The concept of “foraster” in Mallorca is comparable to “charnego” in Catalonia or “maqueto” in the Basque Country. My aim is to redefine the term and carry out a process of semantic enrichment, focusing on my own family history. The definition of “foraster” refers to the seasonal workers from the mainland who came to the Balearic Islands during the period of economic development in the final years of the Franco regime, which coincided with the tourism boom. The first migrations were of agricultural seasonal workers who, on the islands, worked harvesting almonds or carob beans. The technique was very similar to olive harvesting, the main crop in northern Andalusia, specifically Jaén, my mother's homeland.

With the shift in the economic model, from agriculture to the current tourism-based monoculture, many seasonal workers changed sectors and settled permanently on the island. The migratory phenomenon in Francoist Spain occurred within the state framework; the borders were closed and only began to open through the policies of Manuel Fraga, then Minister of Tourism, to import higher-value foreign currency through an exchange of leisure and services. Agrarian reform, which was never implemented during the Second Republic, was diluted by the war and the dictatorship. The model of the Spanish countryside transitioned from almost feudal to capitalist with the democratic transition.

Because of the influx of foreign currency, and the development model this represented for the Mediterranean region, the islands became a magnet for the poorest populations, displaced from the countryside. Some seasonal workers returned to their villages, laden with souvenirs from Mallorca, which were hardly mementos of their holidays. Some stayed on the islands, some started families with local people; I was born on one of them.

My mother has planted olive trees from Jaén in her garden. My cousin Ángel, after years in the hospitality industry, has returned to the countryside; he currently runs a sheep and fighting bull farm in Mallorca. The farm borders Palma Airport, the third busiest in Spain in terms of passenger volume and the most profitable in the country.

Self-publishing
Photographs: María José Ribas Bermúdez and family archive.
Text: María José Ribas Bermúdez and Marcos Augusto Lladó.
First Edition 100 copies
Release: April 2025
Format: Softcover with die-cut.
220 x 270 mm
Color photos.
Pages: 112
Language: Spanish / English.