per year, even though the wage gap between men and women remains very wide.However, Zapatero's Spanish government was an example of parity, with a total of 7 women among the 15 ministers, including Carme Chacón, who held the post of Minister of Defence from 2008 to 2011, and was appointed minister when she was seven months pregnant! A parity that is no longer present in the government put in place by Mariano Rajoy in November 2011: 4 women ministers out of 13 members, although it should be noted that it is a woman, Soraya Sáenz de Santa María, who holds the post of Vice-President. In the municipal elections of May 2015, two women, Ada Colau and Manuela Carmena, were elected to head Barcelona and Madrid respectively. That same year, the first woman was also elected president of the Autonomous Community of the Balearic Islands in the person of Francina Armengol.
The average fertility rate is 1.37 children per woman and the average age for the first child is 31. In 2014, a bill threatening the right to abortion (except in two very specific cases...) had triggered strong opposition nationally, internationally and even within the PP. It was finally withdrawn that same year. In 2015, however, Mariano Rajoy passed a law banning abortion for minors without parental consent. It was passed by the Senate in 2015. On the LGTBQ side, the gay community is very present in Ibiza, a paradise for partying and extravagance. On the contrary, deep in the lands of Majorca and Minorca, mentalities are often more closed. Ibiza remains the real Eldorado for the gay community from all over Europe. Same-sex marriage has been legal in Spain since 2005.Traditions and celebrations
The inhabitants of the Balearic Islands, certainly thanks to their geographical isolation, have managed to preserve their traditions. The liturgical calendar has long been the unifying element of the social life of the inhabitants of the archipelago. Very often, the festivities celebrate a particular saint. It is during these events that the majority of the villagers gathered in the parishes. For the occasion, the young people dress up in their best clothes and the festivities continue in the streets or in the family sphere of private homes, with games, dances and popular songs. It is also an opportunity to get together with friends, neighbors and, of course, family. The festivities of the liturgical calendar have lasted until today and the people of the Balearic Islands remain very attached to their age-old traditions, despite the arrival of tourism in the second half of the twentieth century. It is during the popular festivals that the inhabitants revive these ancestral rites.
Specificities for each island. The Festeig, celebrated in Ibiza, is a very elaborate way of wooing a lady and quite outdated at present. Some of their dances, still in honor, are among the oldest in Spain. The inhabitants of Ibiza also preserve their instruments: the flute, the drum and the castagnoles - castanets of about 15 cm length - are played by the men. The men's costume, white shirt and pants, sometimes black jacket, large red beret falling to the side (like a rooster's crest), is less diversified than that of the women. The women have maintained the tradition while innovating in the color of the scarves. The festive clothes - especially the white ones - are magnificent, decorated in the front with a beautiful ornament attached to the shoulders(s'emprendada). Men and women wear the same espardenyes, the local version of espadrilles. Folklore lovers can enjoy these dances in Sant Josep, Sant Miquel, Santa Eulària, Sant Agustí and in most of the villages during the patronal celebrations. One of the oldest traditions in Mallorca is the singing of the Sybil, which has been declared Intangible Cultural Heritage by UNESCO. Sung in all the churches of the island during the midnight mass on December 24, it has preserved its essence through the centuries and is passed on from generation to generation. During popular celebrations in Menorca, such as Sant Joan (June 24), the purebred Menorcan horse is the protagonist. The riders parade and jump the horses to the rhythm of the music, much to the delight of the spectators. The equestrian world plays a very important role in the daily life of the island's inhabitants. Formentera's most important festival is Sant Jaume, in honor of the island's patron saint. All the island's inhabitants go to Sant Francesc on July 25 for the celebration.
Traditional festivals in the Pityuses. The Ball Pagès is the traditional dance of the Pityuses, which differs from Mallorca and Menorca, where Spanish dances such as the fandango or the bolero have developed. During the Ball Pagès, men and women are dressed in traditional clothes. The women wear long dresses, are adorned with jewelry and have their hair covered with a veil. The men are usually dressed in white and black, their waist tightly bound with a wide red belt, a red cap falling on their head. Men and women wear the same espardenyes, the local version of espadrilles. The dances are set to the rhythm of traditional instruments: castanets, flute, drum, and xeremia. Cantades and caramelles complete the musical folklore of the Pityuses Islands. The cantades, narrative songs - with rhymes - elaborated according to the technique of the cantar redoblat, were also practiced during festive days, among neighbors and family, usually in a private setting. The cantades, which sing of love and personal stories, are still practiced by a few enthusiasts or during local festivities. The caramelles de Nadal are typical religious songs from Ibiza and Formentera, which are sung in churches at Christmas mass and Easter Sunday. Castanets, espasi - a typical Balearic instrument in the shape of a sword - flute and drums give rhythm to the music. These traditional compositions have been declared "property of cultural interest" in 2005.
Ibiza, temple of electronic music. In a completely different register, the huge parties that were born in Ibiza are nowadays also part of the "folklore" of the Balearics. The music scene in Ibiza is famous throughout the world for its clubs with a frenzied atmosphere, temples of electronic music. In the 1960s, when the hippies landed in this little corner of paradise, the history of tourism on the island, and more broadly in the Balearic Islands, was still to be written, far from the current clichés of an Ibiza engulfed by mass tourism. At that time there were no clubs in Ibiza and the first important parties were held in large traditional fincas. This was the case of the famous Pacha, which opened its doors in 1973 in a finca. It was so successful that nightclubs soon flourished on the island and with them, in the 1980s and 1990s, the great experiments of the techno movement and electronic beats, which are still going on today.
