History

Since its foundation, Al Rum has played a leading role in some of the most important cultural events in the town.

• The exhibition 'La il.lusió d'un poble' ("The Hope of the People"), dedicated to the 75th anniversary of the proclamation of the Spanish Republic, was held in 2006. It was a success of visits and deserved the recognition of the public. The leaflet that complemented the exhibition allowed visitors to retrace the life of Alaró during the first decades of the 20th century and is a collection of photographs of the period.

• In 2009, the event “Cabrit i Bassa, entre la història i la llegenda” (“Cabrit and Bassa, between history and legend”) was a large-scale exhibition at a time of crisis when institutions did not dare take challenges of this kind. The massive attendance and the continuous visits of groups from all over the island showed that the myth is still alive and well embedded in Mallorcans. It was possible to collect almost 90% of the iconographic material dedicated to the heroes of the Castle, and at the same time, many unknown pieces surfaced. The catalogue, exceptional in both content and continent, attracted the participation of prominent figures such as professor Mercè Gambús, the writer Sebastià Alzamora and others.

• The exhibition dedicated to the photographic works of Paco Rayó allowed us to discover Alaró activities that have disappeared or have never been seen before. These included working in the local mines or on the railway and exploring the water spring of Ses Artigues. The publication of a booklet with these photos allows them to be divulged and preserved for the future.

• An exhibition in the same context was that of the photographs of the late judge Joan Ordines. They showed what rural life in the village was like in the post-war years. The publication of a booklet also preserves this photographic heritage.

• As part of our publishing policy, we have compiled a collection of booklets, of which two works have already been launched. One the Son Manyes recipe book (sold out a few months after its release), and another on land and property taxation during the 17th century. With a different look and colours, given the characteristics of the work, Al Rum also presented a catalogue of the sculptures preserved in the church of Sant Bartomeu. These presentations brought together a large number of residents.

• We also published “Un castell de records” (“A castle of memories”) in collaboration with the Friends of the Castle,  which collected the graphic testimony of a century of the mountain’s life.

• Al Rum has also collected diverse and scattered heritage that is pending release.

• Al Rum, throughout 2018, organized an exhibition dedicated to the poet Josep Maria Llompart and another on the 50th anniversary of the opening of the Castle Road (Camí d'es Castell). A book authored by Josep Lluís Pol was published to highlight this second exhibition. We also had the opportunity to participate in the Alaró Book Fair (Fira del Llibre) and the Trade Fair (Fira Gremial).

• In October 2019, Al Rum assembled the exhibition Gabriel Reinés, an Alaró painter of the 19th century. With this event, we rediscovered the figure of this forgotten local artist whose paintings depicted everyday manners and customs. He also introduced the use of lithography in Mallorca and was a pioneer in photography. The catalogue included a text by the professor of art history Catalina Cantarellas i Camps.

• In 2020, Al Rum rescued a late-Gothic Virgin Mary statue kept in a private house. Other scheduled activities were cancelled due to COVID.

• Before the constitution of Al Rum, some of its members had already participated in cultural activities in the village. These included: the celebration of the centenary of the opening of the first Sa Nostra office outside Palma (with the donation of the sculpture Retorno al buen camino), the centenary of the arrival of electricity in Mallorca, the classification of the church's heritage, the plan to restore the altarpieces, the exhibitions dedicated to the 750th anniversary of the parish and its textile legacy, the exhibition on Joan Rosselló of Son Fortesa, the customs and traditions surrounding the festivity of Sant Antoni, the search for old photos of the village ... These and other actions already bore the hallmark of Al Rum before its foundation.