Eclipse - Marijo Ribas

Around August 12, Mallorca experienced the highest peak of tourist occupancy in its history. For a year, the media had been announcing the prospect of collapse: the island’s population was expected to approach two million people, twice its usual population. A special government operation was put in place to organise prevention and mobility measures, including road closures, designated observation areas and special bus services. An astronomical phenomenon was expected to have a considerable impact on the territory and its inhabitants. Mallorca had experienced sun-and-beach tourism, party tourism, luxury tourism and cycling tourism, but never astrotourism on this scale.

For months, many of the island’s inhabitants had been speculating about what they would do that day. Faced with the alarm that had been generated, the usual inertia and the tendency within Mallorcan society to avoid conflict, many people decided to stay at home or travel to more remote places well in advance.

With the intention of addressing the phenomenon in both its social and telluric dimensions, Marijo Ribas made a public call asking people in her immediate surroundings to send her videos recorded a few minutes before and after the eclipse. She received more than 70 contributions which, for the most part, confirmed the local character of the event and did not depict images of collapse. Those who went to the more crowded areas, however, experienced a concentration of people sharing a collective gaze towards the sky. The eclipse turned out to be more moving than many had expected.

María Jesús Villalonga was one of the people who, without knowing Ribas personally, received her call and decided to participate. She sent footage recorded by her son at sea on a jet ski, as well as a photograph of her dog wearing protective glasses. She also suggested incorporating a choir into the project. Ribas embraced the proposal, understanding that the collective nature of the material gathered also called for a choral sound.

Alongside the kaleidoscopic material collected through this call, Ribas collaborated with the Coral Jove Universitària on the recording of the audio.

Loop City Screen 2026

With the support of the Institut de Cultura de Barcelona and the Generalitat de Catalunya.