Sineu Pinkout! Tourism promotion, political conflict and festive regeneration in rural Mallorca

Abstract

In this article, we propose to analyse the role of tourism promotion in the social and political conflict in the rural municipality of Sineu (Mallorca) between 2013 and 2014 with respect to the celebration of the festivities in honour of their patron saint. In this sense, we emphasize that the emergent festival of La Mucada proposed by young left-wingers has meant a ritual and performative practice of de-essentialization of the tourist “otherness” as defended by the right-wing authorities. At the same time, the inclusive nature of the new festivity and local identity has facilitated tourist participation and integration into the process of political change. This shows that tourism plays a central role in local political conflicts, beyond strict diametrically opposed stances of for or against, and can be an element of symbolic power to be conquered by various different social and political actors.