The Ibiza Nights Association (AEON) has proposed to the Sant Antoni Town Council that the West End neighbourhood should regain its historic and traditional name, Sa Raval.
In a statement sent to the media, José Colomar Ribas, the vice president of the association and owner of the historic Colón bar, states that ‘this neighbourhood has always been called Sa Raval because it was the residential area near the port. The association is advocating that sa Raval should be the name promoted from now on, as this is the name that has always corresponded to this area».
He also points out that, in addition to changing the name, the aim is to promote the entire area differently. Okuda’s work on Carrer Santa Agnès has been excellent, but improvements are needed in terms of cleanliness and lighting, especially in the other streets, which have been left out of this artistic intervention. It would be very positive if the urban art intervention could be extended to all the surrounding streets, as this would give meaning to the neighbourhood and help to promote Sant Antoni as a cultural and tourist destination.»
The association therefore welcomes the agreement adopted by the municipal corporation at its last plenary session on 27 August. The name change and disappearance of ‘West End’ form part of a redevelopment strategy that aims to break with the image of excessive tourism, improve coexistence and quality of life for residents, and give business activity a new boost.
Juan Pantaleoni, the secretary of the association’s board of directors and a businessman, also confirms that Sa Raval is the area’s traditional and historical name and refers to the Enciclopèdia d’Eivissa i Formentera as a source of documentation.
Indeed, the Encyclopaedia Britannica confirms that Sa Raval de Sant Antoni corresponded to the town centre, developing alongside the two nuclei that made up the church and the port. However, it eventually extended as far as Ses Variades. The first record of the inhabitants of these lands dates back to 1305, when they requested permission from the Archbishop of Tarragona to build a chapel and establish a cemetery next to it. Sant Antoni was granted parish status in 1785, and by 1836 the area had been divided into the neighbourhoods of Sa Raval, Cas Ramons, Sa Vorera and Buscastell,« explains the Noches de Ibiza Association in a statement.
‘The Encyclopaedia also documents that by the end of the 19th century, 90 houses had been registered next to the church and Town Hall. At the beginning of the 20^(th) century, Sant Antoni developed into the island’s main tourist area with the opening of the Pensión Esmeralda and the Hotel Portmany in 1933, alongside other hotels. Vicent Ferrer Mayans’ references in the Enciclopèdia state that ‘the strong expansion of the tourism industry has made sa Raval a hub with a strong presence of activities in the tertiary and service sectors’, they continue.
‘Noches de Ibiza’ bases its proposal on other sources that confirm that Sa Raval is a traditional territorial subdivision that encompasses the urban centre of Sant Antoni, with the port and church at its heart. The Gran Enciclopèdia Catalana (GEC), for example, defines sa Raval as ‘the vénda of the municipality of Sant Antoni de Portmany (Ibiza), where the main town centre is located’.et urna iaculis. Duis pretium conva