Alejandro Jara recounts his rise in Mallorca's 1970s tourism industry

Alejandro Jara recounts his journey from the rural village of Valdefuentes in Extremadura to the burgeoning tourism sector of Mallorca in the 1970s. Arriving in 1972 at the age of 14, Jara traveled via hitchhiking to reach the port of Palma during a period of intense economic transformation on the island.

Driven by economic necessity and the desire for a better life, Jara joined the workforce at the Hotel Sol Barbados, which later became part of the Meliá group. He describes the challenges of adapting to a professional environment, including learning social protocols and dining etiquette that were unfamiliar to him due to his humble upbringing. Through rapid learning in the hospitality sector, he eventually rose to the position of maître d'.