Michael Douglas recently received a new statue. However, it was not the Oscar awards that he won twice (1976, 1988) for his work as an actor and producer. The Hollywood star was presented with a decorative figurine of the revered Saint Catherine Thomas, the patron saint of Valldemossa, the idyllic Mallorcan village where the actor and producer has been spending his summers for decades.
Douglas will turn 80 years old on September 25 and decided to surprise celebrate with his neighbors, blending in as one of them. Last Sunday, he showed up at the Cartuja square, where the annual elderly residents' party takes place. There was no media announcement or anything out of the ordinary.
He sat at the table with the elderly residents of the town, among Margalida Ripoll and Pedro Ventayol. There, he enjoyed the usual snacks: cream pastries from Maria Adrover's bakery, a fluffy typical cake called cuarto, and almond horchata and soft drinks from the Meriendas bar, one of the iconic establishments in the town.
Douglas at the table with the honored guests.
Valldemossa is a very touristic town and has traditionally been a stopping point for artists and intellectuals (Chopin, Borges, Unamuno, Rubén Darío). However, it has barely two thousand permanent residents, accustomed to the rigors of its penetrating and cold winter humidity.
Eight of them are turning eighty this year. Eight and Douglas, whose name was not on the official list of honored elderly residents as he entered the official club of valldemossins seniors,
The actor shared a table with former shopkeepers, pharmacists, a baker's wife, and other locals with nothing more in common than their age and their connection to the town. He chatted amiably with them, with the help of one of his trusted men who assists him with translation. "He was very friendly and calm, wanting to be just one of them," recounts one of the attendees.
He himself shared the event on social media with a video immortalizing one of the most traditional moments of the evening, the traditional dance, the Valldemossa dance, a peasant heritage dance. Despite rumors, Douglas did not dance.
The Valldemossa dance, a traditional dance of the event.Marga Llado
This summer is not the first time that Catherine Zeta Jones's husband (she did not attend the party) has come down to the town from his spectacular estate, S'Estaca, a neo-Arab style mansion, a lookout facing the sea that he once put up for sale for over 25 million euros. A few weeks ago, he was seen strolling and photographed with Manolo, a waiter from the Sa Foganya bar.
Douglas never misses his summer visit to the island and does so with increasing frequency. At his estate, he hosts friends and acts as a host. There, he disconnects but stays informed about what's happening in his country and follows political events with interest: in Mallorca, they still remember when a scarecrow in his garden was dressed up as Donald Trump.
Tomorrow, the actor - whom some media outlets placed in Menorca this week aboard a 150,000 euros per week sailboat - will receive an award at the Atlántida Film Festival in Palma, one of Queen Letizia's favorite events, which she has been sponsoring for years.