Sant Antoni de sa Pobla

What is

The most emblematic winter festival in Mallorca in its most complete version. Fire, dimonis and beneïdes in honor of Sant Antoni Abat, patron saint of animals. In sa Pobla it is an identity festival: the entire town dine in the street around the foguerons.

On i quan

• Sa Pobla, January 16 (vespra, the big night) and January 17 (saint's day).
• Organized by the Town Hall and the Workplace of Sant Antoni.

Personatges and objects

• Sant Antoni and the colla de dimonis (current dimonis created in 1958) mask and vestit de dimoni .
• Vells Caparrots (1952) and Caparrots Minyons (1983); Gegants de la Vila (80s) caparrots i gegants .
• The Grif (1998): chimera on the shield of sa Pobla, 2.80 m high, breathing fire from its mouth and wings.
• Dimonis d'Albopàs (1998): in red, personalized masks; they star in the correfoc.
• Foguerons fogueró . Ximbombes ximbomba .
• El Clamater (2003): crier who remembers the dispute with the Antonian friars.

How is

• Morning of the 16th: departure from the Town Hall to the Son Llebre property to look for firewood for the parish and Town Hall foguerons.
• Afternoon: Sant Antoni parade and the dimonis with singers. The dimonis dance and mock the saint.
• Completes: delegation of authorities to the church with caparrots, gegants, Grif and Dimonis d'Albopàs. The goigs are sung. When leaving, caparrots dance in the Plaza Major, ball de dimonis, correfoc, concert and meeting of ximbomba singers and sonadors.
• Night: family dinner at the foguerons: torrades and espinagades (eel and spinach empanada), ball, glosses and ximbomba until dawn.
• Day 17: mass, new caparrots dance, beneïdes and parade of carrosses and comparsas.
• Music of the caparrots: two dances to the sound of “Jo i un pastor”.
• Draw: the caparrots and dimonis of the City Council are chosen by strict draw on the saint's day.

Vocabulary

• vespra: eve, the night of the 16th.
• fogueró: bonfire of Sant Antoni.
• Completes: afternoon service of the eve.
• goigs: joys, song to the saint.
• beneïdes: blessing of animals and parade.
• espinagada: eel and spinach empanada, a dish from sa Pobla.
• caparrot: big-headed.
• Clamater: festival crier.
• obreria / obrer: lay board that takes care of the cult of the saint.
• «Visca Sant Antoni!»: shout that closes the events.

History

• 1365: first documentary references to the festival in sa Pobla.
• 1561-s. XVIII: lawsuits with the Antonian friars to maintain the image of the saint in the parish.
• 1643: documented the cry "Visca Sant Antoni!" when you finish Completes.
• Finals XVIII: the colla de dimonis documented.
• 1952: the caparrots enter (7 figures; 11 the following year), at the initiative of the secretary of the City Council. They represent fashion models of the time.
• 1958: current dimonis.
• 1966: Festival of Tourist Interest (State).
• 1983: Caparrots Minyons. 1998: Grif and Dimonis d'Albopàs. 2003: Clamater.

Protection

• BICIM (formerly FIC). Initiation BOIB 32, 5/3/2015 (exp. 22/2013). Declaration of the Plenary of the Consell 8/10/2015, BOIB 165, 10/11/2015.

Why is it design

• Character system: each figure enters with a known date; the party is redesigned without losing structure.
• Period iconography: the caparrots from 1952 are a fashion catalog from the mid-19th century. XX.
• Choreography of the space: firewood from a specific property, fire pits in each street, square as a stage.
• Raffle as governance: who wears each figure is not bought.

For the project

• Visit the Museum of Sant Antoni i el Dimoni (Can Planes): inventory of masks and caparrots, who makes them today.
• Graphic piece: «family tree» of the figures with their entry dates.

Sources

• caib.es/eboibfront/pdf/es/2015/32/909662
• caib.es/sites/departamentdecultura/ca/bicim-illes_balears/
• mallorca.com/ca/guia/lugares-de-interes/museu-de-sant-antoni-i-el-dimoni

Working text from the Disseny Indígena knowledge base, machine-translated from Spanish.

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