Robert De Maria was born in New York 1928 and grew up in Spanish Harlem during the great depression. He first heard of Mallorca when he was in the sixth grade and just 12 years old. The teacher asked students to pick out a place on the world map and to write something about it. De Maria chose Mallorca, about which he knew nothing, because he liked its place on the map. He looked it up and found that there was much more to like about the place. About twenty years later he found himself sitting in a cafe in Deia, where he and his wife and two small children had decided to spend a year. He spent that year in Can Colom, writing DON JUAN IN LOURDES (Macmillan, 1965).
He went on to write many books and to teach at several universities, but he always spent part of the year in Deia, usually the winter and sometimes the whole year. In 1969-70 he organized The Mediterranean Institute, in which 34 college students were enrolled for a year of study in Deia. During that year he started the Mediterranean Review, a literary magazine, which featured an artist in each issue. Several Deia artists were included. After missing several years, Robert and Ellen began to spend the winter and spring (Jan-June) in Deia. Later he decided to come in the summers in order to meet old friends. He is currently writing a memoir of days in Deia.
