Manacor fills up and sings at La Concordia in a rehearsal of the Gozos amid police problems

PalmHappy in power. The main week of the Sant Antoni festivities has returned to Manacor. A year later, the hermit returns with a vengeance, and the rehearsal of the Goigs (traditional songs) demonstrates his current form. Some 2,000 people filled the Plaça de la Concordia (in the old Fartáritx neighborhood) this Friday to perform and sing a vibrant sense of belonging in times of mass globalization.

This despite police issues. Around 10:00 p.m., a series of disturbances caused by some young people near the bonfire led to the intervention of half a dozen local and national police officers. One of them, wearing a balaclava and a Rafa Nadal Academy sweatshirt, grabbed a young man by the neck and dragged him out of the square.

Black sweatshirts from the Patronato (a local charity) and dark coats withstood the wait for a temperamental ritual that, as always, kept everyone waiting until after 9:00 p.m. More controlled than on other occasions, the plaza was once again closed at its three main entrances in order to manage the capacity, which was initially set at 1,700 people, but which ultimately exceeded that number.

A number that increased when many of the lucky ones (access was strictly on a first-come, first-served basis) entered garages, houses, and private balconies in the Concordia neighborhood, freeing up space where several hundred more people could be accommodated. In fact, a police drone circled the area to verify compliance with the safety protocols established by the City Council, which stipulated a maximum of 4 to 5 people per square meter. Protocols aside, and when it was time for the olive press, compressions and missteps in capturing the best scenes with mobile phones mattered little. Everything changed with the typical sounds of Sant Antoni folklore. Papers in hand, the crowd sang the Gozos, hymns of praise to Sant Antoni, at the top of their lungs, silencing the brass band music and filling their spirits with Manacor pride. The after

A great bonfire, which later, with barrels full of embers, has been lowered to leave the usual crowd. The pilgrims of the glosses, the rhymers of easy verse and trained irony. Glossators and glossators aware of their power amidst tambourines and fire on their faces.

Faces red with wine and intense heat. The heat of song, of sobrasada, and of roasted meat. The heat of the first chapter of the many that will mark the Manacor calendar this week until the Beneïdes on Sunday, January 17th. Before that, the eve (this year, the 16th falls on a Friday) will be the moment of ecstasy. The moment of demons and surrendered youth. The day when being from Manacor, far from being a problem, is the greatest of virtues.