Homage to All Saints

IT is estimated that up to 30,000 people will travel to Palma this week to remember relatives and friends who have passed away.
Tomorrow (Friday) is All Saints’ Day, known locally as ‘Tots Sants’, and is one of the most important public holidays in Spain, where in Mallorca, people come from far and wide to lay flowers on the graves of loved ones.
Alberto Jarabo, the Councillor for Citizen Participation and President of the Municipal Funeral Company has announced a programme of events, which this year is expected to draw an even larger number to the capital.
In a statement to the press, Jarabo explained that at 10am tomorrow (Friday), the Mayor of Palma and members of the town hall will tour the Son Valentí cemetery, laying flowers at Plaça del Record before continuing on to Plaça de la Llibertat.
At 12 noon there will be a tribute by Memoria de Mallorca, a non-for-profit organisation committed to the historical memory of the island, at the Wall of Memory.
Jordi Vilà, the Director of Son Valentí Cemetery, revealed that vehicles will not be allowed to enter the site today, but will be allowed in on Saturday. For those who wish to park, there will be places available in Son Moix, Palma Arena and the nearby Decathlon.
EMT has also arranged a special shuttle bus service, which will leave from Plaça Sant Antoni every 20 minutes, stopping at the main roundabout of the cemetery before continuing to the Can Valero estate, where there will also be parking.
Local Police will be on duty to control access to the cemetery with an additional two patrols to monitor activity due to the large number of anticipated visitors.
Throughout the rest of this week, Son Valentí Cemetery will extend its hours and there will be two musical performances at 11am and 1pm with violinist, Alfredo Ardanaz, guitarist Jovan Milosevich, cellist, Miriam Félix and the Apel Veus Capella Group.