The Consell de Mallorca celebrates the ninth edition of the Lighting of towers, talaies and talayots on the island, which is extended to other cities in Spain and Mediterranean countries.
96 towers, talaies and talayots have been lit up in Mallorca this Saturday for human rights. The Consell de Mallorca celebrates the ninth edition of the lighting of heritage elements on the island with the participation of other cities in Spain and other Mediterranean countries, such as Catalonia, Aragon, Valencia, Murcia, Andalusia, Morocco, Lebanon and Tunisia.
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A total of 96 towers, talaies and talayots have been lit up in Mallorca this Saturday for human rights
This ninth edition was held this Saturday, 25th January, in two sessions: the first one at 1 p.m. and the second one at 6.30 p.m. This year 96 points from all over Mallorca took part, a figure that represents 15% more participation than last year.
The vice-president of the Consell de Mallorca and councillor for Culture and Heritage, Antònia Roca, opened the event. Roca assured that the Consell de Mallorca will continue to organise this initiative, which aims to raise awareness and sensitise the population about the humanitarian tragedy being experienced in the Mediterranean: ‘Thousands of people are forced to flee their countries of origin, risking their lives in dangerous journeys by sea, in the hope of finding a better future. The lighting of towers, talaies and talaiots is a way of shedding light on the plight of all those who risk or lose their lives in the Mediterranean’. In addition, the Vice-President stressed that this initiative also aims to ‘recover the towers, talayots, talayots and fortifications as historical and cultural heritage existing in all the territories of the Mediterranean’.
This year, Amnesty International was responsible for drafting the manifesto that was read out before the simultaneous lighting of the 96 points that recreated the visual communication that once took place between the watchtowers, when they were a means of self-defence and which, with this action, have become beacons of welcome that show the way of arrival for those who sail the Mediterranean in search of a better life.
In recent years, the event has gained momentum and more and more places are taking part. Apart from all the Balearic Islands -Mallorca, Menorca, Ibiza and Formentera-, other territories such as Catalonia, Aragon, the Valencian Community and Andalusia have been added, as well as countries in North Africa and the Middle East. This growth has been possible thanks to the participation of different sectors of the public, town councils, private companies, civil society organisations and the academic world.
The initiative arose in Mallorca in 2016, when a group of teachers from the Marratxí Secondary School and the Balearic Mathematics Society SBM-EQUIS took action to make the visual connection between the towers possible again on the occasion of the commemoration of the 4th centenary of the death of Joan Baptista Binimelis, mathematician and author of the system of fire and smoke signals that was used from the 17th century onwards.
The initial reason for this event, therefore, was the historical recreation, for one day, of the visual communication function of these cultural heritage elements. Finally, given the current situation of migration, it was also decided to reflect on this problem and to imagine that the fire and smoke from the towers on the day of the lighting were the light showing the way to a safe harbour.