Sa Balanguera
La Balanguera is the official anthem of the Balearic islands in, Spain. This Anthem is based on a poem by Joan Alcover
This Catalan Poet and essayist of the beginning of the XX century was inspired by a Majorcan popular song featuring a female character called "Balanguera” which originates from the French word for boulangère. It also references folkloric figures and dances of Valencia and the Catalonian Counties. But Alcover delved deeper mixing in together the characters of Greek mythology: The Moirai.
The Moirai weave the threads of human lives and then cut them. In the Greek tradition, they appeared to the child three days after it was born, to determine its fate.
Joan Alcover, transformed the character of the "Balanguera" into a kind of grim reaper that spins and cuts the thread of life, while also Identifying the character with the homeland.
Amadeu Vives set this poem to music using the first two verses of the composition. This song gained its popularity during the repressive times of the Spanish civil war. It wasn’t until 1996, that would be declared the official anthem of the Balearic Islands.
