The large monument in Palma’s Plaça de Sa Feixina has been controversial for some time (see my blog entry dated January 25th, 2008). The huge column is a kind of cenotaph dedicated to the heroic mariners of the Crucero Baleares that was sunk in 1938 causing the death of 788 navy personnel, all part of the Spanish Guerra Civil and the Franco years. There were 435 survivors.

The monument is full of Franco insignia and nationalist jargon, including the victorious exclamation Viva España.

A few days ago the Palma city council took the decision not to pull the monument down as would have been possible and perhaps feasible according to the 2007 Ley de la Memoria Histórica. Instead, Aina Calvo and her consellers decided to remove all signs and inscriptions from the monument and in particular the enormous Falangist coat of arms. New dedications are to replace the old commemorations, paying tribute to all victims of all wars and, in particular, to all victims of the Spanish Civil War.

Work had already started yesterday with scaffolding being erected. The local association Memoria de Mallorca has lodged its protest against the decision to keep the monument and announced it no longer wanted to be a member of the Comisión de Toponimia del Ayuntamiento de Palma.

The dispute is not over yet.

The photo (top) was taken in Palma de Mallorca, Baleares, Spain. The date: February 2nd, 2010. The time was 11:41:59. The photo (bottom) was taken from the Internet. My thanks go to eBay.es and the book’s publishers, Editorial Naval.

Muchas gracias.