The Menorcan horse parties continue

The calendar of horse parties, held during the summer all over the island, continues its course. The first ones, as every year, were the Festes de Sant Joan in Ciutadella, the most famous and ancient of the Island, which inspire all the others.

Shortly after, the third weekend of July, the Fiestas de Sant Martí were held in Es Mercadal. Around July 25, the horse fiestas for Sant Jaume arrived at Es Castell and last weekend, the latest of July, Fornells celebrated the patron saint festivities for Sant Antoni.

Starting August, worth mentioning amongst others are the fiestas for Sant Cristòfol de ses Corregudes, to be held this weekend in Es Migjorn Gran. In August, there will be fiestas in Alaior, which also begin this weekend, although the horse "qualcades", "jaleos" and "corregudes al cos" will be held between August 10 and 12. The fiestas for Sant Bartomeu in Ferreries will begin on August 12 and will last until the following weekend, August 24 and 25, when the central part of the programme will take place; and the patron saint festivities in Sant Lluís will also be held at the at the end of August.

Around September 7 and 8, announcing the end of the summer season and the arrival of Autumn, Maó will celebrate the fiestas for Gràcia.

All these patron saint festivities star horses and follow, each of them with its own peculiarities, a similar structure: "qualcada", mass and "jaleo" in the opening afternoon and in the following morning. More over many other cultural and festive activities take place, such as open air dances, sporting competitions, art exhibitions, etc. The typical drink of the fiestas is the "pomada", a mixture of the Menorcan "gin" (introduced in the island by the British) and lemonade.

Photos © BalearWeb
1. "Festes de Sant Jaume" in Es Castell
2. "Festes de Sant Antoni" in Fornells

Date of publication: 29/07/2002

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