The post-pandemic normality announced by the Balearic Govern on Monday has not reached the pubs and music bars. These establishments still suffer restrictions that force customers to remain seated and prohibits them from dancing or using the bars. These rules contrast with the situation of nightclubs, which are now allowed to open dance floors. These obstacles have meant that many clubs have not yet opened their doors because it is impossible for them to work normally.
One such case is that of the music bar Malanga, located in the es Pratet leisure area near the port of Vila. “I have the feeling that decisions are made based on subjective impressions,” says Manu Verdera, owner of Malanga and delegate in Ibiza of the Balearic Association of Live Entertainment Venues (Absedi): “I don’t understand the reasons, especially when we have seen what has happened this summer, when people want to party they resort to illegal offers”.
“As long as there are restrictions we will not open. Our job is not to be anyone’s policeman”. Verdera explains that the business has survived thanks to the fact that he reached an agreement with the owner of the premises to reduce the rent, and that he has managed to finance a loan thanks to a grant from the Govern: “If not, we would be in a desperate situation”.
Comparative injustice for pubs and nightclubs in Ibiza
Sergio Fernández, owner of DeMiedo, a historic music bar at the Marina, doesn’t understand these measures either: “On the mainland concerts are commonplace. Here the nightclubs have opened and fill up with people, but in the music bars people can’t stand. It makes no sense and is a comparative injustice”.
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