'Mallorca profunda', explains geographer and writer Climent Picornell, is a concept that was invented by the people of Palma to refer to a Mallorca that was once rural. Places on the island associated with this tag are in the interior - Lloret de Vistalegre, Montuïri, Petra, for example. Rural life clearly still continues in villages and small towns categorised as forming this deep or profound Mallorca, but Picornell says: "Now it's not so much like that anymore. A profound change has taken place."
Picornell himself lives in one of these places, Sant Joan, where one of three presentations of his latest book, 'Paisatges minvants', will be held. This examines the Mallorca profunda, he admitting that the book has turned out to be rather more nostalgic than he had intended.
"I didn't want to write an alarmist book. What we see now isn't a disaster, but there are the large villas built by foreigners and small plots of land with caravans and plastic swimming pools. The new inhabitants complain about the foul smells spread by farmers, the cowbells, the ringing of church bells.
He points to a rural interior that has undergone demographic change. "North Africans working in the fields or in construction, South Americans caring for our elderly, and wealthy Nordic people. Young Mallorcan couples are also arriving, more so with dogs than with children, trying to rent a house. Buying one is out of the question. The change isn't just demographic, but also cultural, with different ways of seeing the world while respecting local traditions."
He believes that Mallorca profunda is losing all meaning. Nevertheless, he accepts that there is still a critical mass that maintains traditions and customs as well as a language that is more vibrant than in Palma or the coastal areas. "It's true that there are young people who keep the flame of culture alive. The island's inland places are becoming true bastions of Mallorcan culture, and the best thing is that they maintain the will and determination to be so."
The change, he argues, has been caused indirectly by tourism. "Holiday homes and inland hotels are proliferating, a sign of an activity that is no longer exclusive to the coast and has spread throughout the island. However, this inland tourism has nothing to do with tourist apartments in Palma - illegal apartments. These steal homes from the market, contribute to raising prices, and cause disturbance.
Nostalgia there may be in his book, but there are things he doesn't miss, such as the corrupt power of 'caciquismo'. "Very old people may miss some things, but most would never wish to relive those times of hardship and penury, sometimes of absolute misery."