The new pelotaris of Mallorca

PalmA semicircular arch presides over the main entrance to the Sineu Frontón, located on a corner. In 2022, Juan Fernández Mena, a 44-year-old businessman from Madrid, was impressed when he agreed to move in. "At that time," he says, "it was completely abandoned, but I sensed it had great potential, so I immediately rented it. Chatting with the neighbors, I discovered that, in the 1980s, when the facility ceased to be used for sports, it became an important meeting point in the town, where all kinds of events were held. They told me: 'I got married or took my communion here.' Then I knew the path I should follow."

A year after starting the project, Fernández received a message on Facebook. "A pelotari from Euskadi wrote to me to tell me that he had seen the fronton court through the nets and that he had been amazed. He told me about the possibility of playing in a tournament. The court was in very poor condition, full of potholes, but he insisted that he was going to make it his own in his first exhibition match. That's how we managed to make the walls of the Sineu Fronton resonate again, four decades later."

Queleto and Boiret

The researcher Joan Vanrell is well acquainted with the history of pelota in the capital of El Pla. "It's a sport that has always existed in Mallorca, as in other places on the Peninsula. Here, moreover, it's connected with the tradition of the ancient slingers. Before, there was the triquete (or trinquete), of uncertain etymology, which consisted of throwing the ball against the wall of churches or taller houses. From that time, many towns have streets and bars named after Triquet." In 1935, the imposing Balear Frontón was inaugurated in Palma, located on Paseo de Mallorca. It would be demolished in 1978 to make way for luxury apartments. In 1949, Sineu would also have its own frontón, at the initiative of a group of fans. The facility, designed by Palma-born architect Carles Garau Tornabells, occupied 1,140 square meters of the Rodamilans estate, then located on the outskirts of the town. It would have a 40-meter-long and 16-meter-wide track and a side grandstand for 400 spectators. It would also include changing rooms, a bar, and an indoor lounge.

Along with Palma, the Sineu Frontón would be one of the most popular on the island. It would have its own club, which produced outstanding players. In 1952, two of them, Gabriel Dalmau Muntaner Skeleton (1913-1994) and Pere Joan Florit Jaume Boiret (1927-1998), played a knockout round of the Spanish Championship. Margalida Florit is Boiret's daughter. "My father," she recalls, "was a great lover of ball games, whether soccer, tennis, or fronton. For him, reaching that final was a great feat. I was born many years later, but he always showed me photos with great pride. With Quelet, he played barehanded, without any kind of protection. That's how he always did, always playing. It was a very masochistic sport."

An admirer of those two legendary players is Pep Oliver Amengual Pavarotti, former mayor of Sineu. He was born in 1954, two years after his famous final. "They played it in the town against two pelotaris from the Basque Country. They named Urcelay and Campos. I've always heard that they won. Boiret and Quelet made a very good pair, one hitting in front and the other behind. They used to go play at the Frontón Balear in Palma." As a child, Oliver also became fond of "passing," as they used to say. "When I was about 18, I played a match against them. They were older than me. I thought it was serious and everything. To me, they were heroes. We were already using rackets. We often put a net in the middle of the court to play tennis matches."

In 1976, the sixteen co-owners of the Sineu Frontón sold the building. By then, the pelota game had lost popularity, and the new owner, Antoni Mestre Frau, Chestnut, decided to open the venue to communions, weddings, outdoor dinners, glossado fights, dances, soccer games, Carnival, school parties... In the summer, films were shown and memorable festivals were held. "That atmosphere," Oliver assures, "was fantastic. The Sineu Frontón is part of the popular memory of an entire generation."

Basque House of Mallorca

Now, 76 years after its inauguration, the venue has taken on a new lease of life thanks to the efforts of Juan Fernández Mena. "The idea," he says, "is to combine the celebration of diverse events as before with the revival of fronton practice." The exhibition match held in September 2023 by the group of pelotaris from the Basque Country served to introduce the court. Antoni Canyelles, 48, from Palma, read the news in the newspapers and immediately went to visit it. Five months ago, he promoted the creation of the handball section of the Basque House of Mallorca. "I," he says, "have always liked minority sports. I started playing hockey. My interest in pelota comes from a trip I made to northern Spain last October, taking advantage of the fact that my mother is from Logroño. In Pamplona, I saw the Basque pelota final played by Jokin Altuna, who is Jokin Altuna. This game has a strong identity component. When I returned to Mallorca, I contacted the Basque House to promote it here."

"We train," Canyelles continues, "every Sunday at the Son Rapinya Frontón in Palma. At the moment, there are five of us: three Basques and two Mallorcans. We also have two children playing with us. We want more people to join in, both men and women." While learning about pelota in Mallorca, this pelotari was pleasantly surprised. "In Lluc, there's a huge pelota court. It's spectacular, with a very sturdy wall and one of the highest. It was built in the 1960s by the thirty Navarrese religious who were there. There are municipal sports centers that also have them, like the one in Inca. In any case, the Sineu court is the oldest one still preserved."

Valencian Álvaro Valero, 44, is another member of the hand pelota section of the Basque House of Mallorca. "I'm married to a Mallorcan woman. I came to live here 16 years ago. I'm delighted to be able to continue playing a sport that is deeply rooted in my homeland, as it is in the Basque Country." Basque pelota weighs around 100 grams, twice as much as Valencian pelota, which makes the game slower. In both cases, the most ancient form is played with the bare hand, although today the hands are protected—there are also versions with a basket or a wooden paddle. Valero insists that Valencian pelota is more than just a sport. "It's a popular sport. In the Valencian Country, almost every municipality has a fronton court, where people go not only to watch tournaments but also to socialize. Ten years ago, women also started playing the game and now represent 50% of the players."

The big date

On Tuesday, August 12, Valero and Canyelles will be at the Sineu Frontó to play the debut match of the Basque House of Mallorca's pelota de mano section. It will be on the occasion of the first edition of the Basque pelota tournament 'Quelet y Boiret'. The competition will last two days and will feature eight players from the Basque Country and Catalonia in pairs. Both teams will be accompanied by two very special 'botilleros' (assistants): Marisa Goñi, director of Mallorca Diary, of Navarrese origin, and Jagoba Arrasate, coach of Real Mallorca, who is also a pelotari.

Fernández, the project's driving force, is eagerly awaiting the big event. "We'll also take this opportunity to present the Frontón de Sineu sports club, whose president will be Miquel Dalmau, Quelet's grandson. At the moment, we have three members. We want to offer classes to revive the strong pelota tradition that once existed in the town." The Sineu residents are delighted with the Madrid native. "This man," says former mayor Oliver, "deserves a monument. Coming from outside the island, he has revived the town's great sentimental icon. I'd like to play a game again. But, at 71, I no longer see myself with the heart." The interviewee is very grateful for so much praise. "However, it hasn't all been a bed of roses. 2024 was a very tough year. The renovations I made caused me serious financial problems. It took a while to get the project off the ground, but it was worth it."