Following the Palma town hall announcement that renovation of Plaça Mercat will include the Alaska Bar-Kiosk, a Change.org petition was raised calling for the bar's spirit to be maintained.
'Salvem l’Alaska', Save the Alaska, was the idea of graphic designer Toni Sorell. He had set a target of 1,500 signatures, and by Monday evening this was close to being realised - 1,344 signatures had been received.
Calling for the preservation of the bar, which first opened in 1936, he says: "It is an emblematic place in the centre of Palma. It's not just an open-air bar. It is and has been an informal meeting place for several generations of Mallorcans. It is part of our collective memory, of our graphic heritage with its wonderful signs."
Sorell believes that the town hall wants to destroy everything. Accepting that the bar's concession expired long ago (2007) and that it must be adapted to legality, "there is nothing that with will, a good project and a lot of love (yes, love) which is impossible".
The petition states: "The reconstruction that is intended to be carried out can never match the original ... . We therefore ask Palma town hall to reconsider the project so as not to take another step in the destruction of the city's identity. We don't want a perfect city, how boring ... Save the Alaska!"