Talayotic Menorca returns this weekend, May 28 and 29, to the Tarraco Viva historical reenactment festival, after a two-year stoppage due to the pandemic. This is a unique setting to present the candidacy and the prehistoric heritage of Menorca, a consolidated festival with a large number of visitors. The aim is to continue disseminating Talayotic Menorca at a national level, as contemplated in the MT Communications Plan. The Menorcan delegation will be made up of 13 people including organizers, slingers, participants in the historical re-enactment and Grahame Pearce's brewmaster.
The activities related to the Talayotic Menorca are the following:
1.- Historical recreation Funditores Baleares, The warriors of the Balearic Islands: by Amics del Museu de Menorca and the Federació de Tir de Fona-Unió excursionista de Menorca. The Romans knew Menorca and Mallorca because the slingers born on these islands threw stones more skillfully than anyone else. Nothing strange, since in the insula Balearis Minor there are more stones than any other resource, so the life of its inhabitants was never easy. The settlements of that time that are still preserved in the Menorcan landscape tell us about an exceptional culture -the Talayotic-, with constructions made of stone that are unique such as the navetas, the taula enclosures and the circular houses.
The show will stage the origin of the Balearic slingers, who as children had to learn to use the slingshot to watch over the herd, hunt or survive. Many ended up enlisted, as mercenaries, in the service of Carthaginian and Roman armies, participating in numerous battles. There will be two showings of this activity: on Saturday 28 in Catalan, and on Sunday 29 in Spanish. Both days at 11:00 a.m.
This recreation has already been done several times in Menorca in a natural environment, but now it has been modified to be performed on a stage. In order to mimic the monumentality of Talayotic Menorca, the organizers replicated specific architectural elements of a talayotic circle in Torre d'en Galmés and a taula enclosure, taking into account that they must be transported by van to Tarragona. Among these pieces, it is worth mentioning the construction of a replica of the Torralba d'en Salort taula, about 5 m high. The load-bearing part, that is to say the shaft, is a wooden structure that can be assembled in 2 hours and disassembled in 1 hour. The capital is made with PVC tubes so that the shaft does not have to support so much weight, and the exterior is a painted fabric imitating the colors and details of the Torralba taula.
2.- Sling making workshop La fona Balear, by Lluís Pons Livermore and the Federació de Tir amb Fona-Unió excursionista de Menorca. The slingshot is one of the oldest weapons, whose use is documented in many places around the planet. It is especially linked to people dedicated to grazing and hunting, where it can cover multiple needs. The talayotics enrolled as mercenaries in the Carthaginian and Roman armies, and used the sling as a dangerous weapon. They went into battle with three slingshots braided with esparto grass or hemp: a long-distance one firmly at the waist, a short-distance one at the head or neck, and an intermediate-range one in the hand.
In this workshop, one of the best shooters in the world will show various types of slingshots and projectiles, will teach how to weave a slingshot and use it with the Menorcan slingers technique (tennis balls). It will be held twice, once after each historical re-enactment: on Saturday 28 in Catalan, and on Sunday 29 in Spanish. Both days at 12:00 p.m.
3.- Screening of the documentary “Talayotic Menorca, an insular cyclopean odyssey”. Menorca is immersed in the evaluation process of the Talayotic Menorca candidacy for UNESCO World Heritage. To support the candidacy, the Consell Insular de Menorca has promoted this documentary, made by Espiral Produccions and directed by Manu Balaguer with the participation of numerous specialists. After the screening, there will be a Talaiòtica beer tasting. Produced by the Menorcan craft brewery Grahame Pearce, it will be led by the master brewer who created it: Roger Vila. Saturday, May 28 at 1:00 p.m.
Tarraco Viva is a historical re-enactment festival that was born in 1999 as an activity to support the candidacy of Tarragona for UNESCO World Heritage. Today, more than twenty years later, it is a festival fully rooted in the city and a benchmark in the festivals of this kind held in Spain.