Family and living
As in Spain in general, the family is a very important concept in Menorca. Children are king, but their elders, who are often highly respected, instill certain values in them. On the whole, the family structure is still traditional - much more so than in Spanish cities - and it's not uncommon to see several generations living together under the same roof. Young people, even when they're working, sometimes stay with their parents until they get married (and marry later). There are many family businesses where everyone has their place, whether in service companies or restaurants. Know-how is passed down from generation to generation, as are first names: the eldest child is usually given his or her father's or mother's first name, or that of the grandparents. And if it hasn't been taken directly from the family tree, as on the Spanish mainland, religion still has - even if less and less so - a certain influence on the choice of first names in Menorca. English-sounding first names are on the increase, however, and tourism is no doubt one of the reasons for this.
On Menorca and the Balearics in general, the typical dwelling is called a lloc. They are generally built with very thick walls, to keep out the heat in summer and protect against the cold in winter. The lloc is traditionally organized around the main room, housing a fireplace that once also served as an oven and was placed right next to the sink. The roof remains flat, allowing new rooms to be built in case of births. Mostly located in the countryside, an increasing number of owners are transforming their traditional dwellings into charming agritourism hotels.
The place of women in Minorcan society
Alongside the great political and cultural revolution of the post-dictatorship era, the situation of women has changed dramatically. Before the fall of Francoism, women tended to be assigned to the three C's: the kitchen, the al-lots (the kids) and the priest. Today, most of them live relatively late with their parents, are much better educated than their mothers, and therefore marry later (the average age of first marriage has risen from 24 to 30 in one generation). With childcare facilities and family support policies still virtually non-existent, women are much less likely to be found in the highest professional positions. Despite this, their employment rate is rising by an average of one point a year, even if the wage gap between men and women remains very wide. However, the Spanish Sanchez government is an example of parity, with 12 women ministers out of 22 posts. In the May 2015 municipal elections, Ada Colau and Manuela Carmena were elected mayors of Barcelona and Madrid respectively. In the same year, Francina Armengol, President of the Spanish Parliament in Madrid since 2023, became the first woman to be elected President of the Autonomous Community of the Balearic Islands. Since July 2023, another woman has held the presidency of the archipelago: Marga Prohens.
In ten years, the number of births has fallen by 30% in Spain, noted a report by the INE (National Statistics Institute) published in spring 2019. On average, women have 1.25 children, compared with 1.44 ten years ago. This translated into 370,000 births in 2018, the lowest figure since 2002. Another finding of this study is that the drop in the number of children per woman is accompanied by a decline in the average age at childbirth. This now stands at 31, compared with 29.3 ten years ago. Perhaps even more surprisingly, the study shows that almost 63% of mothers are aged forty and over. In 2015, however, former Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy pushed through a law banning abortion for minors without parental consent. It was passed by the Senate in 2015. On the LGTBQ side, while the gay community is very present in Ibiza, a paradise of partying and extravagance, in Menorca, a more rural land where mentalities are often more closed, homosexuality is certainly accepted, but less well understood than elsewhere. Homosexual marriage has been legal in Spain since 2005.
Traditions and festivals
The inhabitants of Menorca (as of the other three Balearic islands), no doubt thanks to their geographical isolation, have managed to preserve their traditions. The liturgical calendar has long been the unifying element in the social life of the archipelago's inhabitants. Often, festivities celebrate a particular saint. It was during these events that the majority of villagers gathered in their parishes. For the occasion, young people dress up in their finest finery, and the festivities continue in the streets or in the family sphere of private homes, with games, dances and folk songs. It's also a time to get together with friends, neighbors and, of course, family. Despite the arrival of tourism in the second half of the 20th century, the festivities of the liturgical calendar have endured to the present day, and Menorcans remain very attached to their age-old traditions. These ancestral rites are revived by the locals during popular festivals. Festivities generally begin in Ciutadella with Sant Joan (June 24) and end around mid-September with Sant Nicolau in Es Mercadal, a major celebration held just after the Maó festival dedicated to the Virgin of Gràcia. During these traditional festivities, the jaleo dictates that the Menorcan Purebred horse is the protagonist. The riders, accompanied by their squires - all dressed in the costume of the just man, black and white for the occasion - form a cavalcade and parade through the streets and squares of the villages to the sound of drums. The equestrian world plays a very important role in the daily life of the island's inhabitants.
