Twenty years of fire and sowing evil: the history of the demons of Ibiza

IbizaThey say that the devil, when he is old, knows more from experience than from advice. This is not the case in Ibiza; here the devil is equally evil, but quite young. The group of devils Es Mals Esperits was born 20 years ago within the Association 8 d'agost, created in the main Pitiusa island to promote popular culture, with a sense of identity and among the younger public. Last Saint John's Eve, in the municipality of Cubells – the same day and place where they had premiered in 2006 – the Ibizan devils celebrated their two decades. One of the godfathers of the creature, who still collaborates, is Pep Prats, a professor at the IES of Sant Agustí. “At that time we set up a summer school, a music festival was organized from which Projecte Mut and Quin delibat! emerged, we made some giants… And one of the things we thought would most engage young people was a group of devils. I recruited a few students from my institute and things just took off on their own,” recounts Pep Prats.

Of all that initial effort, the devils and witches are who have best survived the passage of time – not in vain, hellfire burns eternally. “We are very happy to be celebrating our anniversary,” states the current group leader, Xico Marí Ribas. “We were on the verge of disappearing during the two years of COVID inactivity; also many went away to study abroad and haven't returned, others got married and had children... This is not incompatible with being a devil, but it does lower the level of wickedness.” Currently, Es Mals Esperits has about twenty members – 25 at the last anniversary in Cubells – while the percussion section, the Esperitrons, is a dozen strong. The future is assured, according to Xico Marí; moreover, there are practically as many witches as devils. “There are many women with the will to do evil, and once you put on the costume, you don't know who you are,” explains the group leader. “In fact, our most famous witch – because she has the hairiest ass in Ibiza – wears a thong and a man wears it”.

Devils with studies

The evilness of demons knows no limits, but to be one requires studies. Not just anyone can be a demon. “You have to take a course that you have to go to Mallorca to do. I and three others have done it and we can also provide training in Ibiza; practical and theoretical aspects of pyrotechnics, first aid...”, explains Xico Marí. According to the head of the Esperitrons, Anna Prats, the fact of working with pyrotechnics is currently what most limits the group's activity. “Since we work with fire, many permits have to be requested, and you can only do it in specific and delimited areas; this complicates things quite a bit, some places make it easier, others not so much”. Even so, the group has traveled throughout its history across the Catalan-speaking territory and beyond, for example to the Basque Country. “The relationship with the Mallorcan groups is especially good,” assures Xico Marí.

Demons and witches are the protagonists of the festival, but without the sonic impulse of the Esperitrons, things would be quite diluted. Anna Prats is currently 26 years old, and is part of the generation that has to ensure the group's future; she is in charge of playing the drum, which also involves being the leader, because it is the instrument that creates the most complex rhythm – in reality she is a clarinetist and studied at the conservatory: the designs of Evil are inscrutable. 20 years ago the Esperitrons did not yet exist and Es Mals Esperits were accompanied by a group of bagpipers made up of Valencian professors residing in Ibiza. When the Esperitrons were created, it was necessary to design and compose the music from scratch, explains Anna Prats: “We are a group with percussion instruments, but we don't play Caribbean rhythms, but rather adapted to fire performances: simple original compositions”.

‘Ole ole ole!’ Today I'm not going to school!

The inventor of the songs is the drummer and professor Rafel Serra. “We made songs of two types: four-beat rhythms, which you chain together and are like for going to a party; and other more elaborate rhythms,” explains Serra. “A couple of compositions were given to us by the group Vella de Diables de Gràcia, from Barcelona, and we adapted them”. At first, Esperitrons rehearsed in the basement of Plaça de Sant Jordi, without air conditioning. “When it was too hot, we would go up to the square; people would pass by, think it was a show and stay,” recounts the drummer. “Since we were starting from scratch and many people had no idea about percussion, I invented phrases that reproduced the rhythm, like for example ‘Ole ole ole! Today I’m not going to school!’”. At that time, Esperitrons grew to be about fifteen: “The objective of promoting Catalan was being met very well, because people from Latin America came who signed up to play the drum and in passing learned a few words”.

Es Mals Esperits and Esperitrons have celebrated their 20th anniversary with the debut of Barrugàs, a fire creature over two meters tall that, according to Xico Marí, “is the largest in the Catalan-speaking lands and, therefore, in the world”. Barrugàs can carry 21 carretilles (the pyrotechnic devices that launch sparks, typical of devils) and sow an incomparable amount of Evil and Devastation –capitalized by the editor–. “Between Barrugàs and a Majorcan fire beast... well, we definitely win,” states Xico Marí, satisfied. If the tiny barruguets –a mythological creature native to the Pitiuses, a relative of the goblin– can already cause harm where they enter, imagine what Barrugàs would do to you if it entered your dining room –God forbid!