April 25th is Saint Mark's Day, one of the most cherished festivities for lovers of consuming gastropod mollusks, generally known as snails. As the popular saying goes, “he who eats snails for Saint Mark's Day enjoys good health for free” and it is customary to eat them on this day. Some say that eating snails for Saint Mark's Day prevents being touched, that is, falling ill in one way or another. My great-grandmother used to eat one raw every year and she did well, until she was 93. In my town, they don't have snail feasts for Saint Mark's Day, but rather they are typical for the Cross, on May 3rd, a little later. This day is a big celebration in the Camarata neighborhood, and all the locals who have at least one leg go down to eat snails with family and friends.

“We started 20 years ago. Little by little. Now everyone promotes and cooks Sant Marc snails… but at the time we were the first”, explains Guillem Garí, owner of the Es Cruce restaurant in Vilafranca, the temple of one of the most sought-after Majorcan dishes this week on the island.