A lovely Saturday evening in the Playa de Palma but while there were no sharks in the sea, there were plenty along the seafront. The primary con game was being played along the Playa de Palma promenade, a Shell Game, known locally in Spanish as El Trile. The people who run this scam are called trileros. While it may look like a simple street game, it is a highly organised operation designed to take money from tourists.
How the Game Works
The Setup: A “dealer” shuffles three cups, nutshells, or even half-potatoes on a makeshift table, hiding a small ball or pea under one.
The Accomplices: The dealer is always surrounded by several shills (accomplices) who pretend to be random tourists. They “win” large sums of money easily to make the game look beatable and encourage real tourists to join in.
The Trap: Once a real tourist bets, the dealer uses sleight of hand to ensure the ball is never under the chosen cup. In some cases, the ball is removed from the table entirely.
The “Lookouts”: Other members of the group watch for police and will alert the team to pack up and vanish in seconds if authorities approach.
But that is not all. The Playa de Palma is waking from its long winter slumber. And it is doing so at the end of April, building on the extended run of the early Easter holidays, with the ‘Opening’ of the season by the main entertainment venues acting as a draw for young people who take over the area and its hottest spots, such as the popular ‘Calle del Jamón’. This coincides with the peak of cycle tourism in Mallorca, which has one of its cradles there, with 98% of hotels open at this time of year.
The arrival of the new season brings with it a resurgence of old – and more numerous – problems that have plagued Playa de Palma over recent years, but which are particularly unnerving and cause concern amongst local residents, shopkeepers and even workers, who suffer directly or indirectly from the day-to-day reality of a Playa de Palma where the sun and high temperatures are raising the heat just a few weeks before the start of an event that will define the summer: the Football World Cup.
Once again, a sense of insecurity is emerging, both on the seafront and in the more secluded streets of Playa de Palma. Burglaries from cars and other vehicles, attempted break-ins at premises and homes, and a phenomenon such as squatting present in a quiet way... These are some of the situations that have remained latent throughout the winter, but which, with the start of the tourist season, are magnified and growing exponentially.
Similarly, thefts and assaults on tourists, particularly taking advantage of their high alcohol consumption or carelessness at cash machines. Prostitutionis right on the street and adds to the list of issues exacerbating the situation, in which certain figures essential to understanding this scene reappear: the con artists.
Street vendors and the illegal sale of football shirts and other merchandise, coupled with the presence of Nazi symbols (44, 88 or Führer) on the shirts, are a recurring feature, although in the latter case fewer and fewer people are seen wearing such garments, which are banned in Germany and Italy due to the political connotations surrounding them.
The consumption and sale of narcotic substances is also present and is nothing new on the streets of Playa de Palma, with tourists being the main attraction and their high consumption a factor that creates fertile ground for criminals, facilitating their access to potential victims. The combination of drugs and alcohol also leaves behind scenes that form part of the visual history of this part of Mallorca, whilst also being a potential source of violence and clashes.
Anecdotally, the Apple Maps app labelled the area of s’Arenal, in Playa de Palma, as Betrunkene (Drunks in German). Furthermore, the tourist area surrounding some well-known venues is listed under this curious name, which also appears in Apple’s weather app when referring to this location. A sign of the stigma that haunts the enclave. Furthermore, Google Maps lists the same area as Platja dels Borratxos (Beach of the Drunks) and a nearby street as Carrer dels Alemanys Borratxos (Street of the Drunken Germans).
They point to the dangerous presence of young Algerians and unaccompanied minors in the area, as well as other potential criminals from Eastern Europe (Romania, Bulgaria...), sub-Saharan Africans and, most notably, people of German nationality but originating from other countries, who dress in a way that allows them to go unnoticed amongst the rest of the tourists and act with greater impunity and recklessness.
Uncontrolled alcohol consumption in public spaces, with the resulting piling up of bottles, cans and other rubbish on pavements, on the low wall – which is being reinstalled in recent weeks – and on the beach itself, also mar the picture-postcard view of Playa de Palma as spring well and truly sets in, with numerous groups of young people dressed in the same attire making themselves noticed, either through chanting or using a megaphone. This litter does not help matters either, despite Emaya’s efforts to keep the beach and its surroundings clean and in good order.
Residents from various parts of Playa de Palma are calling for an increased police presence, noting the temporary closure for renovation works of the National Police station, which shares premises with the Local Police on Avenida América. They also miss the police’s presence and intervention, compounded by specific issues such as a lack of interpreters, which complicates proceedings involving detainees or complainants.
All of this results in noise, dirt and various acts of anti-social behaviour that are recurring yet again this year in an area striving to shake off that stereotypical image, but which goes further by directly affecting residents, who clearly point to a lack of safety as the main headache and consequence of this long list of problems that groups such as the Plataforma pel Consens a la Platja de Palma – which brings together 27 organisations of various kinds – or neighbourhood associations have repeatedly highlighted. Waiting for a solution that has failed to materialise over the years.