The First PechaKucha Palma de Mallorca

14 June 2019

A Sense of Place #

Our very first PechaKucha Night - PechaKucha Palma de Mallorca Vol. 1 - was a resounding success! Great thanks go out to Rosalinda Much, our producer, and to the hardworking volunteer organizers, Affordable Mallorca’s team plus our friends and family. This simply could not have been as dynamic, inspiring and heartwarming without everyone’s collaboration.

Rosalinda Much PechaKucha Night

What is PechaKucha? #

The word is Japanese and means “chitchat”, and is a presentation format that is more like meeting someone in a café for a quick introduction rather than trying to impress someone for hours. Rosalinda combined an extraordinary group of people, each with dynamic expressions of creativity. PechaKucha was created in 2003 by Astrid Klein and Mark Dytham, architects from Tokyo with focus is on Creativity. PechaKucha Nihgts are now held in 1100plus cities. They established a slide presentation format that allows for each presenter to show 20 slides timed at 20 second intervals. The purpose is to activate community – which is exactly what Affordable Mallorca is all about. We are a bridge between the Expats and the Locals – appreciating everything from both communities, knowing that Mallorca’s strength resides with our respect of the people who call this island their home.

Weaving native born Mallorquins who left the island for school or work only to come back home – Catalina Florit, Joan Aguilo and my friend, Joan Valent - with creative minds from the Spanish mainland - Antonio Morales and Antonio Gil - and members of the expat community, Clémence Dumont and François Constanty of France, Sérafine Klarwein of Germany, Jorge Estevez of Chile and Clea Elvin of Sweden, we watched a bridge being built between two worlds.

A few highlights: #

  • The Rising Power of Women | Powerful women led us as we heard the 2019 Best Actress of the Balearics Catalina Florit embrace her authentic power through her words, “I have the confidence in what I am doing and the understanding of why I am doing it." Clémence Dumont showed us how she uses positive energy to create her artwork made from found objects. 12-year old Cleo Elvin show us how she handles bullies at her school. We were witnessing the rising power of women here on the island in the arts, businesses and government.
  • The PechaKucha Palma de Mallorca Vol. 1 Poster | Rosalinda Much designed the poster by using Joan Aguilo’s mural of a mother and child – an image he has painted on a doorway in Palma and, in a variation, on a building in Barcelona. Out of over 100 posters, ours took "Poster of the Week" by PKN HQ. This is a wonderful tribute to the powerful imagery of Aguilo. Since this was our first PechaKucha Palma de Mallorca, we offered a poster to each of our guests and presenters signed on after the event. If you would like one, we have a few extras and would be happy to share one with you. Just send me an email here.
  • Instagram Ticket Winners | Affordable Mallorca held an Instagram contest and gave two tickets to the winners. We will continue awarding tickets to these and other events to expand our Affordable Mallorca community.
people mingling PechaKucha Night

Affordable Mallorca and Rosalinda Much introduced PechaKucha to Mallorca Zeitung and Diario de Mallorca – reaching the German and Spanish media channels. With Izzy Newman, of Radio One, attending with her daughter, the English-language community was covered.

This brings up a good point: about the language used for the presentations at the event. Mallorquin language is the Balearic dialect of Catalan. Many who live on and travel to Mallorca from over 128 countries are not well-versed in that language. When PechaKucha was created in Tokyo, the HQ decided to hold the first event in English, as an international language that connects cultures and nationalities. Since PechaKucha Mallorca has been held in Catalan and not wanting to compete with the City Organizer Maria Ramis, we decided to hold the event in English – forgoing translations in an effort not to offend someone whose language may not be represented.

This doesn’t mean that we do not hold an absolute respect for Mallorquins. Expats’ lives are richer for being immersed in everything Mallorca – learning to converse in Spanish so that your local post office, bank or ‘farmacia’ knows you are making an effort to respect the local ways means being a part of the community. Eating the authentic food from the countryside is a treat. Trekking the mountains in search of herbs and mushrooms, swimming in the sea, attending community meetings - - all these actions establish you as a member of the place where you live. We are privileged to be here but we do not dominate this place.

Joan Aguiló captured the essence of PechaKucha Palma Vol. 1 A Sense of Place when he said “I can contribute to my community… creating a new place where people can feel reflected to talk about who and how we are. And, finally, how we want to be."

Below, you’ll find links to the presentations on our YouTube page, links for PechaKucha Palma de Mallorca social media channels and to the PKN Palma de Mallorca website. Please help us attract others as we work toward a more cohensive and supportive creative community here in the Balearics.

PechaKucha Night

The Next PechaKucha Palma de Mallorca Event #

Our next event is scheduled for 24 September in Palma. The focus is on Harvest. I believe strongly in the old adage, “You reap what you sow.” We’ll see how people plant seeds, literally and figuratively, then we’ll watch presentations of their works being driven by passion to manifest a creative expression. We hope that you are pleasantly surprised by our selection of presenters. I hope you will join us.

Follow PechaKuchaPalmaDeMallorca on Instagram

Like PechaKucha Palma on Facebook

Discover the amazing presentations on our Youtube Channel

More information about PechaKucha Palma on www.pechakuchapalma.com

14 June, 2019

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