MALLORCA La cerámica tradicional es roja con motivos amarillos. // enG The traditional pottery is red with yellow motifs. nas se ha trasladado a los esmaltes de hoy”, cuenta la experta. En la actualidad, hay ocho fabricantes de cerámica en Portol y dos en el vecino Sa Cabaneta. En Mallorca hay familias enteras que, durante varias gene-raciones, se han dedicado a la alfarería. Una de ellas es la de Pep Serra, de Terracuita, con taller cerca de Marratxí, cuenta que desde pequeño, mientras sus amigos jugaban al fútbol, él se quedaba ayudando en la ollería familiar. “Los talleres alfa-reros de la isla se concentraban cerca de las canteras, que han proporcionado durante años el barro con el que los maestros artesanos llevan elaborando generación tras generación las tradicionales ollas y cazuelas de la cocina mallorquina y otras preciadas piezas de cerámica. Y cerca de una cantera es don-de se empezó este oficio en nuestra familia. Nuestro ancestro, que trabajaba para un alfarero, decidió montar su propia olle-ría en 1861”, explica Serra. Entonces principalmente hacían cazuelas, hoy la empresa familiar con tiendas propias en Pal-ma, Santanyí y Pollença, también se centra en vajillas esmal-tadas con motivos mediterráneos. Blancos, azules y texturas para acercarse al mar todopoderoso, al fin y al cabo, el princi-pio y fin de casi todo en Mallorca. ENG On the island of Mallorca, a triangle is formed between the towns of Portol, Marratxí and Sa Cabaneta, whe-re clay prevails over all other traditions. Barely ten kilometres separate these three villages, which account for the greatest output of Mallorcan pottery. Potters here drive a craft tradi-tion with origins dating back to the 17th century, who today give a unique identity to this “land of clay” through pots, bowls, and plates with a subtle Mediterranean essence. “Por-tol is the natural quarry for this red clay pottery, which is uni-que on the whole island and has traditionally been used for building, kitchen utensils and decoration”, explains Margali-da Juan, head of the Museu del Fang de Sa Cabaneta, which is housed in an old windmill. This pottery, with its yellow motifs and transparent glaze, is the origin of a craft that has evolved over the years. “In the past, clay covered all day-to-day needs, but today there are new clays and decorations, and even the famous textile prints of Mallorcan tongues, or lengües mallorquinas has been transferred to today’s glazes,” says the expert. At present, there are eight pottery manufacturers in Portol and two in neighbouring Sa Cabaneta. Mallorca boasts entire families who have dedicated their lives to pottery making for several generations. One of them is Pep Serra, from Terracuita, with a pottery near Marratxí, who says that since he was a child, while his friends were pla-ying football, he would stay behind to help in the family wor-kshop. “The island’s pottery workshops were clustered near the quarries, which for years have provided the clay used by master craftsmen to make the traditional pots and pans of Mallorcan cuisine and other prized pieces of pottery, genera-tion after generation. And it was near a quarry that this trade began in our family. Our ancestor, who worked for a potter, decided to set up his own pottery in 1861,” explains Serra. Back then they mainly made casseroles, today the family business, with its own shops in Palma, Santanyí and Pollença, also focu-ses on enamelled tableware with Mediterranean motifs. Whi-tes, blues, and textures that bring you closer to the almighty sea, which after all, is where almost everything in Mallorca begins and ends. Pep Serra, ceramista de Terracuita, empresa familiar que lleva desde 1861 en el negocio del barro en la isla. // ENG Pep Serra, ceramicist at Terracuita, a family business that has been in the pottery trade on the island since 1861. Una de sus creaciones de estilo mediterráneo. // One of his Mediterranean-style creations.