The Blessed Ones of San Antonio de Muro, declared an Intangible Cultural Heritage Asset

PalmThe Consell de Mallorca has begun the process of declaring the Benditas de San Antonio de Muro (Blessed Virgins of San Antonio de Muro) an Intangible Cultural Heritage Asset (BICIM), in recognition of their historical, cultural, social, and identity value, and their deep roots in the Muro community and the island's cultural heritage. The declaration must be definitively ratified by the Plenary Session of the island institution.

The Advisory Council for Intangible Cultural Heritage, created in 2024 to protect and safeguard Mallorca's traditions, met this Monday afternoon in the cloister of Santa Ana de Muro to approve the initiation of the protection process. The body is composed of historian Juan José Soler Martínez, writer and oral literature researcher Caterina Valriu Llinàs, Palma chronicler Bartomeu Bestard Cladera, musicologist Eugenia Gallego Cañellas, and artisan and researcher Joana Maria Borràs Riera. The declaration concludes the process initiated by the Muro Town Council and carried out in accordance with Law 18/2019 on the safeguarding of the intangible cultural heritage of the Balearic Islands, with the aim of guaranteeing the preservation and transmission of one of Mallorca's most emblematic festive traditions. The Blessed Virgins of San Antonio de Muro are the central and most popular event of the town's festivities and express the historical link between the community, the agricultural cycle, and devotion to Saint Anthony Abbot, patron saint of animals and farmers. The celebration combines religious rituals, music, dance, gastronomy, and intergenerational community participation that has remained alive throughout the centuries.

Its documented origins date back to the Middle Ages, and over time, the festival has incorporated characteristic elements such as the blessing of the animals, the parade of floats, the devils, the xeremiers (traditional Mallorcan musicians), the brass band, the giants and big-headed figures, as well as the traditional pennant.

The president of the Consell de Mallorca, Llorenç Galmés, emphasized that the Beneïdes are "a living, dynamic, and shared cultural heritage, which the community recreates year after year and passes on from generation to generation." Galmés also highlighted its "strong symbolic significance" and the fact that it offers "a complete sensory experience that forms part of the collective identity of Muro and the whole of Mallorca." The declaration as a BICIM (Bien de Interés Cultural Intangible - Cultural Heritage of Mallorca) implies the establishment of safeguarding measures to guarantee the survival of the festival, ensure the welfare of the participating animals, preserve the associated material assets, and promote the transmission of cultural values to new generations. With this addition to the catalogue of protected intangible assets, the Consell de Mallorca reinforces its commitment to the defense of the island's cultural heritage.