Mallorca everywhere: The island's connections around the world

A journey through some of the traces, links and curiosities that show Mallorca’s presence extends far beyond its shores

From Port de Sóller to Samaná

Photo: Grupo Piñero.

A statue of Christ of the Sacred Heart of Jesus from the church of Sant Ramon de Penyafort in Port de Sóller has travelled more than 6,000 kilometres to the Caribbean. The image is now housed in the Church of the Holy Spirit in Los Cacaos, Samaná (Dominican Republic), which was inaugurated with the support of the Piñero family in a festive event attended by hundreds of local residents. Also present were Isabel García Lorca, president and co-founder of Grupo Piñero, and Isabel Piñero, president of the Family Council. The piece, donated by the Sóller church, thus creates a new spiritual and fraternal bond between the two shores of the Atlantic.

La Ensaimada is also a hit in San Pedro (Buenos Aires)

In 1998, Pablo Castillo opened the café La Ensaimada in San Pedro (Buenos Aires), which over time has become a local landmark for this Mallorcan pastry. The recipe was given to him by Elena Barceló, a native of Palma, and he refined it together with Juan Roig, a pioneer of the ensaimada in a region shaped by immigration from the island. Over the years, he also adapted it to local tastes, using less lard than in the original, a version he says he is “proud” of. Today, they make them filled with homemade custard, dulce de leche or mixed, the option most in demand. Several Mallorcans have tried them and, Castillo says, some have told him they like them “just as much as, or even more than, those from Mallorca”. In 2003, the café made the largest ensaimada in the world, a challenge he had been thinking about since the mid-1990s.

A trace of the island in the Philippines

Photo: Google maps.

The 300 years of Spanish presence in the Philippines have left a deep cultural legacy, visible in the language, gastronomy and place names. An example is the barangay (village) of Mallorca, located in the municipality of San Leonardo, in the province of Nueva Ecija, on the island of Luzon. This populous community, established in 1896, two years before the Philippines gained independence from Spain, now has more than 9,000 inhabitants.

Photo: Architect of the Capitol.

What do Fra Juníper Serra and Ronald Reagan have in common? Both hold a place of honour in the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C. Their statues form part of the National Statuary Hall Collection, where each state pays tribute to two of its “distinguished citizens”. California chose the friar from Petra for his contribution to the founding of the missions which, in time, gave rise to cities such as San Diego and Santa Clara, and Reagan for having served as the state’s governor. Serra’s bronze sculpture is the work of the Italian-American artist Ettore Cadorin and has been part of the collection since 1931.

A nod to Mallorca in the heart of Melbourne

Photo: Verticali.

On Flinders Lane, one of the most iconic streets in central Melbourne, stands the Majorca Building, inaugurated in 1930. Designed by Harry Norris, it is notable for its Spanish- and Moorish-inspired architecture, an exotic style that was highly fashionable at the time. The building was commissioned by brothers Alfred and George Nicholas, who were born in Majorca, Victoria, a town that emerged during the 19th-century gold rush. The town’s name is linked to the presence of Spanish miners and to the use of European place names such as Gibraltar.