The poet and pharmacist of Santanyí already foresees in this text the expansion that Cala Figuera will suffer in the future.
Cala Fonollar has also undergone gradual modifications: before it was a recess for fishermen; then a very prestigious painter went there and made the people of the area realise that the cove was beautiful. And they understood. And people came from far and wide, myself included. Every summer we would see new houses; some of them, villas worthy of the name. In the small fishermen's café, they had to put a cloth on a table because every now and then tourists would come in. The café became an inn. Years later, another opened. And finally, a third, the Hostal dels Artistes, with a generous terrace and at the mouth of the cove: looking one way there was the great and deep-blue sea; looking the other, amongst the mystery of the pines, there was the green water that stretched into the two smaller coves that Cala Fonollar splits into, in a 'y' shape.
La vida en rosa, 1957
Translated by Richard Mansell.
(Santanyí, 1918 – 1971). A prose writer, poet and literary critic, Vidal i Tomàs began studying Philosophy and Letters in Barcelona, but these were cut short in the summer of 1936. Once the Civil War was over, he finally graduated in Pharmacy in 1943. He learnt to write in Catalan, as well as some history, from Father Antoni Pons. He alternated between his work as a pharmacist in Santanyí with a tireless activity in the post-war years aimed at cultivating literature in Catalan in very difficult circumstances, and offering guidance to younger writers, amongst them Blai Bonet and Antònia Vicens. He wrote for the press and took part in literary discussions and conferences. A local historian, he published a series of works between 1949 and 1964 on Santanyí, its coves, the Consolació hermitage, attacks by Berber pirates, and more. In 1953 he published the novel Memòries d’una estàtua (Memories of a statue) and later, in 1958, a collection of stories based in both Barcelona and Majorca, with the title La vida en rosa (La vie en rose). He also wrote poetry and published various poems influenced by Catalan Noucentisme as well as the Spanish Generation of ‘27. In the words of Josep M. Llompart “he made his life an example of sensitivity, generosity and faithfulness to himself and to his country in the most difficult times of humiliation and defeat.”
The Argentine artist Francisco Bernareggi moved to Santanyí in 1919 and even for the locals “discovered” landscapes, such as this cove (Cala Figuera) in the early days of tourism, and this is the theme of the novel.
The fish in Cala Figuera is the best, and with this phrase a fisherman summarised the almost artisan activity that still goes on in the privileged place. People from Santanyí simply call it "la Cala" (the cove), with no need for the place name itself. It is formed by two smaller coves, called Boira and Busques, which are each the outlet of a storm channel. The name appears on medieval sea charts, which highlights its importance as a centre for fishing and business. Later there was the need for it to defend itself from pirates, and the "torre den Beu" (Beu's tower) in the middle of the 16th century. Few could have foreseen the place's modern expansion, already introduced in Bernat Vidal's text, owing to the interest its landscape aroused in artists, both those who observed and those who discovered. This interest led to both suspicion and sensitivity on the part of the locals who began stayed there more and more, who were then joined by people from further afield. These people had to have somewhere to stay, they had to eat, be entertained and travel around by land and sea, and so tourism became the main if not only economic activity. It should be said Cala Figuera proudly preserves its unique beauty, and entering it by sea through the narrow channel between the cliffs like the walls of a fortress at sea is an experience that never fails to impress.
