February 2nd (yesterday) was the anniversary of Antoni Maria Alcover i Sureda, also known as Mossèn (father) Alcover. He was born in Manacor, 146 years ago, in 1862. Mossèn Alcover is an illustrious son of Mallorca’s second biggest city, Manacor, for being important in the history of the Catalan language. Senyor Alcover published a dictionary of the Catalan-Valencian-Balearic languages, amongst other books. His bust graces the Plaça Ramon Llull, in the heart of Manacor, where extracts of his work were read in his honour, yesterday.

Rei Jaume I was also remembered yesterday, in Mallorca and beyond. The King’s birthday was February 2nd, 1208, and the octocentenary of his birth will be celebrated in Mallorca, in the Balearic Islands and in Catalonia, throughout this year. More about him some other time.

The photo was taken in Manacor, Mallorca, Spain. The date: February 2nd, 2008. The time was 12:23:27.