Formentera celebrates Dia de la Constitució

foto-dia-constitucio---2018-11Observance of the holiday known as “Dia de la Constitució” (Constitution Day) began on Formentera with celebration of the 40th John Tunks Memorial Mini-marathon. At 10.30am the race's 156 participants set off from Sant Francesc's plaça de la Constitució on a 12K circuit that took them through la Savina, es Pujols and Sant Ferran before finally ending back in Sant Francesc.

Later at 11.30am, the Council's Sala d'Actes was the scene of an address from administration chief Jaume Ferrer, in which he spoke about Formentera's appeal for constitutional reforms allowing the island to have its own dedicated senator. Ferrer, who described the plea as longstanding, said Formentera “is as close as ever to seeing it come true”. The island “deserves to be recognised at the national level and to have its own representation in the upper house as well”, he affirmed.

Ferrer spoke about the path-breaking moment 40 years ago that brought approval for the document, offering “the Constitution teaches us that living together takes hard work from everyone in the process”. That lesson, he said, is all the more clearer in a place like Formentera, “an island where people from a true multiplicity of backgrounds live together”. The president also hailed what he called “the climate of coexistence and respect” present today on the island.

A series of closing performances took place immediately after Ferrer's address. Clara Escandell, Cristian Tur and Pere Serra, students at the island's music and dance school, performed, as did participants in Xomeu Juan's workshop on traditional music, who interpreted a number of pieces from the Eivissa-Formentera musical canon.