It is a fair question to ask why those struggling with poverty in Mallorca, or anywhere else, should devote thought or energy to art, music, or politics, when daily life may be dominated by more immediate concerns such as food, shelter, and employment.
If you live in parts of the world where your function in life is to walk miles each day to collect water from the well, do you care about music? When you arrive in a safe place such as Mallorca and exist on grants and asylum handouts, can you afford 30 euros to attend a concert in a Church in Soller? Absolutely not, and you wouldn’t even think about it.
The priorities of life mean that everything else is way down the list. Many of my friends, originally from Eastern Europe, laugh at themselves for their ‘make do and mend’ culture. Not for them to throw away a machine which isn’t functioning but try and mend is the first priority.
This all creates such a divided society on this island where the rich think nothing of spending their wealth. Theatre, opera, concerts, art exhibitions followed by dinner in fine restaurants is normal for them.
The children of the struggling migrants, who arrived with nothing, begin to break the mould as their experiences differ from their parents. Even they are still very conscious of being extremely careful with money. They have no desire to revisit the poverty of their early childhood.
However, these aspects of life are not merely luxuries for the affluent; they hold significant value for everyone, including those in less privileged circumstances. Art, music and politics have always played a vital role in human society, offering comfort, inspiration, and a sense of belonging. For the poor in Mallorca, engaging is very important but meaningless if they are hungry and can’t afford the ticket.
While the daily pressures of poverty cannot be underestimated, art, music, and politics offer more than distraction or entertainment. They are essential threads in the social fabric, providing hope, connection, and the means to effect change.
The challenge to a caring society is how to bring people in from the margins of life, to be able to take their rightful place. We cannot continue to exclude those who can’t afford the ticket…
