It’s the Nit de L’Art in s’Arraco. The typically sleepy village is flooded with visitors, thousands and thousands of them. They are all here to enjoy the night where local artists show and sell their work on the streets whilst musicians play and vino is consumed liberally. You will always find some gems amongst the art, something which will appeal to you personally, and this year is no exception. In the plaza, I find Franci showing the quirkiest and possibly most political work of the night.
The covers are instantly appealing to me, “Majorcan Expressions That Every Tourist Should Know”, “General Culture Of Mallorca That Every Tourist Should Know”, and “Majorcan Food And Drinks That Every Tourist Should Know”. Flicking through them they send a sweet, affectionate message to anyone unfamiliar with the island which seems to be “Get to know us, we are fun, and we want to share our culture with you.”
Did you know that: “To mix eggs with snails” “Mesclar ous amb cargols” means to mix things that have nothing to do with each other. Or, “I go to make Saturday” “Vaig a fer dissabte” means to clean the house. Or “You’re an apple” “Oue nets de poma” means you’re very delicate?
I am completely charmed by them and want to know more about Francesca Pallicer Saballs and her books. It’s very hard to have a conversation with her as a group are playing loud indie music in the corner, and we agree to meet a couple of days later…
Francesca with her dog Ona, and fellow artists Adriana, and Xavi.
Sat in the studio below where she lives in s’Arraco, Franci shows me her work. It is a delightful triplet of what essentially seem to be children’s colouring books. I tell her as such and she smiles, “Exactly! The children can colour the letters if they would like to.” But on closer inspection I would say that these are too good to be consigned to the playroom as they are witty, insightful and, in my opinion, collectible.
How did you come up with the idea to make pocket size books? “The size and feel of the books was a decision I made. I wanted it to be portable, so they had to be small.”
Hand drawings from her books.
What was your inspiration to create them? “I see them as an opportunity to share language, the books are in English and Mallorcan and I wanted to send a message to the visitors to our island that we have a rich cultural history and traditions both in our ways and in our food.”
What was the process like to design them? “They took a lot of work. Hand drawing the lettering is slow, and I wanted it to have a character of its own. I wanted them to look like a comic, quite playful, but to make it easy to read. I started with one book and then realised that I needed to make three!”
Who did you collaborate with on the translations? “I had the support of Tina Horne who used to lead the Sa Taronja arts centre in Andratx. We worked together.”
What about the sayings in the book? “They are very local. We have phrases in s’Arraco that you wouldn’t say in Pollensa for example!”
Where are you from? “I was born in Calvia. My family have been in the tourism industry since the 50s, my grandmother even has a street named after her in Magalluf. I have always drawn, but now I am spending more time on my art. I have had my art published in newspapers where I typically draw cartoons but I also do portraits, watercolours and other my traditional art.”
What’s your personal inspiration? “I want to make people laugh, to show them the funny side of things, and for us to not take things so seriously.”
What do you think about the future of art? Will AI take over? “I don’t think AI will ever be able to go through the process in the way that an artist does. There is an emotional connection that we make with our work that a machine cannot do. The process to create my librettos has been a long one, there is a lot of work involved in creating them, many many hours, and there is a lot of ME in my work as well. I hope that they make the readers smile!”
You can see more of Franci’s work on Facebook, look for “Francindefanzine” or send her a WhatsApp to 691021178 or email francindefanzine@gmail.com . Her books are for sale individually or as a set.
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