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Jam-packed programme for Formentera's tribute to patron saint Jaume

Ballada pagesa santjaume2016 02 elena marcoThe Formentera Council's Office of Culture announced today its bill of activities to celebrate the island's patron saint, Sant Jaume. Commemoration runs July 18 to 29, with an assorted activities programme which culture, education and patrimony councillor Susana Labrador expects will “put locals and tourists in touch with traditional culture”. Referring to the day by its name in Catalan, Labrador highlighted “numerous performances to make sure absolutely everybody has a very happy Diada de Formentera”.

Cultural programming
Sant Francesc will slip on a festive veneer for the festivities. The programme kicks off Tuesday, June 18 with the opening of «Els pelegrins», an exhibition from Michel Mouffé at the municipal gallery and sa Tanca Vella. Later, in Jardí de ses Eres, the César-winning film Mañana/Demain will be shown as part of Cinema a la Fresca, an outdoor film series.

On Thursday, June 20, comes the final stage production of Espai_F's «Nautae». The show débuted June 3 as the final instalment of a trilogy that produced, in 2012, «Cap de Tortuga» followed by 2016's «Perdius».

Official ceremony
As in years past, the administration's official Diada celebration includes a salute to the evening's honourees. This year's is scheduled for July 24 at 8.30pm in the municipal cinema. For Councillor Labrador, “this year's ceremony is even more special” because it overlaps with the ten-year anniversary of the Formentera Council's constitution.

Activities for children and teens
On Monday afternoon, July 24, musical group The Penguins will put on a family-friendly show they're calling «Reggae per a xics» (Reggae for tots), channeling island influences as they rework old classics.

Children are invited to an afternoon of arts, crafts and fun with flowers called «Prepara’t per la Flower», on Wednesday, June 19, in the Marià Villangómez library. Then, on Saturday the 22nd, Jardí de ses Eres plays host to an ample array of activities tuned for children and teens. They'll feature creative, hands-on workshops, fitness activities and costume and make-up prep for the big Flower bash.

This year, young music fans have got something brand new to look forward to as Rap Culture presents Nit de Rap, an evening of hip-hop in Sant Francesc's plaça de la Constitució. Dual Tod, Fabian, d'Versus and Juan Vidal perform.

Speaking about this year's Sant Jaume commemorations, Labrador underscored the role of input from young people at the youth council's most recent plenary session.

Sports activities
It wouldn't be a patron saint celebration without sports on the bill, which is why from July 21 to 23, Formentera will host a tennis and paddle tennis tournament and, later that week, a demo from children in the island's summer synchronised swimming programme.

Music and concerts (July 22-25)
Every year Sant Jaume celebrations get their dose of music and this year's are no different. Labrador beamed about a special Sunday night edition of Jazz in the Square, encouraging concertgoers to “start getting excited about guitarist Josep Munar and singer/saxophonist Eva Fernández”. The latter is an up-and-comer on the Catalan jazz scene recognised for her work in multi-instrumentalist Joan Chamorro's Sant Andreu Jazz Band. Saturday, July 22, is time for the talked-about Flower Formentera. Crowds on Monday will enjoy the strings and brass arrangements of the symphonic Brossa Quartet layered over Mallorca-bred Maika Makowski's magnetic vocals. Old champions of alternative and psychedelic pop, Sidonie,come next, followed by the Jamaican-inflected rhythms of The Penguins Band.

For the commemoration's centrepiece, la Nit (“the eve”) of Sant Jaume, tourists and residents will be treated to the hometown sounds of Pityusic neighbours Ressonadors, the project of Eivissa-natives Joan Barbé and Omar Gisbert. Then, back on stage to celebrate 25 years making music, it's the Formentera pop-rock outfit Spioks. Wrapping things up are Blues Mafia i es Saligardos, whose sound draws on the influences of the Blues Brothers Band.

Councillor Labrador thanked sponsors Trasmapi for supporting the Sant Jaume festivities as a launchpad for local cultural programming. This year, the company is offering festivalgoers discounts on trips to the island. Riders should indicate their plans to attend Sant Jaume events when purchasing their ferry tickets.

Organising the Sant Jaume festivities costs €50,000.

Palma hopes construction of Formentera museum under way before end of legislative session

Reunio museuFormentera Council chairman Jaume Ferrer and culture councillor Susana Labrador, plus regional cultural minister Fanny Tur and representatives of Fundació Sa Nostra, met today in the conference call of the CiF Office of Culture for a gathering of the top members of a foundation that seeks to create a museum and cultural centre on the island.

After the event, Chairman Ferrer expressed his satisfaction that the board was renewing its efforts. The aim, he said, is to make the Formentera museum a reality. According to Ferrer, meeting attendees were united behind the goal of “reactivating the museum project”.

Sa Nostra handed over the lot that sits opposite Sant Francesc's old cemetery to the museum's foundation; the land must now be registered on behalf of the group. Early plans have already been drafted, said Ferrer, but are awaiting tweaks to align the project with the island's urban land use guidelines.

Ferrer, who said he was “happy” to see so much political will to cooperate on the Palma administration's side, voiced hopes that “the Govern's upcoming budgets include funding for the project”.

Museu de Formentera is a commitment the Govern must take responsibility for,” said the regional minister, referring to the project's name in Catalan, “and that's exactly what we are doing”. She hopes the project will “gain enough momentum during the current legislative session that we have no choice but to follow it through to completion”.

In the coming weeks another meeting of board members will be convened to ensure work on the project continues. Founded in April 2007, the museum foundation's board had met only once before today, in February 2008.

Torre des Pi des Català restoration nabs European Award for Architectural Heritage Intervention's special mention

Torre des pi des catala retalladaLocal architect Marià Castelló's project to restore Es Pi des Català defence tower, an initiative that moved forward thanks to backing from the Formentera Council, garnered the European Award for Architectural Heritage Intervention's special mention. A distinction given by the Col·legi Oficial d'Arquitectes de Catalunya (COAC), the Agrupació d'Arquitectes per la Defensa i la Intervenció del Patrimoni Arquitectònic (AADIPA) and the Generalitat de Catalunya, Catalunya's regional government, the honour was bestowed in a ceremony that took place yesterday afternoon at the COAC's head office. A panel of jurors credited Castelló with “precision, simplicity and effectiveness” in his delivery of the remodel.

CiF president Jaume Ferrer and patrimony councillor Susana Labrador congratulated Castelló on the honour. According to Labrador, praise for the project's respectful treatment of the Es Pi des Català heritage site was “particularly exciting since the Council's goal, from the start, was to preserve the tower as an essential feature of local heritage and make sure everyone who wanted to could enjoy it”.

First prize went to another project dealing with man-made buildings as patrimony: the conversion of Convento das Bernardas, in Tavira (Portugal), by architect Eduardo Souto de Moura. One of the world's leading lights in terms of architecture, Souto de Moura received the Pritzker prize (architecture's equivalent of the Nobel) in 2011.

On completion in 2016, Es Pi des Català tower became Formentera's first defence tower equipped to receive visits. It is open on Saturdays 10.00am to 1.00pm.

Balearic symphonic orchestra, Maria del Mar Bonet put in at Formentera

Maria del mar bonetThe Formentera Council's Office of Culture has reported that at 9.30pm on June 16, the Orquestra Simfònica de les Illes Balears will stage a special concert in Es Pujols' plaça d'Europa. Not only is the Orquestra expected to interpret a diverse repertoire, but also, during their performance they will be joined by singer Maria del Mar Bonet. The Council has made every effort to insure the evening's success, said culture councillor Susana Labrador, quipping that the administration's backing, both material or personal, was “all part of making sure the concert is a smash”. She also tipped her hat to the Govern balear's ministry of culture for bringing the orchestra to each of the Balearic Islands, in general, and to Formentera, in particular.

Devoted to reaching every strata of society in the region they represent, the Orquestra Simfònica de les Illes Balears are conscious of the role music plays in shaping—and linking—communities. The day before, the Orquestra will hold a concert in Eivissa's Reina Sofia park.

The concert bill includes three overtures—to Mozart's Les Noces de Fígaro, Verdi's la Força del Destí and Bizet's Carmen—and the intermezzo to Luis Alonso's Les Noces. A distinguished artist and composer in the region, del Mar Bonet will punctuate the Orquestra's performances with her own interventions. The concert marks the artist's fiftieth year as a singer.

School of music and dance hosts year-end festival

The Formentera Council's centre for music and dance will hold its eighteenth “Festival de música i dansa” this Saturday, June 10. At 8.30pm in the municipal cinema, 130 students of dance, instruments, traditional music, band and polyphonic choir will offer audiences a taste of their work in 2016-2017.

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