The giants of Mallorca are said by their secretary to be engaged in "open war" with the Council of Mallorca because of lack of funding and the Council's attempts to "privatise" its own giants.
"We are always the forgotten ones of culture," says Antoni Oliver of the Manacor giants, while the president of the Balearics giants association, Joan Méndez (Calvia giants), believes the Council is attacking cultural folklore.
The giants and the Council have been at loggerheads for some weeks, the association now having made public its discontent with the Council's failure to provide financial support despite its expressions of commitment. "Seven months ago, a line of aid was agreed upon, and we are still waiting for a response or a meeting between both parties."
Oliver explains that the Council approved the inclusion of financial provision for the island's giants in the annual budget. This was as a result of a motion from an opposition party, El Pi. He adds: "We do this out of love for culture, and we often pay out of our own pockets. We just demand institutional support for what we do voluntarily. It's not enough to show off at events and take photos. If the Council and its president, Llorenç Galmés, claim to support their own culture, they must demonstrate it with actions."
The Council's culture department says the approved amount could not be included in this year's budget due to "technical problems" but insists "there is a commitment so that it can be implemented next year".
Méndez and Oliver have denounced an attempt to "privatise the management of the Council's giants". The presidency's office made a call for proposals to manage the institution's giants that was valued at €50,000 per annum. They say a company applied for this but later withdrew, adding that the association had offered to manage these giants. The Council has confirmed this did "fall through".
On May 31 there was a gathering of giants in Manacor. The Council's giants took part but with a one-day contract with a company, something that the association was highly critical of.
* The first documented evidence of giants in Mallorca's culture goes back to the Corpus Christi procession in Soller in 1630.