Episode Seven: INSULAR
Episode 7, Aug 31, 2020, 09:46 AM
As the island of Ibiza undergoes huge changes and transformations as a result of the Coronavirus pandemic, we explore what it means to close oneself off to the outside world, as Ibiza is currently doing: What is it to truly be, and 'feel' like an island?
We embark on this journey into Ibiza's closed, Insular nature at a very suitable location - the hermit's spring of Es Cubells, once home to the carmelite monk Francisco Palau i Quer, who spent prolongued periods meditating in isolation on the nearby uninhabited rock, Es Vedrà. From this enchanted spot, we contemplate the essence of Ibiza as an island that, up until the recent dawning of mass tourism and globalisation, looked inward, not outward....
We ponder on the insular, womb-like nature of Ibiza's traditional architecture, the casas payesas, and also the mysteries surrounding Es Culleram, the cave sanctuary to the goddess Tanit, discovered in the early 1900's. We visit the writings of Francisco Palau i Quer in which he recounted his mystic and religious visions on the island of Es Vedrà in the mid 1800's, and we meet the outspoken Hermana Gracia, one of the carmelite nuns who now runs the Es Cubells monastery.
There are some fascinating and sometimes harrowing stories of personal confinement on Ibiza, from recent history to the present day, as I try to unravel Ibiza's rapidly shifting social and cultural identity in light of the current pandemic.
....Is it really true that 'no man is an island'?
Mentioned/featuring in this episode:
- 'Baleares, confinada por mar y aire', 17th March 2020, Periodico de Ibiza
https://www.periodicodeibiza.es/noticias/baleares/2020/03/17/1149317/prohiben-desembarco-pasajeros-por-mar-vuelos-comerciales-baleares-algunas-excepciones.html
- 'The Psychic Environment', Rolph Blakstad, La Casa Eivissenca, 2009
- 'La Joyeria Ibicenca', Maria Lena Mateu Prats, 1984
- 'A Brief History of San Vicente', Emily Kaufmann, from 'The Road to San Vicente' published by Barbary Press, 1967
- Francisco Palau i Quer 'My Relations with the Church', 2000
- Many thanks to Nacho Sotomayer for granting me permission to feature his track 'Mosaic' (Francisco Sotomayor) from the album 'Noches de Encuentros: Alhambra Chill Out' released in 2003 by Sombra Records. https://nachosotomayor.com/
- Thank you to Karen Killeen, founder of Extinction Rebellion Ibiza, for providing the English language voice over for my interview with the nun, Hermana Gracia of the convent of Es Cubells, in Southwest Ibiza.
- 'Dope in the Age of Innocence,' Damien Enright, Liberties Press, 2010
- 'Eric-Jan Harmsen: «Tendría que haber muerto de coronavirus, pero no me han dejado morir»', Diario de Ibiza, 15th June, 2020
https://www.diariodeibiza.es/pitiuses-balears/2020/06/16/tendria-haber-muerto-coronavirus-han/1149543.html
- 'Retorno a Cayo Coco', Laura Ferrer Arrambarri, Noudiari, 2020
https://www.noudiari.es/2020/05/retorno-a-cayo-coco/
Written, presented and edited by Joanna Hruby, artist, puppeteer and founder of Theatre of the Ancients(www.theatreoftheancients.com)
Theme music: 'De Jo Et Vas Despediguent' by Uc (released by Produccions Blau, Mallorca)
Instagram: @wellsoftanit
Facebook: The Wells of Tanit
If you appreciate this podcast please leave us a review on Itunes as this helps the podcast reach a wider audience.
We embark on this journey into Ibiza's closed, Insular nature at a very suitable location - the hermit's spring of Es Cubells, once home to the carmelite monk Francisco Palau i Quer, who spent prolongued periods meditating in isolation on the nearby uninhabited rock, Es Vedrà. From this enchanted spot, we contemplate the essence of Ibiza as an island that, up until the recent dawning of mass tourism and globalisation, looked inward, not outward....
We ponder on the insular, womb-like nature of Ibiza's traditional architecture, the casas payesas, and also the mysteries surrounding Es Culleram, the cave sanctuary to the goddess Tanit, discovered in the early 1900's. We visit the writings of Francisco Palau i Quer in which he recounted his mystic and religious visions on the island of Es Vedrà in the mid 1800's, and we meet the outspoken Hermana Gracia, one of the carmelite nuns who now runs the Es Cubells monastery.
There are some fascinating and sometimes harrowing stories of personal confinement on Ibiza, from recent history to the present day, as I try to unravel Ibiza's rapidly shifting social and cultural identity in light of the current pandemic.
....Is it really true that 'no man is an island'?
Mentioned/featuring in this episode:
- 'Baleares, confinada por mar y aire', 17th March 2020, Periodico de Ibiza
https://www.periodicodeibiza.es/noticias/baleares/2020/03/17/1149317/prohiben-desembarco-pasajeros-por-mar-vuelos-comerciales-baleares-algunas-excepciones.html
- 'The Psychic Environment', Rolph Blakstad, La Casa Eivissenca, 2009
- 'La Joyeria Ibicenca', Maria Lena Mateu Prats, 1984
- 'A Brief History of San Vicente', Emily Kaufmann, from 'The Road to San Vicente' published by Barbary Press, 1967
- Francisco Palau i Quer 'My Relations with the Church', 2000
- Many thanks to Nacho Sotomayer for granting me permission to feature his track 'Mosaic' (Francisco Sotomayor) from the album 'Noches de Encuentros: Alhambra Chill Out' released in 2003 by Sombra Records. https://nachosotomayor.com/
- Thank you to Karen Killeen, founder of Extinction Rebellion Ibiza, for providing the English language voice over for my interview with the nun, Hermana Gracia of the convent of Es Cubells, in Southwest Ibiza.
- 'Dope in the Age of Innocence,' Damien Enright, Liberties Press, 2010
- 'Eric-Jan Harmsen: «Tendría que haber muerto de coronavirus, pero no me han dejado morir»', Diario de Ibiza, 15th June, 2020
https://www.diariodeibiza.es/pitiuses-balears/2020/06/16/tendria-haber-muerto-coronavirus-han/1149543.html
- 'Retorno a Cayo Coco', Laura Ferrer Arrambarri, Noudiari, 2020
https://www.noudiari.es/2020/05/retorno-a-cayo-coco/
Written, presented and edited by Joanna Hruby, artist, puppeteer and founder of Theatre of the Ancients(www.theatreoftheancients.com)
Theme music: 'De Jo Et Vas Despediguent' by Uc (released by Produccions Blau, Mallorca)
Instagram: @wellsoftanit
Facebook: The Wells of Tanit
If you appreciate this podcast please leave us a review on Itunes as this helps the podcast reach a wider audience.